Disclaimer: If I owned Killian, I wouldn't share him with anyone else. Unfortunately, the rights to OUAT belong to someone else.

This was going to be awkward.

Emma had done her best to prepare herself and create the best atmosphere possible but there was only so much she could do. This was pretty much guaranteed to be weird. She didn't have anyone to blame really; it was all her fault. It was her fault that she'd signed up for this and then gotten in over her head. So here she was, flitting around her apartment, checking that everything was perfect while reminding herself that she shouldn't care if it was.

They were running lines. That's all. Nothing crazy. But Emma's stomach was doing somersaults and she kept scolding herself for caring so much about everything and for being nervous and for getting herself into this in the first place.

I mean, honestly, she thought. I signed up for this. She'd been waiting her whole life for this. Ever since she was a little girl, she'd wanted to be an actress, and now she'd gotten her first lead role. I mean, sure, it was only for a local theater, but it was a start. She'd been over the moon when she'd been cast. It was her dream come true.

Then she met Killian.

She still had a hard time deciding whether or not meeting him was a good thing. Either way, it didn't change her problem now. He'd be here any minute now and she would have to keep herself in check the whole time. When she'd first met Killian Jones, she was immediately smitten. And that didn't just happen to Emma Swan. Emma Swan was extremely independent and had never really been interested in a romantic relationship. She couldn't understand why her heart skipped a beat whenever he entered a room or why the slightest physical contact sent electricity though her body. For the first few weeks, she'd denied the way she felt. She'd insisted that she was getting too caught up in her role and, eventually, that of course he'd make her feel jittery. I mean, any girl's head would go spinning by looking into eyes that blue.

Either way, she was going to have to kiss him.

And no, that wasn't figurative or just an expression. She was actually going to have to kiss him. She was being paid to kiss him. Because apparently their characters felt the same attraction she did.

And now he was coming to her apartment, at 7:00 p. m. on a Tuesday night, just so that they could run lines, because the damn director just had to suggest that people should get together outside of scheduled rehearsals to practice, and then everyone else had decided it was a good idea, and Killian had a ridiculous amount of time alone with her character, so naturally everyone assumed they'd run lines together, and now Emma was pacing and trying to clear her head as she found new reasons to hate herself.

The doorbell rang.

Emma's stomach flopped.

Whywhywhywhywhywhywhywhy...

She took a deep breath and wiped her palms on her jeans. This could only end so badly, right?

Come on, Swan. You can do this.

She opened the door. And there he was.

There he was with his crooked grin and sparkling eyes and damn, did he know how much leather turned her on?

"Hey."

"Hey." By some miracle, she remembered to step aside and motion him into the room rather than standing there staring like an idiot. "Um, you can sit over there." She motioned over to the couch where he took a seat. She strategically took a seat in her big recliner to avoid being too close to him. She wondered if physical contact would make the night better or worse. It'd definitely make things harder to handle.

"Swan?"

She looked up. Had he said something? Oh, God, he'd said something. He'd said something and she was too distracted to listen. "I'm sorry... what did you say?" Her face felt hot and she silently cursed herself for messing up so early in their visit.

He grinned in a skeptical sort of way. "Just complimenting the décor."

"Oh... thank you."

"So," he said, flipping through his script. "I was thinking we should start on page 187."

"Okay." She quickly flipped there and froze when she realized what page it was. The kiss scene. "Oh... um, yeah. We haven't really practiced this that much."

"Alright." He stood up and moved over to the open space in Emma's living room where she joined him. "Start whenever you're ready then."

A part of her was disappointed by how professional he was being. Whenever they were at rehearsals, he'd joke around and do something that might be flirting and might be friendly banter; Emma couldn't tell. But now he was just getting straight to work and whereas she was partially grateful, she also wished that he'd say something cute or funny like he usually did, simply because she loved it when he did that.

But he was waiting for her to start and so, reluctantly, she did.

"Why did you come here?" Emma's character, Madelyn, asked.

"It's nice to see you, too," Killian's character, Jace, said sarcastically.

"I told you not to follow me. I specifically said˗˗̶"

"But you didn't honestly think that I'd listen, did you?

"Jace, listen. You can't be here."

Five lines until the kiss.

"I don't care if it puts me in danger."

Four lines until the kiss.

"Well you should. They only care about getting me, you don't matter to them. At least not yet. But if you stick around, you might find yourself in the mess I'm already in."

Three lines until the kiss.

"Madelyn, for someone so smart, you need to get this through your skull: I. Don't. Care. I will go to hell and back if it means I can be with you. I've never felt this way about... anyone. And to be honest, I'm not good with this kind of thing. All I know is that I can't leave you."

Ohgodohgodohgodohgodohgod

"I... I just... I just don't want you to get hurt."

Shit, shit, shit, here it comes.

"Then don't leave me. Please, don't ever leave me."

Emma and Killian stood staring at each other. No one spoke.

Madelyn was supposed to make the move. But Emma was scared.

She tried to read Killian's expression, but she failed to figure out what he was thinking. Maybe it'd be easier if his eyes weren't so distracting.

"I..." She was backing out. "I... um..." Why the hell was she backing out? "I'll be right back." She bolted.

Emma ran into her bedroom, shutting the door behind her. She threw her script down. Whatamithinking, whatamithinking... She was filled with embarrassment and annoyance and longing and Jesus, she just wanted to curl up into a ball and never leave that room. She leaned against her dresser, taking deep breaths. Inevitably, she was going to have to leave her room. Even worse, she'd have to see Killian again. She considered possible escape plans. Maybe she could move up to Canada and change her name. She shook her head, trying to clear her mind. Her heart was pounding and her head was spinning. Maybe she could play this whole thing off as being sick. She certainly felt that way.

"Swan?" A gentle knock came at the door. "You all right, love?"

Hearing him say that made her heart flutter. She knew that he called everyone 'love,' but that didn't stop her from feeling jittery every time he said it. "Yeah," she finally managed to call out. "I just... I don't feel so good."

There was a moment of silence. "May I come in?"

Shit. "Uh, sure."

He slowly opened the door and slipped in. "How're you feeling?"

Emma opened her mouth and closed it a few times before she managed to say, "I've been better."

A flicker of a smirk crossed his face, making Emma's knees wobble.

"Why did you leave?" He leaned back against the door with his arms crossed, but his face seemed legitimately concerned.

Because I couldn't kiss you.

Because I want to kiss you too much.

Because I want our first kiss to just be us because it needs to be perfect.

Because I want there to be more kisses afterwards.

Because I'm falling in love with you.

She desperately searched for words, but failed to find any.

Killian searched her face for an answer. He found one.

"How about we try that part again?"

Emma was taken aback. Did he mean... "Do you mean, like..."

"Let's just start from where we left off." He gave her that playful smile that always made her melt in her shoes.

"O-okay..." Her voice was barely a whisper.

He stepped closer, slowly making his way to her.

She looked up at him and he pushed her hair out of her face.

Everything felt like it was in slow motion. He leaned down and she reached up. She wrapped her arms around his neck and his fell at her waist. His face got closer and closer to hers and his stunning eyes closed.

When their lips met, Emma felt fire. She felt beautiful flames enveloping her and never in her life had she felt that amazing.

She hoped that they ran lines more often.

A/N: This was my first fanfic so I hope you liked it! Reviews mean the world to me and I'd love to know how I did!

Thanks for reading my story :) I really appreciate it.

PS: I do accept and appreciate prompts and suggestions, no matter how vague or specific, if you're interested :)