Emma Swan was enjoying a picnic out in the shade of an evergreen. She spent all her time out there these days, where she could just breathe. Her second year of college was coming to an overwhelming close as she was bombarded with demands of proof of her knowledge and worth, left and right. When she couldn't take any more of it in her day, she came to this tree. She found it on accident during a walk she was on one day, and she loved it here. So she came back again and again. And now it's her tree, not because she's the only one who can find it in this big forest of a campus, but because she had simply claimed it as her own. She and the tree had an unspoken agreement. This was her spot, and she'd like to see someone try to take it. She'd like to see someone find it. It was hard to find.

She sat against her tree eating an apple and doing some squirrel watching. Before coming out here, Emma had never liked squirrels. Now it was impossible not to, because they treated her like part of the family. Their strange squirrel family. After so many instances of Emma being close by for long periods of time, they had either become oblivious to her, or the more likely answer, they accepted her into the colony and she was now one of them.

As she watched the squirrels scurry in all directions, she was aware of the changing weather. Darker clouds were rolling in, and a slight breeze had picked up. The leaves around her swirled a little more than was close to comfort being out in nature all alone. She decided it was probably best to head back to her dorm, though she never wanted to go.

She mustered up the courage to do it anyway. Emma stood up and brushed off, and tossed her apple core aside into the bushes. It made the usual 'thump' sound she heard when it hit the ground. What she didn't expect was for that 'thump' sound to come a little too soon, followed by an, "Ah!" What was that?

"Watch were you're throwing those bloody things, you'll take someone's eye out!" The voice came from a guy emerging from the bushes. A tall, dark, and handsome English man, by the sound of it. That was an enchanting accent.

Twenty different versions of the same question flooded through Emma's head, it was just a matter of choosing which one to ask. Who are you? How did you find me? Where did you come from?

"Why are you here?" is the one she went with, according to her mouth. She got a good look at his eyes, and they threw her for a loop.

The guy gave a quick response, "Can't a man wander through the wilderness without being questioned about his intentions and pelted with- I'm not sure what I was pelted with."

"That was my apple core," she responded, feeling embarrassed at the situation she found herself in. She was in the forest alone with a strange man. But her mouth spoke freely for her without the consultation of her brain. "and this is my secret place, how did you find this place?"

"Your secret place?" he questioned, taking a few steps forward. "I'm terribly sorry to have intruded on your private sanctuary, it's just that I was going for a walk and I lost sight of the trail, and so I'm passing through here as I try to make my way back to my dorm before the week is up, if I can manage that much." He chuckled after saying the last part.

He was so kind when he spoke, and everything he said was laced with humor and caring. Who was this guy? "You're lost?" Emma asked.

"Afraid so. I fear that having been out here for what feels like an hour and a half, is an hour and fifteen minutes more than I should be without a proper direction."

Emma chuckled at that, "Well good thing you found me." She replied, and put her blond hair behind her ear, only to realize moments after that she totally forgot there was more to the sentence. He must think she was crazy! She hurried to add, "-a storm's almost here." She pointed up at the sky.

The man turned his face to the sky to see that there was indeed a storm coming. A drop of rain fell on his face and he grinned. "You wouldn't happen to know how to get back to the dorms? Miss..."

"Emma. Swan." She said with some nervousness. Why was she so nervous? She tried to compose herself.

"Killian Jones." He replied with a smile.

"I know the way back." Emma smiled back as she stood in place, aware of every imperfection in her appearance She crossed her arms and stood up straight, taking a deep breath. She hoped it wasn't noticeable. It started to sprinkle.

"Well Emma, it seems you're my savior today." He bowed ever so slightly as he said it. Gosh, she felt like royalty in his company.

"So, in which direction are we headed-"

He was cut short by the sudden rain shower that he found himself standing in.

Killian met Emma's eyes through the rain and motioned her towards him. "Well," he shouted, "better get going!"

It was dry under the tree where Emma stood. Now she thought he was the crazy one for wanting to walk through this rain when there was shelter not five feet away to take cover in. "It going to get worse in a minute, I'm going to wait it out." she said.

"Come on, Swan, a little rain won't hurt anything!" he said with a grin that would melt the polar ice caps. But just then, the rain started pouring down in waves and Emma could see as he stood in the storm that he was asking himself if it was really worth it.

"Are you sure you don't want to wait a minute?" Emma teased.

He hesitated. "Are you sure you don't want to join me?"

Emma stood her ground. A few seconds later, Killian had given up and trotted under the tree where she stood. In fact he was very close, and soaked through and through. He tousled his hair in an attempt to dry it, then turned to face Emma. "Are you a meteorologist?"

The question caught her off guard. "What?"

"Do you study weather patterns? The predictions you've just made in the 5 minutes I've known you were all spot on, and I must say I'm impressed. Are you studying meteorology?"

She wasn't sure if he was trying to distract her from the fact that he just made a fool of himself, or if he was genuinely amazed. She felt like it was a little bit of both. "No, just had a feeling."

"Incredible. Well Emma, you're a natural, if you ever decide to go into that field." He smiled again, holding her gaze for just a few seconds...

She laughed nervously, "Thanks; I'm actually studying law. Well, law enforcement."

"Like a cop?"

"Like a Sheriff. Eventually."

Killian nodded his head in interest. "Brilliant."

"What are you studying?" She asked him.

"I'm practicing many things. Astronomy, cartography, oceanography-"

"You're a sailor?"

"Aye, I want to be."

"Wow." Emma said with admiration. "That's a dangerous business to be in."

"I could say the same to you, Emma. I trust you know being sheriff involves some mortal dangers as well." He said, and she was slightly offended by that remark until he quickly followed up with, "Though I'm sure you're more than capable at holding your own in...perilous circumstances."

In her head she was thinking "darn right I am" but on the outside she was at a loss for words. Killian Jones, whoever he was, had thrown more compliments at her today than she had been given in her entire life, and she believed every one of them. He had a way with the truth that she had never seen in someone before. She felt like she could trust him, and joke with him. Who was he?! She had only known him for a few minutes. She forgot why they were standing under a tree in the rain together talking about their hopes and dreams. The rain. It was still pouring around them. They were silent, and standing close, and she could see it in his eyes that he was thinking about her. Was he? No one had ever looked at her like that before, but it was unmistakable.

"Emma," That brought her out of her thoughts completely. He was looking at her like she was the world. There was absolutely no denying the feelings they had for each other. It was so obvious, like someone had just come over and slapped them both in the face and shoved them under a tree together. In the corner of her eye she saw his hand coming up to her cheek. Wait, was he going to kiss her? Maybe it was the spinning of her head and the butterflies in her stomach, but it seemed like he was moving so slow. He was. Holy cow, he was. He was asking for her permission. No words were spoken but it was as obvious as the symphony of rain singing all around them. She didn't pull back. No way.

Their eyes closed, and their lips met. Killian wrapped his arm around her waist and gently pulled her right into him. It lasted for years, or was it only just a moment or two? She grabbed the collar of his coat, as his hand softly wound it's way through her hair. It was the most precious moment she'd ever shared. Their lips parted, their eyes opened, and they stood as close as two people could get. They were both out of breath. Did that really just happen?

There was worry in his eyes, like he was afraid he had moved too fast, that he was scaring her. And Emma had to admit it was scary, but what really scared her was that he just proclaimed what she was too nervous to even think. But she smiled. His eyes lit up as soon as hers did, he sighed a breath of relief.

"Emma, I apologize, I don't know what came over me- I..."

"No, it's okay." Emma nodded, reassuringly. But there was something on her mind, and Killian could see that. "What's the matter?" He asked.

"You just stole my first kiss."

He stopped. "Don't tell me you've never been kissed, I don't believe that for a moment."

They were so close together at that moment that there was no such thing as space. And she was amazed at his disbelief. "Why is that so crazy?"

He just shook his head.

And then he kissed her again.

{}_{}

Hello! Thanks for reading this far!

I got the idea to write this yesterday, so I just went for it, and I'm semi-happy with the results so here it sits.

There are things about this I want to improve, but I think I'll just leave it as it for the sake of moving forward. I want to write as often as possible, and to get better every time, and I think part of that is not just editing a story until it works, but learning how to start stories that will work. And since I don't have the time to edit at the moment, I'm going to say that this is completed.

Constructive criticism is warmly welcomed, and feedback of any kind is appreciated as well.

Hope you enjoyed!

And I apologize for any spelling errors, I've read this to the point where a word was missing and I didn't notice so I haven't caught everything. XD

Final word count: 1829

New personal record.