A/N: Hello! so this is based off the prompt, QUICK I NEED A ROMEO AND I KNOW YOU KNOW THE LINES- oh you thought I was Juliet? Nah man I'm playing Benvolio, that dude is Juliet. Captain Swan with a good old helping of Captain Charming. Hope you like it! Please fave/review if you are so generous! Thanks!

Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon a Time, nor am I William Shakespeare.

"Sorry!"

"Move!"

"Out of my way!"

In her haste, Emma Swan managed to bump into nearly every single person in the crowded hallway. She flew down the stairs, paying no mind to her hair which was falling out of the intricate braid that she had spent twenty minutes getting just right. Her mind was singularly focused and she could feel her time slipping away. Finally, she spotted her destination and ran into the men's locker room. Her eyes roamed the room, skipping right over all the half-naked boys who were staring at her like a ghost. She spotted the mop of dark hair she was searching for and began to elbow her way through the crowd to get to him.

"Jones!" She shouted, gaining the attention of every other male who had not yet noticed her presence except the one person whose attention she needed most. She yelled his name again, directly into his ear this time, and wondered why he hadn't heard her, or if he was simply ignoring her. "JONES!"

Thankfully, he turned around that time. The source of his temporary deafness was explained as he took headphones out of his ears. "Swan? What are you doing in here? This is the boy's locker room!"

She just rolled her eyes and forcibly grabbed his hand, pulling him in the direction of the doors. "If I see something I haven't seen before I'll throw a dollar at it," she said. She was in no mood to waste any time. Already she was ridiculously late and could not spare a single second. They broke into the crowd of the hallway and Emma resumed her elbowing and running.

"Swan! Swan!" Killian was growing visibly more frustrated with his captor by the second. Most people would have seen the look in Emma's eyes and shut up and followed her, but Killian Jones did not back away from a challenge. "EMMA! You're going to dislocate my shoulder!"

At this, the ice in Emma's mind cracked and she turned to look at her captive. "We are going to the theater. And that is not a request."

"The theater? Why?" Much to Emma's horror, he had stopped running. He was obviously going to demand an explanation before going any farther.

"Walk and talk!" Emma rushed out and grabbed his hand and pulled him in the direction of the backstage entrance to the stage. "We need a Romeo and I know you know the lines."

Killian's arm started to go up to scratch behind his ear, but he thought better of it considering the speed at which Emma was pulling him. "What do you mean, you need a Romeo?" For the first time, he noticed what Emma had on. She was wearing a floor length Renaissance dress, complete with a corset. His eyes went wide as he realized exactly what he was being dragged into.

"It's my drama final. Will Scarlet is currently in the boys dressing room puking his guts out into the garbage can." Killian was stunned into silence until they finally made it to the theater. Emma shoved the door open as forcibly as she burst into the locker room. They headed to the boys dressing where he saw for himself that she was not lying. Scarlet looked absolutely miserable. Emma's hands flew to Killian's shirt and she started to pull it off.

"If you wanted to see me shirtless, lass, all you had to do was ask." Killian put his arms up and smirks, falling into his flirtatious façade. But, he would be lying if he said his heart rate hadn't dramatically increased because of the person whose hands were now unbuttoning his pants. This was enough to crack his cocky facade. "What are you doing?"

"Getting you into the costume."

"Emma, I don't know about..."

His protests were sharply cut off. "Listen, Killian. If you don't do this, I'm going to fail drama and then I will never get into drama school. Not just that, the rest of my group will fail too. I know you know all the lines because you're always quoting this scene to me. Now, everyone else is already on stage, so there is no backing out. You have to do this. Please do this." The "please" caught him off guard. In that moment, Emma was giving him a choice. This was by far the most desperate and vulnerable he'd ever seen Emma. She was really panicked, that much was written all over her features. And, to tell the truth, he'd do anything to see her smile.

"Alright, love. Let's get me into that costume." As he was being stripped to his underwear by the woman who occupied practically his every waking thought, he had a little time to actually realize what was happening. He was about to play Romeo to the girl of his dream's Juliet. And, of course, there was only one scene that she could have been referring to. If he was lucky, he'd get to kiss Emma Swan. Obviously, this was not how he'd anticipated their first kiss happening. He'd held out hope that it would happen eventually, but realistically, Emma's walls were sky high and the very real possibility that he would never get that chance haunted his nightmares. But now, if he was lucky... he wouldn't have to live the rest of his life wondering what her lips felt like against his own.

When he was finally into his costume, Emma grabbed him just as forcibly as before and shoved him toward the wings of the stage, shushing him to not making noise so as not to ruin the current scene. He watched as actors from another group took theirs exits as their scene from Julius Caesar finished. Before he knew what was happening, he was being shoved onto the stage.

He turned to the ladder that was being used as the makeshift balcony, expecting to see Emma up there in her finery. But that is not what he saw. His eyes went wide with shock before he could stop them. His cheeks flared red. He cursed the entire world for giving him even the tiniest bit of hope that anything could have ever happened between him and Emma, on stage or off.

On stage, right where he had assumed Emma would be, stood his best friend. David Nolan. He was wearing a slightly more ornate dress than Emma had on, and a giant wig that added six inches to his six feet. His face was covered in white powder, giving him the complexion of a ghost. For his part, David looked less shocked and more mortified to see Killian on stage instead of Will Scarlet for all of three seconds before he got back into character.

Another few awkward moments before Killian finally managed to break through his shock (and disappointment) and began the monologue,

"But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks?
It is the east, and Juliet is the sun.
Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon,
Who is already sick and pale with grief,
That thou her maid art far more fair than she:
Be not her maid, since she is envious;
Her vestal livery is but sick and green
And none but fools do wear it; cast it off.
It is my lady, O, it is my love!
O, that she knew she were!
She speaks yet she says nothing: what of that?
Her eye discourses; I will answer it.
I am too bold, 'tis not to me she speaks:
Two of the fairest stars in all the heaven,
Having some business, do entreat her eyes
To twinkle in their spheres till they return.
What if her eyes were there, they in her head?
The brightness of her cheek would shame those stars,
As daylight doth a lamp; her eyes in heaven
Would through the airy region stream so bright
That birds would sing and think it were not night.
See, how she leans her cheek upon her hand!
O, that I were a glove upon that hand,
That I might touch that cheek!"

It was David's turn to speak, albeit a short line. "Ay, me!" Two things happened then. First, Killian finally found the humor in the entire situation. Specifically, the cornucopia of mocking material that was just handed to him on a silver platter. He was never, ever going to let Dave live that falsetto down. He prayed to any god that would listen that someone was recording this. Liam would never believe this situation if he didn't have evidence. Hell, Killian wouldn't believe it if it weren't true and happening to him. Second, he was exceedingly, tremendously grateful that he had spewed Romeo's lines to Emma time and time again in an attempt to woo her and not Juliet's.

"She speaks:
O, speak again, bright angel! for thou art
As glorious to this night, being o'er my head
As is a winged messenger of heaven
Unto the white-upturned wondering eyes
Of mortals that fall back to gaze on him
When he bestrides the lazy-pacing clouds
And sails upon the bosom of the air."

"O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo?
Deny thy father and refuse thy name;
Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love,
And I'll no longer be a Capulet."

The rest of the scene went by about as well as the beginning, once Killian got past his spot of giggles. Finally, David mercifully nodded at Killian to indicate that they had reached the stopping point in their scene. The lights went out and David hissed out, "Dude, you need to help me down!" Killian did as David had bid and offered him his hand as any true gentleman would for a fair lady. They exited into the wings and Emma was there waiting for them. Killian had expected to find her in stitches laughing at the fact that he and David had just performed what was the most famous love scene in all of literature. Instead, she just looked appreciative and wrapped David in a hug. But, David was having none of it.

"Seriously Emma! This is who you get to replace Scarlet?!" David whisper-yelled. His hands had already started to reach for the laces of his corset. Oh my god he is wearing a corset! Killian just couldn't keep his laughter in any more, and ran into the dressing room so his roaring laughter wouldn't disturb the other performances. Emma and David followed him and once the door was shut, Killian couldn't keep it in anymore. Within seconds there were tears in his eyes and he was actually rolling around on the floor. "Watch it Jones, or I'll really give you something to laugh about."

This threat only succeeded in making him laugh harder, Emma finally joining in. "Oh, come on David. Lighten up. It is pretty funny."

After taking a few deep breaths, Killian finally was able to ask the questions that had come to him once he saw what he had actually gotten himself into. "Okay, so explain a few things to me. Why is Dave here in a dress and playing the stunning Juliet to my dashing Romeo? And, Emma, if you weren't Juliet, why are you in that costume?"

"This is how Shakespeare put on the plays. Our piece was authentic." David spat through his teeth, then turned to Emma so she could get him out of the dress.

"What David is trying to say, is that Shakespeare worked with all an all male theater company, since women weren't allowed to act. So, I, as director, wanted to make our piece as if it was really being performed in his time period." She explained as her hands worked deftly on the strings tying David into the dress. "David here drew the short straw when we were casting. And I am in this costume because the Twelfth Night group needed extras for their scene."

The giggles hadn't quite left Killian's system, but he had managed to move to help get David out of his. Once David was able to get out of the dress on his own, Emma excused herself from the room to allow them privacy to put their real clothes back on and so she could do the same. The sight of David in his normal clothes, but still in the powdery white makeup was enough to get Killian laughing again.

"All right that is it. I am out of here!" David huffed and stormed out towards the exit of the theater.

"Dave, wait, I'm sorry..." While that was a bold faced lie and he actually did not regret a thing (How does one not laugh at something like that? Physically impossible! he thought to himself) he did not want to upset Dave anymore than he already had. When David was out of sight, Killian just shrugged and mentally made plans to make it up to him later. He followed the path that David had taken to exit the theater and found Emma waiting for him just outside.

She turned to Killian and threw herself into his (very) willing arms. Killian seized the opportunity and pulled her as close as he dared, inhaling the scent of hairspray and stage makeup. "I wanted to thank you, Killian. For coming with me in the first place. If you hadn't..."

"It was the right thing to do. Besides, now you owe me so big." He chuckled, still holding onto her until she loosened her grip and he followed suit. "But, I do know one way you can make it up to me." He raised his eyebrows to the sky in his signature move.

She surprised him yet again, and instead of slapping his arm or just rolling her eyes, as he had expected her to do, she raised her own eyebrows and responded, "Will this make us even?" She leaned in towards him, coming closer and closer until there was no distance between them. Their lips met and Killian knew in that moment that he was so screwed. There was no coming back from this. Her kiss was like a drug, and now he was a total and complete junkie.

She pulled away far too soon for his liking. "I was just going to ask for a picture of Dave in that costume but this is much better."

A devilish grin lit up her face before she leaned in and whispered, "Don't worry, I recorded one of our rehearsals."