The earsplitting alarm woke him up from his peaceful slumber, and Neal asked himself why he got up at five twenty-five every morning. He grumbled as he turned the alarm off and forced himself to rise from the bed and to take a quick shower. He wondered how he got like this. He was never really a morning person. Well, he wasn't exactly one right now, he was just… he liked mornings, and it had absolutely nothing to do with the way the sun shined down on the little town of Storybrooke or the way the birds chirped as everybody else woke up.

He hopped off the shower, dried himself, and rapidly got dressed before he headed into the kitchen to make his usual cup of coffee. He caught a glimpse of the clock on the oven – five fifty – and laughed at how ridiculously early it was because he didn't have to be at work until nine. Well, he could probably run a few errands before heading to work, or maybe catch up on Game of Thrones, or maybe…

Why was he sweating? He noticed how warmer it was this morning, so he padded towards the living room to check on the thermostat but then he remembered how he has yet to get it fixed. He should probably get that dealt with today if he didn't want to suffer the summer heat any further, (he shot Robin a message asking him if he could pretty please stop by before nine so he could take a look at the broken thermostat in exchange for breakfast – Neal wasn't very handy with these kinds of things, so he was grateful to have a friend who does) but for the meantime, he opened the windows in the living room before walking back to the kitchen and opening the windows in there as well, instantly feeling the morning breeze.

His phone beeped – probably Robin – and opened the message:

Robin Locksley: No problem. I'll be there soon.

Before he could respond to Robin's message, he glanced at the clock again and smiled when he saw that it was already six. He took a large sip from his coffee before settling his cup and phone down on the counter. He looked out the window just in time to see Emma Swan jog by his kitchen window – just like she always did every morning at six.

"What you're doing is stalking." Regina raised a brow at him as he finally took his eyes off a retreating Emma as she jogged away. Robin and Regina were over for breakfast and they didn't hide their amusement with how Neal chose to do with his mornings. "Why don't you just go and talk to her?"

Neal walked over to the sink and rinsed his cup. "It's not stalking," he claimed. "And I do talk to her. We're neighbors, for heaven's sake, Regina."

"I thought she lived ten blocks from here?" Regina's mouth curved into a knowing smile.

"It's seven blocks." He corrected her. "And this town is small enough for me to see her a lot."

"Let me rephrase her question, then." Robin chimed in. "Why don't you just go ask her out instead of watching her pass by your kitchen window every morning?" he asked, earning a hum of approval from his wife. "Let me tell you something, my friend," Neal rolled his eyes and groaned audibly. He knew where this was going. "Asking Regina out was the smartest thing I have ever done. I still don't know what possessed her to agree to a date with me, but she did and I've never been happier." Robin looked at Regina in awe, like he still couldn't believe what he was saying, and Neal can attest to the fact that Robin was at his happiest when he was with Regina – but he was rather sick of the story.

"Robin –"

"I knew she was the one the moment I laid my eyes on her." He told them, but then he added, "Well, that's a lie. I knew she was the one when she rolled her eyes at me and gave me a run for my money."

"That's very sweet of you, dear." Regina smiled at him. "But how is this relevant to Neal's stalker situation?"

"I'm not stalking her!" Neal groaned.

Robin chuckled before growing serious, "All I'm saying is that if you really like her, you should take a chance and go ask her out… like I did." Neal rolled his eyes again. "I'm telling you, Regina wouldn't even give me the time of day when I first approached her…"

Neal drowned out Robin's words because he wasn't up for another telling of how Robin and Regina fell in love – he's heard it about a thousand times by now, he was sure of it – but Robin had a point, (surprise, surprise). He should really just ask Emma out instead of looking out his kitchen window longingly as she passed by.

Tomorrow, he decided. Tomorrow, he'll find the courage to actually, finally, ask her out.

It's been three months and he has yet to find the 'courage' he kept telling Robin he had hidden inside of him.

He watched as Emma expertly maneuvered around a fallen branch in her way, but she hadn't noticed that there was another one – a much bigger one – and before he knew it, she tripped and fell on her face.

Sure, most people's instincts were to immediately run up to them and ask if they were alright but Neal wasn't most people, and before he could stop himself, he burst out laughing. There was absolutely nothing funny about Emma getting hurt – nothing at all – but the way she fell was quite comical (but that wasn't important), and he knew he shouldn't be laughing because – oh God, no. His laughter died as soon as he realized that Emma was glaring directly at him. Shit. The window. The damn window. He completely forgot about the open window. She heard him laugh at her unfortunate fall.

He was sweating profusely – and it wasn't because of the broken thermostat – and he had no idea how to turn this around. He probably seemed like an ass just standing there and looking at her through the (damn) window, so he rushed out of his house and to Emma's side.

"Are you alright?" he asked as he knelt beside her.

"Oh yeah, Neal." She told him, sarcasm evident in her voice. "I'm just swell."

Neal grimaced at her tone, but he did deserve it. He grabbed her arms softly and urged her to get up. "Can you stand?"

"Of course I can stand." She growled, and tried to do so. She struggled but was able to get up and Neal thought everything was good until she let out a piercing cry. "Ow! What the hell?" she sat back down on the ground and put a hand on her left foot.

"What is it?" he gulped. "Did I hurt you?" he asked as he loosened his grip on her arms.

She shook her head and let out a softer cry, "My ankle," she panted. "I think I sprained it."

He observed her ankle and nodded grimly, "Yeah, it's a bit swollen."

"Seriously?" she huffed irritatingly. "This is just great. Just great."

Neal felt bad. He shouldn't have laughed at her. He was such an idiot. "Let me take you to the hospital and get that checked out." He offered.

"There's no need," she shook her head. "I'll just put some ice on it. It doesn't look too serious."

"Here, let me carry you to my place, and we'll put ice on your ankle and see if the swelling lessens."

"I have ice in my house, you know?"

"Your house is seven blocks from here." He reasoned. "And as much as I wish I was, I'm not strong enough to carry you all the way home."

"Are you calling me fat?" her eyes narrowed, but he could see a hint of humor in her eyes.

"Not at all," he chuckled. "I'm saying I'm a bit frail. I haven't been to the gym in days." She gave him a knowing smirk. "And by days, I mean years." He teased, and it made his heart flutter when Emma let out a laugh. "Now, come on. Let's get some ice on that ankle of yours."

Neal settled Emma down on the couch and helped her prop both her legs up on a pillow before heading to get some ice. "Do you want something to drink?" he asked from the kitchen.

"Some water would be nice." He heard, so he grabbed a water bottle from the fridge and went back to the living room.

He grinned at the sight of Emma making herself at home. She was surfing through channels and muttering something he couldn't hear. "What was that?"

She whipped her head around to look at him. "Your place is like a sauna. It's so hot in here."

"I know, I know." He said as he helped her become more comfortable and put the bag of ice on her ankle. "Is this okay?" at her nod, he handed her the water bottle and sat on the couch beside her feet. "I'm sorry about the heat. I've been meaning to get it fixed since last weekend, but I've called my friend to fix it today, so…"

"Is that why you have all your windows open?" she asked after she took a gulp of water.

"Yes," he cringed as he remembered that she saw him and heard him laugh at her accident. "And I'm really sorry for laughing at you. It really wasn't funny… you falling, I mean. I didn't –"

"Expect me to hear you?" she finished. "I bet you wished your thermostat was working, huh?"

He gave her a lopsided grin, "I got to bring you home though." He joked, earning a scoff from her. He caught the pillow she threw at him just in time before it hit him. "I'm kidding!" he laughed. "I am sorry, Emma." He told her again.

"Don't worry about it," she smiled. "You just have to find a way to make it up to me."

He was mesmerized with her, with her smile, her laugh, her… everything – a perfectly good reason for him to suddenly blurt out the next words out of his mouth, "How about dinner?"

And for a moment he thought she would refuse his offer, he did make fun of her, but her smile never faltered. "Dinner?" she appeared to be considering the offer with a small frown, and he thought that she was probably finding a way to easily let him down.

"You don't… You don't have to." He stammered. "I mean, we don't have to…"

"Mmm, I'm actually up for Chinese tonight." She then said. "You know any good places?"

Hah. That caught Neal off guard. He can't really say that he wasn't expecting her to agree because well, he did ask her with the intention of her saying yes… but still, she seemed so casual about it. "Really?"

She raised a brow, "Yeah?"

"You'd go out with me?" he still couldn't believe it.

"Woah," she dragged the word out. "You never said anything about a date…"

"What do you think dinner meant?" he was amused and nervous at the same time.

"I don't know?" she laughed nervously. "Dinner? Like, actual dinner? Dinner dinner?"

"Okay," he chuckled. "Got it." He said as he ran his fingers through his hair. "Will you go to dinner with me? Like a date dinner, not a dinner dinner?"

She sighed heavily, and Neal thought she was going to reject him but she surprised him with an "I thought you'd never ask."

His mouth was agape, he was shocked. His heart was stammering in his chest at what she said. "What?"

She was grinning widely now, probably amused with the look of surprise plastered on his face. "Oh, come on, Neal." She was reveling at his shock, he can tell by the sheer glee shining in her eyes. "Did you really think I jog by your house every morning because I wanted to?"

"I –"

"And did you think I didn't see you checking me out every time?"

"I –" he was interrupted by the sound of the doorbell. "I'm just," he stood up from the couch and let out a small smile. "I'm going to get the door."

"Ah, saved by the bell." She snickered and winked at him.

Neal's heart stuttered. Well, how the tables have turned, he thought to himself. He was supposed to be the one who sweeps her off her feet. He was supposed to be the one who winks at her, making her heart stutter – and not the other way around. He lost his cool the moment she said yes to dinner.

He made his way to the front door, took a deep breath before opening it wide for his visitors. Regina (who was looking like she could kill anyone who got in her way) immediately entered his house without so much as a 'hey, how you doing?', and headed straight to the living room. Robin followed in her steps with his tool box in one hand, looking a bit troubled. "Hello, you two…" Neal said unsurely. "Everything alright?"

"Why wouldn't it be?" Robin forced a smile.

Neal quirked a brow. He knew Robin since they were children, so he was sure that something was up. Plus, judging by the look on Regina's face, it was clear that she wasn't in the mood for anything. "I think you underestimate how much I know you, Robin."

He sighed heavily and let out a humorless chuckle. "Regina's mother is in town, and she's staying in the spare room." Neal closed his eyes in frustration; now he understood the grim mood both of them were in.

"How long is she staying this time?" he asked.

"Too long." Robin sighed again. "So, expect us to spend most of our days here until she leaves."

Neal chuckled at that. "Of course. You two are welcome here anytime."

His heart stopped at the sound of laughter coming from the next room. Emma. He forgot she was in there. He was praying, hoping that Regina wouldn't tell any stories that were too embarrassing, destroying any chance of him having that date with Emma. It seemed that Regina was in a much better mood now, though.

"Who's in there?" Robin inquired as he wore a confused expression on his face.

"Emma."

Robin's eyebrows rose. "Emma?" Neal nodded. "Emma? As in Emma the woman who jogs by your house every morning at six who you said you would go ask out months ago?"

"That… was very specific, but yes. Emma."

"How –?"

He was interrupted by a wide-eyed Regina emerging from the living room. "Neal Cassidy." She sounded like a disappointed parent. "How could you do that to that poor woman?"

"What is she going on about?" he heard Robin ask, but all he could focus on was Emma limping towards them.

"Neal apparently made fun of Emma for tripping on a fallen branch." Regina informed her husband as the blonde took a seat on the barstool.

Robin threw Neal a disbelieving look before smirking at Emma. "That's our Neal!" he beamed. "Always the gentleman!"

Neal let out a sarcastic laugh, "Will you go fix my thermostat now, please?"

Robin huffed out a long breath and nodded, "Yes, sir." Before heading into the living room, leaving him alone with Regina and Emma.

"So…" Regina pursed her lips as she looked back and forth between him and Emma. "I'm going to leave you two to talk." She decided, heading into the living room where her husband was.

"Regina, no funny business, alright?" he requested as he remembered the last time he left them alone in his office. He cringed and then shook his head to rid the images that has haunted him for months.

"It was one time!" she hissed lightly and then she disappeared into the next room.

He heard Emma chuckling behind him, so he turned around to face her. "Sorry about that. They're usually pretty cool." He told her before changing his mind, "You know what, no. They're like that all the time," he admitted. "I hope Regina didn't tell you any embarrassing stories back there…"

The corners of Emma's mouth quirked up, "Nothing too humiliating, I assure you."

"That's good, that's good." He brightened. "I – uh – how's your ankle?"

"It's better," she bobbed her head. "I was able to limp here, remember?"

"Better enough to go on that date with me tonight?" he drummed his fingers on the table nervously, waiting for her answer.

She propped her chin on her hand and looked at him with a wide grin, "Yeah."

A few weeks and a lot of dates later, he found himself going for a run with Emma at six in the morning… and he couldn't be any happier.

Neal wasn't a morning person, but he sure did love his mornings with Emma.