This wasn't what she was here for. This was absolutely the last thing she expected to happen on her, let's say… sudden relocation to Storybrooke. Seriously? Storybrooke? She still couldn't believe it. At least, not yet.

Then he happened.

Well. He didn't actually happen. It was just, he was always there. Being sweet, generous, and keeping her on her toes. Not to mention attractive. And not your normal attractive here people; I mean painfully gorgeous. The accent doesn't hurt his cause either.

It took him a while to gather up the courage to ask her out. And she was hesitant. Very hesitant. Things could go sour and fast. Especially throwing her into the mix; And Henry. He shouldn't have to deal with her dating someone. It was just all a recipe for disaster. Here she was sitting at Granny's thinking everything could go perfectly. Who was she kidding honestly, she couldn't do this.

"Hey, sorry about that," He said as he slid into the booth across from her. "I've got a bladder the size of this town".

She smirked and successfully dodged his eyes. In the 3 minutes he was in the bathroom she managed to completely sabotage their date. That was, in fact, going extremely well. And that did not happen.

For the rest of dinner she listened as he told stories about his job and Storybrooke. She wanted to ask about his childhood, she wanted to know everything about him. She knew she couldn't pry any further; Keep it simple, Emma. So most of her questions revolved around the townspeople and weather, trying to keep it as impersonal as possible.

After about her third question about the seasons he gave her a curious look. But much to her relief he shook it off. Thank God. She didn't want to do this here. Have to shut him down. She knew that this wasn't entirely his doing; she participated in her fair share of lingering eye contact and flirting.

"You ready to go?" His voice pulled her out of her thoughts, and she looked up with sad eyes.

"Yeah, sure."

They started on the walk back to Mary Margaret's house, or, well hers too now. She was grateful to have the teacher. She was refreshingly gently and calm; which wasn't what you found much of in Boston. When Emma told her she had a date with the Sherriff she just smiled and told her to be careful. Gosh, she sounded like such a mom sometimes. Wait? What… Before she could even dip a toe into that train of thought, they were at the house.

Alright, quick and dirty Emma.

" Well, thank you. I had a good time. I guess I'll, uhm, see you later. Goodnight." She turned towards the door to make a run for it before she felt him grab her hand.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I'm just tired. Long da-"She stopped mid-sentence when he started laughing. "Is something funny?"

"Come on, Emma. That's the oldest excuse in the book. Ever since I got back from the restroom you've been off. Was it something I said?"

Now she felt like a horrible person. Here she had this amazing man standing in front of her who wanted to be there. The longer she stood there and stared into his eyes, the harder it was to find it in her to tell him.

"I just, I don't think this is such a good idea. I mean I'm still new here. The mayor is out for my head and I've got Henry to deal with. I don't want to pull you into anything that you would want to get out of."

After a few seconds of silence, she looked up at him. He was staring at the sky.

"Who says I would want out of it?" he brought his eyes to meet hers, "this isn't about the mayor, or even Henry. It's about you. You're scared."

There it was. She underestimated him.

"Relationships and I don't mix. I don't want anyone to get hurt, I just," she took a second, not wanting to seem pathetic but ultimately realizing it was inevitable," I'm not good at this."

She looked down at her feet. Damn. She could feel him staring at her, but she dare not look up. She hated this. She hated feeling vulnerable.

"Hey," He brought a finger under her chin and lifted her face to look at his, "you could be good with me."

Slowly, as if he were pulling a band aid, he leaned down to kiss her. He gave her time to run; she didn't. She couldn't. It felt like years before their lips finally touched, but well worth the wait. It was soft, and slow. Eyes closed and hands intertwined. And over too soon.

They stared at each other for a few seconds. Not wanting the moment to be over.

"Look, Emma, if you-. " She cut him off with a finger to his lips and a smile. A real one.

She was sold. They didn't need any more words. That was more than enough to convince her that they had a chance.

She squeezed his hands and gave him a soft kiss on the cheek. "Goodnight, Sherriff."

"Goodnight." He choked out, wearing an idiot smile.

She snickered as she unlocked the door and made her way inside to find Mary Margaret reading a book and sipping on some cocoa. Cinnamon?

"Your home late." She said protectively.

Emma just rolled her eyes and smiled as she headed to her room. Maybe she was starting to believe after all.