"So when do I get to meet this mysterious girlfriend?" Killian asked his brother as the two walked through Central Park. They had just had lunch together since Killian only had early morning classes on Thursdays and had a break before band practice.

"Tomorrow, I promise," Liam told him. "She's out with her sister right now or else she'd be here. We're planning on being at your show tomorrow."

"I'll keep that in mind when I'm putting together the setlist with the band later." The two were silent for a moment, Killian looking over to study his brother, finding him deep in thought. "Is there something on your mind?"

"I'm just very proud of you. I forced you to come over here but you've really found your place and yourself here." Killian felt a smile pull at his lips, knowing just how true his brother's words were. "And I'm sure you're ready to move back overseas but I do have some news." Killian's eyebrows furrowed together as his brother seemed to struggle with his words. "Elsa wants to move back to be close to family again and I have an interview with a brewery tomorrow morning. You're welcome to move home, I'm happy to give you the house. This just feels like the right steps in my life at this moment."

"You really love her, don't you?" Liam nodded at his brother's question which made Killian smile again. Killian knew he wouldn't be meeting his brother's girlfriend unless he was this serious about her. "And I haven't even met the lass yet. I feel like you're holding out on me."

"You're not mad about my moving?"

"To be honest, I'm relieved. I've been struggling to tell you that I want to stay once this year is complete and I've graduated. I've already started to apply for jobs so I can gain a work visa." Liam chuckled at that, his brother ever the planner. "Come on, you're doing the same by taking this job interview. It's either that or marry the girl which, from the sound of it, you might as well."

"That's more of a last resort. We're not quite to the level that you and Emma are at." Killian faked a laugh at that, almost hurt by his brother's words.

"Maybe if there were a me and Emma. But there isn't so you win in the relationship department."

"I'm serious Killian. You've told me far too much about your feelings for this girl. You need to do something about it. I don't want you to let this one slip away."

"I'm bloody trying my best. I've tried to tell her how I feel, I really have. I don't know how to get through to her."

"Emma Swan isn't a girl that can be wooed just by words. You have to show her, prove to her that you do feel this way." Killian gave a slow nod as he thought about his brother's words. "Just give it a thought. I have to be going anyway so I can clean up before dinner. I'll talk to you tomorrow about details for your show."

"Of course, sounds good, brother." Killian gave Liam a quick hug before they went their separate ways out of the park, Liam back to his hotel while Killian headed to band practice.

…...

Three hours later, Killian was headed home after quite the successful practice. He decided to take the long way home to consider Liam's words from earlier. Killian mentally listed everything he could do to prove to Emma his words were true.

A date. A grand gesture. Flowers. A song...

A song wouldn't be terrible. There were quite a few recently that were certainly inspired by her, not a single one that seemed good enough to lay it all out for her. Though he had been writing, nothing seemed to come into a full song to his liking. But a song is just more words placed over music. He had to think bigger. Nothing too big to scare her away of course.

He sighed as he walked up to his apartment, at a loss of what to do. He had time, he just wasn't sure how much. If there was anything that scared Killian Jones, it was losing Emma Swan. She had been such a bright light in his life since he moved here and he couldn't risk losing her over her deciding to call it all off before he even had a chance to fully make his case. He knew they were meant to be. They had to be.

After taking the stairs up, Killian pushed open the door to their apartment to hear Emma's soft humming coming from behind her closed bathroom door. He sighed and tossed his backpack into his room, kicking his shoes by the door. He moved to the fridge, fully prepared to open a beer even though it was only 5 o'clock.

"Oh good, you're home," Emma exclaimed as Killian grabbed the beer bottle. He shut the door to the fridge to look over at her, her dress soft and feminine but still had the perfect touch of roughness. The blue fabric flowed around her while the shoulders were covered in metal work. She looked stunning. "Wait, don't drink that yet."

"Why not?" he countered, pausing with the bottle opener on the lip of the cap.

"Do you want to go to dinner?" He gulped, unsure of her intentions.

"Aren't you a little dressed up to just go to dinner with your roommate?"

"No, not just us. My cousin is in town and my mom and August are joining for dinner at my aunt and uncle's house so I figured I'd go too. But Ingrid said I should invite you since you're basically family. She says all the time she might as well adopt you too." Killian cracked a smile, remembering her adoptive mother's comment from last Thanksgiving.

"I don't know Swan. Meeting the family?"

"It's just my aunt, uncle, a couple cousins, and their boyfriends. I don't get to see them very often but I'd really like if you were there with me considering my current relationship status. It's a free meal and there will likely be quite a few drinks throughout the night." He cocked an eyebrow at that while she just smiled at him. "Come on, it'll be great to talk about at therapy." He chuckled a little at that, scratching behind his ear.

"Say I do this, what's in it for me?"

"Free food and drinks, I told you this."

"I'm not sure that's enough for me." Emma's smile faded while Killian thought about his demands. "I believe you're going to owe me a favor."

"Anything." He smiled at her quick response, knowing full well she was desperate not to go alone.

"I get to plan the date we have to go on."

"What? You don't think I can plan a date?"

"I have faith that you can but this is something I want to do." She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth, considering his idea. "Come on love, you said anything."

"Okay, fine, you can plan our date. Now go change please." He winked at her before moving swiftly into his room, pulling off his school clothes to change. He changed into dark jeans and a dark blue button down shirt. He pulled on a black vest for safe measure and pulled on his boots before joining Emma again.

"How do I look, love?" he questioned, making her look up from her purse. She instantly smiled as she looked over him and took a step toward him.

"Almost perfect." Her eyes were planted on his chest where his shirt hung open. He glanced down to see she was staring at the cursive script across the left side of his chest. He had grown quite a bit of chest hair since when he originally got it but it was still fairly clear if anyone was close enough. Her fingers moved quickly to button one more of his shirt buttons. "That's better. Don't really need my whole family to see your ex girlfriend's name permanently marked into your skin." He almost heard a bite in her tone at her acknowledgement of his tattoo. He cocked an eyebrow but she didn't seem to notice, moving swiftly to grab her bag, jacket, and shoes. Killian slipped on his leather jacket and grabbed his keys from the counter before opening the door to let her out first.

"So where exactly are we going?" he asked as they stepped into the elevator. "Ingrid's apartment certainly can't be big enough for everyone."

"My aunt and uncle live on the upper east side. I figured we'd just take the subway." He gave a nod in agreement at that, stuffing his hands in his pockets as they walked out onto the street. Emma lead the way to the subway, knowing exactly which track to take to get them there. Killian followed willingly, the two making small talk as they took the subway uptown. He asked about her day and she asked about band practice. Neither dared to talk about Killian's proposition from the other day.

"So what are the plans for Saturday?" Emma asked in reference to his birthday once they were almost to their last stop.

"I don't exactly have anything planned," Killian admitted, his fingers itching behind his ear. "I figured I'd have dinner with Liam at the least since he flew out here then maybe gather up the crew to go to some bars. Nothing too special for 22, you know that."

"Yes but I got a wonderful concert from my best friend. I want to make sure I can repay you in some way." Killian smirked at her instantly, making her shoot a glare his direction. "Not like that, perv."

"Honestly, I'm fine doing anything for my birthday as long as I have you and all our friends around for the fun." She gave him a smile and their stop was announced just before the train came to a stop. Emma lead the way again back above ground, the November air far colder than she'd like. She wrapped her arms around herself in hopes to keep from freezing.

"Come here Swan," Killian chuckled a little as he threw his arm around her. She made no protest, happy to share his body heat for the trip. Luckily, it was only a few blocks to the apartment building she had spent quite some time at in high school. "This is where your family lives?" he muttered as they passed through the front door, the doorman giving Emma a soft smile.

"Yeah, they definitely have it made." Emma glanced over at her roommate as they stepped into the elevator, fear clearly written on his face. "It'll be fine Killian. It's not like we're dating. Elsa brought a new boyfriend to town with her and he's sure to be under questioning all night."

"Wait, your cousin's name is Elsa?" Emma just gave a nod at that, watching the numbers tick up to the 15th floor.

"Yeah, odd name, I know. But like I said, he'll be under fire, you're just here to keep me company more than anything so I don't seem like such a single loser."

"First off, you're not a loser, love. Second, there is the issue that I do fancy you so of course I want to make a good impression." Emma bit down on her lip at that, hoping to avoid this topic just a few more days. "But thirdly, my brother said the girl he is dating is named Elsa and I can't say that Elsa is all too common of a name." The elevator dinged right then and the doors flew open.

"Elsa has been living in England the last few years," Emma explained as she stepped out of the elevator. "You don't think Liam and Elsa are together, do you?"

"Only one way to find out." She gave another nod before turning to the door she wanted, giving a hard knock against the wood. The door swung open to an excited redhead looking between Killian and Emma.

"Emma," she exclaimed and threw her arms around the blonde. "It's so good to see you."

"It's nice to see you too Anna," Emma said with a laugh and glanced over at Killian as her cousin pulled away. "Anna, this is Killian, my roommate."

"Of course. I knew right away. Emma talks about you all the time." Killian felt his cheeks turn a bit pink only to look at Emma and see hers the same shade. "Well, come on in. Elsa's dying to see you." The two followed Anna into the apartment but as Killian looked around, it might as well have been a house. It was certainly the largest apartment he had visited in all of New York. He followed Emma closely into the house, worried that he was grossly underdressed for such a place.

"Emma," a blonde, nearly white haired women yelped at the sight of his roommate walking into the kitchen. He took a step back, watching the two embrace with a soft smile on his face.

"Killian, it's good to see you," August greeted him and the two shook hands. "I'm surprised Emma talked you into joining tonight."

"Well, she makes quite the argument sometimes," Killian joked.

"She is stubborn." Killian could only nod in agreement before moving to give Ingrid a hug and kiss on the cheek. He also met Emma's Aunt Gerda before being dragged into the living room by Anna.

"Killian, you have to meet Liam," she explained as they walked into the room. "You two sound exactly the same. You must have grown up near each other." Killian felt three sets of eyes on him once they were fully in the room.

"Killian?" Liam's voice shot through Killian's ear as if God sent. "What the bloody hell are you doing here?"

"Emma is Elsa and Anna's cousin," Killian told his brother before taking him into a hug.

"You have no idea how happy I am that you're here," Liam whispered before pulled away. "Alan, this is my little brother, Killian Jones," Liam introduced him to the older man in the room.

"Pleasure to meet you sir," Killian said as he shook his hand.

"You must also be Emma's roommate," her uncle prompted. Killian gave a nod, finding his words to be a little rough. "I'm glad to see a family together after I'm sure some time apart due to distance." Both the Jones brothers smiled at the comment.

"And Killian, this is Kristoff, Anna's boyfriend," Liam turned his brother to the tall blonde in the room. "They go to Columbia together."

"That's quite a school," Killian commented as he shook Kristoff's hand.

"Trust me, Anna is the smarter one of the two of us," Kristoff said with a huge smile. August slipped into the room at that, carrying two glasses. He handed the one of amber liquid to Killian. The Englishman took a sip to taste the burn of rum that was so welcome.

"Thank you mate," Killian directed to August.

"I see the drink of choice runs in the family," Alan pointed out, gesturing between Liam and Killian's drinks. "Now Liam, Elsa told me that you work at a distillery."

…...

Emma heard the undeniable laughter of Killian from the other room, having spent the last half hour in the kitchen to help make dinner. She still was in slight shock that her cousin was dating Killian's brother but fate worked in funny ways sometimes.

"So you and Killian?" Anna prompted as her mother and Ingrid were caught up in some conversation. At least Anna knew to be somewhat discreet when it comes to Emma's relationship. Emma glanced at the two older women then grabbed her two cousins to pull them into the library just off the kitchen.

"You two can not say anything," Emma demanded once the door closed shut behind them, "I mean you Anna."

"Me?" the redhead asked in shock which made Elsa elbow her. "Okay, yeah, I'm not great at keeping my mouth shut sometimes but I will for you. I always have, you know that." Emma nodded and took in a deep breath, not so sure about telling her cousins about her personal life.

"Killian and I are just friends," she whispered and crossed her arms over her chest. There was a moment of silence, her two cousins staring her down while she refused to look them in the eyes.

"You wouldn't have dragged us in here if you two were just friends," Elsa claimed as Emma stood there in silence. "Come on, just tell us. Dinner's going to start soon."

"He likes me." The two cousins just nodded at her like she had said the most obvious thing in the universe. "I mean, a lot. He's been head over heels for this older woman since he was with her, they were truly in love after all. And Liam told me yesterday that he really hasn't felt like that about anyone until me."

"And why the hell aren't you with him?" Anna questioned.

"Anna!" Elsa exclaimed, not expecting her little sister to curse like that.

"Come on Elsa, he's hot. You are dating his brother after all. And Emma knows him so well, they're living together. How can she not date that?"

"Because I'm scared," Emma interrupted before her younger cousin could continue. "My track record with guys hasn't exactly been great."

"Just because Neal was a complete dirtbag to you doesn't mean you need to cut yourself off completely from love," Elsa stated, Emma wishing it was that simple. "I know that it's not that easy for you but you really need to think if you want to be with him. Is there any part of you that wants to be in a relationship with Killian?"

"Of course," Emma answered instantly. "But I know his past, I know he was in an affair with a married woman. How can I go into a relationship knowing that he has done that? I'm terrified he'll just as easily do it again."

"As Liam has told me, he was a dumb kid back then. What he felt for Milah was real but what he did was wrong, there is no denying that. He didn't think things all the way through and that's okay. I'm certain that he has changed."

"Liam sure has told you quite a bit about Killian," Emma joked, trying to ease the tension in the room.

"He's proud of his brother. I just wished I had put it together sooner that your Killian was the same as Liam's Killian."

"Dinner's ready," they heard Ingrid call from the kitchen.

"Just sleep on it," Elsa advised Emma as they moved to join the rest of their family. "Really think about what a future with him would be like. It might surprise you."

…..

"Have a good night you two," Elsa called from her seat as Emma and Killian climbed out of the cab. They had agreed to share a ride since Liam and Elsa were staying at a hotel closer to campus then her parents' apartment building.

"Well that was an odd evening," Killian commented as he unlocked the doors to their building. "It was nice to see Liam sweat a bit. He's always been the perfect child."

"They liked him though which is good," Emma added as they stepped into the elevator. "And you held your own tonight Jones."

"Why thank you Swan." She laughed a little at that, the ride to their floor seeming to take forever. "Thanks for taking me with you."

"Told you it wouldn't be so bad."

"Well, I did get to meet Elsa and the food was wonderful." He was avoiding the subject, she knew it. The elevator dinged for their floor, Emma stepping out first to get to their apartment. She easily unlocked and pushed open the door, kicking off her heels instantly.

"I'm still thinking about it," Emma blurted out once she heard the door click, indicating that Killian had locked it. She refused to turn around to look at him. "I'm sorry it's taking me so long."

"I'm still here, aren't I?" Killian questioned, making her glance over her shoulder at him. "I swear I'm not going anywhere no matter your decision or how long it takes. I'm willing to wait, like I told you." He moved so that they were facing each other so he could press a kiss to her forehead. "Now, I'm going to lock myself in my room because I just had quite the brilliant song idea." She laughed as he did just as he said he would.