A/N: A CS + Frozen Jewel (Liam and Elsa) modern AU in response to a prompt I got on tumblr. Dedicated to my dear friend Lana for her birthday :)

If you want it, you got it, forever

Don't be confused, the way is clear
And if you want it, you got it, forever
This is not a one-night stand baby

Baby tonight belongs to us,
Everything right, do what you must
And inch by inch we grow closer and closer
To every little part of each other

Emma was so thrilled to see her best friend again that she barely registered the sound of the speakers announcing the last call for her flight. Truth be told, the last time she saw Elsa was little over a month ago when her childhood friend came to visit her and spent a week with her in New York. But still, they practically grew up together, were inseparable all through high school and college, so of course Elsa was deeply missed now that, after a year of working hard to maintain a long-distance relationship, she finally agreed to moved in with her boyfriend, who lived in London.

She knew her friend was happier than ever, she had seen plenty of proof of just how right for each other Liam and Elsa were on the numerous times he had travelled over to see his girlfriend, but she was only human and she couldn't help missing the comfort of having her best friend on the room right next to hers in their shared apartment.

Emma rushed to the gate and handed her ticket and passport to the gruff flight attendant with an apologetic smile, who perused her documents as he grumbled something about his feelings towards people who loved to board planes on the very last minute. She received her papers back from him and sprinted down the boarding bridge, walking into the airplane and trying to regain her breath as she looked for her seat. Her small suitcase having been placed on the compartment above her seat and her seat belt having been fastened and checked - twice - Emma closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She wasn't a big fan of flying - personally she would much rather cross the atlantic on a ship if that was a viable alternative - but to for her best friend she would do that and so much more.

She took her paperback edition of Peter Pan out of her handbag before placing it on the floor in front of her legs and started to read. She had never been to England before, only finally giving in to Elsa's pleas to come see her new home now, so she felt J. M. Barrie would was befitting of the resolution she'd made as soon as she booked her ticket to London, that she would be willing to give a fair try to all things British.

She couldn't have imagined that thought would be applied to a certain blue-eyed Royal Navy lieutenant who came to pick her up at Heathrow airport in full uniform.

He was holding up a sign that read Swan, Emma written in black sharpie, the curly handwriting almost taking her attention off his dazzling eyes. She held her breath as she scanned the small crown gathered around the arrivals gate looking for Elsa or Liam, or anything indicating she wouldn't have to go to the man who looked like a more deadly attractive version of Prince William on his military apparel. The breath of relief she unconsciously let out when she found no one else there for her but him surprised even herself.

She tried her best not to blush when his eyes lit up and his smile grew wider as he saw her walking in his direction, and failed.

"You're not Liam, and you're definitely not Elsa," she said, keeping her tone breezy and nonchalant. "So you must be Killian."

"Aye. And you must be the lady Swan." He took off his white peaked cap and did a little mock bow, eliciting an involuntary giggle from her. She was quick to check her uncharacteristic outburst, but not before he was astonished to realise her laugh was the best sound he had ever heard. He had been told she was to stay with his brother and Elsa for a couple of weeks, and he would be damned if he didn't make it his mission to make her produce that lovely sound as often as he could.

"Not that I don't appreciate the gesture, but can I ask why are you wearing your formal uniform to pick me up?" She made a show of looking him up and down, taking in the white tunic with golden buttons and the matching trousers, curiously eyeing the golden aiguillette hanging from his left shoulder and tucked neatly on his chest,. Her gaze moved to the right to admire the variety of colourful and shiny medals pinned above his pectoral, and then drifting down when she noticed the beautiful sword dangling from his belt before going back up to see his flushed cheeks and endearing bashful smile.

"Liam and Elsa had originally planned to pick you up themselves. But apparently there's been some last minute emergency, so my brother asked me to be his hero and save the day."

"And you thought it would only be appropriate to dress the part."

"Actually, I've just been promoted to Lieutenant Commander today," he said, his hand coming up to scratch behind his ear in something she quickly identified as a nervous tick. "I was in the middle in the ceremony when Liam rang me and I had to leave in a hurry to come get you here."

Shit. What the hell was she supposed to say to that? Wow was definitely not an option, she though as she drew her bottom lip between her teeth. "Congratulations," she offered with a genuine smile. "I'm really sorry I was the reason you missed part of the ceremony. I hope you're not in trouble for doing that."

"Don't say sorry," he said with a dismissive movement of his right hand. She found his smile had a particularly unfair way of warming her from her cheeks all the way down to her toes, and she felt compelled to aver to avert her gaze lest she would turn into a huge tomato in front of his eyes. Not that staring at their feet helped much, his velvety voice having the same effect on her as he continued talking. "To be fair, it was a bit a bore after the speaker started expatiating on the brave deeds of former Commanders who became history. And my superior is close friends with Liam. He said it was ok for me to leave at that point."

"Good." Great. Judging by the way she could feel her face burning, she was a blushing mess and she couldn't think of anything else to say to him. Worse if it all, she couldn't remember for the life of her when was the last time she felt so- so unprepared and disarmed near a guy before.

He couldn't possibly believe she was still so interested in whatever it was about their shoes that she had to keep looking down, so she thought it was time to get her act her act together and look him in the eye again. She realised that keeping her cool with him might prove harder that she would have thought when she noticed a slight tinge of red stealing on his cheeks and ears.

And had he not stopped smiling at her ever since she looked away, or had he just put on a fresh new sparkling smile now that she was finally looking at him again? She wasn't sure which option was worse, and by worse she meant potentially more swoon-inducing.

"Plus, I'm quite certain you'll provide far more entertaining company than my work mates." She watched as his smile turned into a mischievous smirk, his feet shuffling forward, and he really shouldn't look that good being the dorkiest flirt she's ever seen. "I've heard lots about you, Swan. Elsa talks about you almost as often as she talks of Anna. I'm delighted to finally get to meet you."

"Me, too," she said with a small smile. Had she really left all her articulation skills back in New York or what? "So, erm, you've just been promoted. I bet you have all sorts of interesting tales from your adventures in the sea."

"I'll leave the interesting part for you to judge. But I'll gladly share some of my stories with you on the way back to Liam and Elsa's flat, if you promise to tell me some of your own."

He was looking at her in such a way, as if she was the only other person in the room and he couldn't wait to find out everything there was to know about her. She wondered if that should terrify her, make her jump on the next place that took her far away from two weeks of inevitably seeing him a lot, but oddly enough she just felt good in his presence. Really good.

"I promise, Killian."

"Are you not going to tell me what that emergency you and Liam suddenly had was all about?" Emma asked Elsa when they finally found some time alone that night after all four of them went out for dinner.

Elsa closed the door to Emma's bedroom and took her friend by the hand, leading her to the bed where they both sat down to talk.

"There was no emergency," Elsa said in a calm tone.

"Then why the hell did you make Killian leave in the middle of a formal ceremony to pick me up at the airport?"

"Because Liam and I needed to do something else..." Her tone remained calm and the vagueness in her words was about to drive Emma crazy.

Elsa had always been her best friend and she hated feeling like she was keeping secrets from her. They always told each other everything, that's how it's always been ever since they met in their freshman year of high school. Before that, though, Emma had never had any real friends, always moving from one foster family to another until the Nolan's adopted her at the unlikely age of fifteen. It was then that she learned for the first time what it felt like to have parents who truly care about you, and a friend you can count on for everything. It may have been a long time ago, but the wounds left by an unloving family and fake friends who would only stay until the time came when they would stab you in the back still felt too recent for comfort. And she couldn't help but feeling the sting of her old scars hurting anew with Elsa's poorly concealed evasiveness.

"Elsa." She said in that tone Elsa recognized from times when it all became too much and Emma would call her up searching for the comfort even David and Mary Margaret couldn't give. "Please tell me what's going on. Are you and Liam having any... problems?"

"No," she shook her head and took both of Emma's hands in hers. "No, nothing of the sort, Emma. I promise you. I was going to tell you anyway. I was just waiting to be alone with you because Killian absolutely cannot find out about this." She said, offering her a smile.

"Oh," Emma wasn't sure if she should feel relieved or more worried knowing that, whatever their secret was, Liam couldn't even tell his own brother. "What is it? I won't tell him, don't worry."

"Killian's birthday is this Saturday and we've been planning a big surprise party for him," Elsa whispered as if she was worried someone was eavesdropping behind the closed door. Emma let out a sigh and chuckled as she looked at the sheer excitement on her friend's face. She really had to stop overanalysing everything, but old habits do die hard and she knew that better than most people.

"We were leaving the apartment to go pick you pick when Mr. Smee called asking if we could meet him immediately to sort out some issues that came up. He's the man who's in charge of taking care of Liam and Killian's boat at the Southwark marina," she explained, her voice getting more and more chipper as she told Emma all about how they were planning a party aboard The Jolly Roger as the boat down the river Thames.

They had invited Killian's closest friends from the Navy and some of his and Liam's childhood acquaintances, too. Emma recalled one night when Liam flew to see Elsa in New York and the three of them went out to explore the city. He had briefly mentioned how Killian and him lost their parents to a car accident when they were only twelve and seventeen, respectively, so she didn't have to ask Elsa why there were no relatives of their on the guest list. She knew from personal experience what it was like to have to pretend to be a family with people you couldn't feel more distant from, and she imagined that's how Killian and Liam must have felt after losing their parents.

"Elsa, that sounds amazing!" Emma said, feeling the contagious excitement radiating from her friend and seeping into her own skin. "You and Liam have definitely put a lot of thought into this surprise party, and I'm Killian will love it."

"Speaking of," Elsa began saying, the enthusiasm in her tone being suddenly replaced by an unmistakable hint of suggestiveness. "How was your day with Killian? We didn't think it would take that for us to come home, but you guys didn't seem to mind being left alone with each other for practically the whole day."

"Well, we had fun. We got on really well," Emma trailed off, maintaining what she thought was a neutral expression as she tried to carefully measure her next words so they wouldn't too much away. "When we realised you two weren't coming back any time soon, he offered to show me the city. We went to all of these amazing places, took about a thousand photos - even though I purposely left my camera here - you never mentioned he loved photography - and, you know, it was great. We had a grand time," she finished with a smile she hoped didn't look half as nervous as she felt under her best friend's trained eyes. She might have always been good at telling when people were lying to her, but she was the absolute worst at lying to people. Especially to Elsa.

"Emma... What happened between you and Killian today?" She asked, wiggling her eyebrows in a silly way that had Emma erupting in giggles instantly.

"Nothing! Why would you think that?" Emma managed to say in her defence when she finally caught her breath from all the laughing.

"You tell me," Elsa said, crossing her arms on her chest as a knowing smirk appeared on her lips. "Emma Swan doesn't giggle, nor does she blush. Yet you're doing both things right now."

"Alright, fine," she threw her arms up in mock surrender, at which Elsa let out a triumphant hum. "We just- we kinda had a moment. That's it." She bit down on her lip, knowing there was no other way out of this conversation. Elsa was on to her and she wouldn't rest until she knew the reason why Emma spent the entire dinner sharing yearning lookswith Killian, who made sure to pull out Emma's chair and sit beside her as soon as they found an available table at the restaurant.

"What kind of moment?"

"We... we almost kissed," Emma said, closing her eyes and lying on her back with her hands folded over her stomach. Whatever was happening between her and Killian was too sudden, too much, too soon, and she wasn't sure she wanted to think about it much. She knew thinking always led to remembering, and she had never had such a good feeling about a guy like she had with Killian now - if she was scared of letting go and exploring this connection she knew they both felt after only a day of getting to know each other, she was even more scared of letting her past make her run away and hide from a possible future. Since when had she started imagining a future with him, though? She had only just met the man, for crying out loud.

"Are you serious? Why didn't you? Emma, don't tell me you pushed him away like you always do," Elsa said, taking her hand and effectively forcing Emma to look at her. "He's a great guy, you know."

"I do know it, and that's exactly why I couldn't let it happen," Emma said, letting out an exasperated sigh. "We've only spent a day getting to know each other and talking, and we were already so close to- I looked away at the last minute, and then I started babbling about something random. He seems like a great guy, and I know you can tell he's gotten under my skin after we were acting like silly teenagers all through dinner, but what if something happens and he turns out to be something else entirely? It wouldn't be the first time that happened to me, and I really don't want to go through that again. I just- I can't take a chance that I'm wrong about him."

Elsa nodded in understanding and pulled Emma into a hug when she sat up again.

"You know what I think?" Elsa said, her tone gentle as she pulled away to look at Emma's face. "I think just the fact that you're aware of the possibility that he might hurt you, but haven't pushed him away yet, shows how you're willing to take a leap of faith with him. You may have turned him down earlier, but you still kept flirting and making eyes at him all night in front of me and Liam - yes, he's noticed, too. Actually, I bet he's asking Killian about it right now." She couldn't keep her laugh inside with Emma's mortified eye roll. "My point is, what you did today was showing him you want to take things slow. You may be panicking about it slight right now, but I think that's the best way to go."

Emma looked at her for a few moments as she considered her words before hugging her friend again. "Thank you."

"Of course, Emma. You know I'll always be here for you."

"Me too, Elsa."

"Uh, actually, I almost forgot Liam and I needed to ask a little favour of you," Elsa said with a pleading smile. "We were hoping you could keep Killian distracted until Saturday so we can finish the last details for the party."

Liam closed the front door of their apartment after saying goodbye to Killian at the same time as Elsa left Emma's room.

"How did it go with Emma, darling?" He pulled her into his arms and kissed her forehead, wrapping his arms tighter around her shoulders as she tucked her head under his chin.

"You know what we witnessed at dinner? We were right. They did get into something earlier today," Elsa said. Liam hummed and felt her chuckling against his neck. "They've started to get to know each other and I can tell she's already taken with him. She's just afraid of getting hurt again, but I told her to take a chance on your brother."

"Well, from the talk I just had with him it seems he's completely smitten with her, too," he told her, amused at the idea that his brother might finally have the chance to open up his heart again after The Milah Disaster, as he referred to it in his head. "Is she okay with keeping him busy this week? It's only until Saturday."

"She freaked out a little, but agreed to help us out. And I have a feeling she's going to enjoy her task more than she knows." She had Liam laughing at that, and she joined him. She never thought she would play matchmaker with anyone, much less Emma given her long history of heartbreak and trust issues. Granted, she did try to occasionally encourage her friend to get out there a little more over the years after Neal, but never pushed it too much when Emma refused.

Elsa understood Emma still felt like she wasn't ready for it, no matter how many years had been since he disappeared and framed her for his attempt at corporate fraud. If it wasn't for Elsa proving that Emma had a solid alibi, she would have gone to jail for a crime she never committed. If it was hard for Elsa not to track down the bastard and make him pay for all the emotional damage he caused on her best friend, she could only imagine how hard it was for Emma to let go of the past and trust someone again.

But she had always liked Killian, and the more she got to know her almost brother-in-law, the more she was convinced that he was the perfect man for Emma. He was loyal and honest, a truly good-hearted man who would do anything in the world for his brother, which showed how dedicated he was to those he loved. She knew he had some history of heartbreak, too, and she thought that would make him understand Emma's guardedness and reluctance like very few people could. If none of that were enough to convince her (and Liam) to believe his brother and her best friend would be great together, tonight only made her more certain that she shouldn't let Emma run away from this.

"I can see the gears turning in your mind, darling," Liam whispered in her ear, breaking her out of her own thoughts and bringing her back to him. "What are you thinking of?"

"Emma, and Killian, actually," she told him with a wistful smile. "Do you think they have a chance together?"

"I think Emma is the first person I can actually see my brother falling for after Milah, and quite possibly the only one." He let out a sigh, his brows knitting together with melancholy as he thought of how much his little brother had already been through. Elsa cupped his cheek with one hand, offering him a loving look and showing him she knew exactly what was on his mind. He held her wrist and turned to place a kiss on her palm. "I truly think they could be it for each other."

"I guess we'll just have to see how it goes, and try not to meddle too much," Elsa said with a chuckle.

"You're right, we should give them time and space to figure it out themselves. I think we've done enough worrying about them for tonight." He grabbed her hand and nodded in the direction of their bedroom. "We should get some rest, sweetheart. It's going to be an eventful week - for all of us."

"It certainly will," she said as she let go of his hand and wrapped one arm around his waist, tucking into his side as they went to bed together.

Five days later they were at the Jolly, the surprise had apparently been a success since Emma didn't have any trouble convincing Killian to spend almost all of his free time after work with her, which she had to admit hadn't been an unpleasant task for her at all. Quite the opposite, actually. He took her all around town, showing her his favourite spots and sharing with her memories of moments he had spent in those places with Liam, and sometimes his parents, when they were still alive. She felt honoured to be entrusted with such precious parts of his story, that it only felt natural for her to do the same and tell him about the foster families she had been with, how grateful she felt to be chosen by Mary Margaret and David Nolan, whom she loved and considered every bit as her real parents, and some of her college adventures with Elsa and Anna.

She even told him about Neal, as much as she could without starting to cry in front of him, and her heart was swelling with happiness when he took her hand and placed a kiss to her knuckles in response, his eyes never leaving hers as he told her she deserved far better than someone like him, and that he wished he would find someone who truly loved her someday. She told him the same thing before instinctively pulling him into a hug after he told her how Milah promised he would leave her husband for him, but never did, until the day came when the man abducted her and threatened Killian's life if he ever went looking for her. He did anyway. He looked everywhere for her, convinced that the police were not doing enough to find her, until his brother convinced him it was time to let go of her ghost three years later.

(She didn't know who needed the hug more, her or him. She just knew she desperately needed to throw her arms around his neck and feel his heart beating against her chest. When he nuzzled her neck and breathed her in, she finally felt like she could breathe properly again.)

She had been crouching down beside Elsa and Liam on his boat, along with all the other guests for about 20 mins when he finally showed up on the berth and started to walk towards the boat. When he was only a few feet away they all just up screaming surprise, making him jump up a little and stop dead in his tracks while he processed the scene in front of him. If him shouting bloody fucking hell at them in the climax of his surprise, or the colourful stream of curses that he proceeded to utter as he entered the boat and looked around to see the cake and his friends all wearing ridiculous party hats was any indication, their plan went flawlessly well.

Emma was leaning against the railing watching the city lights dancing over the water as Liam manoeuvred the boat out of the dock and into the river, her mind going over everything that happened during the week, pausing on a few peculiar moments - her favourite ones, not that she would ever admit that - where his lips had been inches away from touching hers again, but never did. Each time it was either of their phones going off, or her turning away on the last minute, or him deciding to simply tuck a lock of hair behind her ear instead of kissing her. After five days of incredible moments spent together and one too many almosts, she would have started to fear he didn't feel the same way if it wasn't clear in the look of adoration he regarded her with that he understood and respect her silent condition of taking things slow.

She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't hear Killian's steps approaching her from behind, practically jumping out of her skin when she felt his arm hands coming to rest on her waist as he whispered in her ear. "Swan."

"Damn it Killian, you scared the hell out of me," she half-heartedly chastised him as she turned around to face him, leaning back and resting her hands on the railing. "There's something almost magical about the way the city lights are reflected on the water at night. I was so spellbound I didn't ever hear you coming."

"Aye, I know what you mean," he told her with smiling eyes that locked with hers and never faltered as he continued speaking, and a soft voice that reached deep within her and made her stomach do a pleasant little flip of its own. "It's a marvellous sight to behold. It's something magical, bewitching, mesmerising. Makes you feel like you can't take your eyes off of it. But even if you could, you'd never want to."

The unique mixture of seriousness and tenderness in his voice as he told her those her things made it sound like he didn't mean the water or the city lights, but something far closer to him. She swallowed hard, desperately wanting to believe that.

"Were you surprised?" She tried to make it come off as a nonchalant question, but the sudden breathlessness in her voice did little to accomplished her desired result.

"Completely. I truly didn't suspect it whatsoever." He smiled at her, that soft, adoring smile he always seemed to have on his face before moving in to almost kiss her. She looked down to discover his hands had never left her waist, but remained in place as if they belonged there. She didn't have it in her to even think that they didn't when it felt so right to be in his arms, when all she wanted was to be even closer to him. "What the lot of you did for me was bloody brilliant, amazing. And you were part of the plotting team all along as well."

"Guilty," she said with a non-committal shrug of shoulders. For some reason she thought aiming for nonchalant was still the best course of action. "But the credit is all Liam and Elsa's. They planned everything long before I even arrived. All I did was making sure you stayed occupied."

"Oh. In that case, should I feel wounded that our time together was only a mere distraction?" He teased her, arching an enquiring eyebrow at her, but the nervousness behind his tentative smile showed far more meaning that what his words gave away in jest. "Or was any of it real, Swan?"

She blinked at him once, twice, three times, feeling her breath hitching as he stepped forward and his face became too close to hers again. "It was all real." Her voice came out barely louder than a whisper and for a second she was unsure whether he had even heard her, until his expression changed from adorably dumbfounded to joyfully relieved as a smile spread over his lips, at which she was now staring directly.

He brushed his knuckles against the apple of her cheek lightly, his eyes searching for something on her face as his hand found its way to her tresses. She finally looked up to meet his eyes again, and it seemed he finally found the confirmation he had been looking for when she smiled at him.

"I was hoping you'd say that."

She closed her eyes when he bumped his nose against hers affectionately and the next thing she felt was the warm and delicate brush of his lips against hers. Adrenaline was coursing high on her bloodstream at that point and she took a sharp intake of breath, feeling him do the same before his hand on the back of her gently tipped her head so he could deepen the kiss. They lost themselves in each other, hands grasping for purchase as tongues danced around each other until they had to resurface for air.

Her hands held on to the collar of his leather jacket with a white-knuckle grip while his arms went around her waist, anchoring her to him as he leaned his forehead against hers and tried to reclaim the air back into his lungs. "That was..." He made an effort to speak but was forced to trail off, still panting hard and still trying to hold her impossibly closer to him, as if he was terrified that she would realise what just happened and run away from him.

"Definitely not a one-time thing."

This is my very first AU ever so I would really appreciate it if you could tell me your thoughts on it - canon spin offs and angst are usually my thing, as opposed to modern-day fluff! Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed it! I ship Liam and Elsa with all my heart and I have all sorts of theories about how Liam might not be dead and he could end up with Elsa on the show. I know, dream on, but HAPPY ENDINGS ALWAYS START WITH HOPE SO I WON'T GIVE UP ON FROZEN JEWEL!