A/N: I've started university so I don't know how frequently I can update but I still hope to finish this story before season 5 starts. Thanks for the follows, favorites and reviews and I hope everyone enjoys this chapter :)


Killian gets to the office a whole half hour earlier than he needs to be, hoping to catch Emma before they start work. He idly spins around in his chair, checks his emails (three times) and rearranges his desk in that time until its 9am and the buzz of the office builds as the day begins. He glances over at Emma's desk, wondering if he had missed her arriving but her chair is empty and he feels a sense of dread begin to build in his stomach.

Emma is almost always on time, if not early. In fact the only day he can ever remember her being late was the one that inspired his painting. What if she was avoiding him? The weekend had been amazing, at least he had felt so, and he hoped she had felt the same.

Killian is deep in his worried thoughts until the sight of Emma rushing in the door lifts his heart. Her cheeks are flushed like the last time and her hair is windswept but she seems okay. She smiles warmly at him as she walks to her desk and he grins back, relieved to know avoidance wasn't her reason for being late. She types quickly on her phone as she sits down at her desk and his own phone vibrates in his pocket.

Is Regina in the meeting yet?

Aye, it started at 8:30, you're safe. Killian replies back, looking over at Emma to see her slump against her chair.

Is everything okay? Killian adds, still curious as to why she was late. She looks up at him from across the office and smiles, nodding subtly before turning on her computer to start her work and he knows he should do the same.

The first few hours of the day crawl by, more so than usual anyway. The after buzz of Fashion Week has died down and Killian has returned to his regular work of profiling designers and looking into the Spring/Summer collections for the following year. Sometimes he likes that element of fashion, of looking forward months ahead and all the preparations that go into each season, but he finds himself looking out of the window and remembering he's in October and not a much warmer month.

Killian actually enjoys the Fall season a lot, especially now that he lives in New York. Sure, the city can have its ugly rainy days just like England did in Autumn, but there's something about watching the leaves change on the trees in Central Park and the misty mornings on his way to work. Killian feels his hand itch and decides that he will draw out his appreciation for the weather when he gets home tonight.

'Hey.' He hears a quiet voice say from behind and he jumps, completely in a world of his own for a moment. He spins round in his chair to see Emma pulling on her jacket and moving her hair so that it tumbles around her face.

'Did you want to grab lunch together?' She asks like it's a daily recurrence before he remembers the fourth item on their list was to see each other on their lunchbreak. He had pinned the list on his refrigerator proudly, smiling when he saw it in the morning.

'Aye, of course.' Killian murmurs before noticing that most of the office had already left for their own break.

'I was thinking we could go to Granny's a few blocks away. She gives me discount and free coffee refills.' Emma smiles and he's itching to kiss her but he knows he needs to wait until they are away from work.

Killian nods and follows Emma out of the office, unable to help himself when the wind blows her scarf from her around her neck. He quickly retrieves it and makes a big deal of placing it back around her, his fingers grazing her warm skin as he does. She narrows her eyes at him but otherwise her expression is not one of disapproval, in fact there's a hint of a smile on her lips and he wants to kiss the curved corners of her mouth.

'How come you were late this morning?' Killian asks with concern as they head towards the diner she suggested. Emma laughs softly and he glances over at her see that she seems rather pleased with his concern for her.

'I was up late talking to Mary Margret, my roommate, and I slept in this morning. I'm usually pretty good at being able to get up in the morning but I guess I had a rather active weekend that tired me out.' She says casually, but she raises her eyebrow at him when they stop at the crossing.

'Swan, I can show you a far more active weekend than that.' He replies, and if her cheeks hadn't already been flushed from the cold they would have been from his comment. Emma bites her lip, looking as if she's about to say something but the light changes and they're pushed forward by the bustling New York pedestrians around them.

'I was worried you were avoiding me.' He admits when they reach a less crowded stretch of sidewalk.

'Why would you think that?' Emma scoffs.

'Would you believe me if I said I'm actually rather insecure?' Killian replies and Emma hums thoughtfully.

'I wouldn't have a week ago.' Is all she says as she turns left into the little building with the 'Granny's Diner' sign hanging above it. The place looks rather quaint and Killian isn't surprised to have never noticed it before. It's got a homely feel to it despite the busyness of the lunch hour and he follows Emma to a booth near the back, sliding into the opposite side from her. She takes off her scarf and jacket and he does the same just as a waitress comes over to serve them.

'Hey Emma. Do you want the usual? I guess you want to make it two this time though.' The waitress says in a blatantly suggestive way and he looks up at her surprise. The woman has long brown hair with streaks of red underneath, matching her red lipstick and shoes. He reads the name tag just as Emma says the name out loud in an exasperated tone and he gathers that the two women are friends.

Ruby turns to face him with a bright smile on her face.

'Hi, I'm Ruby. You must be Killian. Emma has been quite expressive about you.' She grins and he knows without looking that Emma's cheeks are turning red.

'Can you just get us coffee to start with please?' Emma groans and Ruby smirks.

'Coming right up.' She replies, but Killian doesn't miss the way she mouths 'he's hot' afterwards.

'I'm sorry, I totally forgot Ruby was working this shift.' Emma apologizes in embarrassment and Killian laughs as he lifts up a menu to look at.

'I find your friend rather amusing actually. Do explain, what exactly does she mean by 'expressive'?' He teases and he feels Emma lightly kick his shin under the table. Ruby returns with their coffee as well as a grilled cheese sandwich and onion rings for Emma. Killian steals one as he decides what to have before Emma convinces him to see how amazing Granny's grilled cheese is.

Ruby brings him his own but her teasing has lessened and he can see her genuine care for her friend's happiness. He notices a bit of cheese on Emma's lip and brushes it away, smiling when she looks away sheepishly.

'I never imagined you'd be like this.' Emma says once they've finished eating, both of them drinking their coffee slowly to procrastinate getting back to the office.

'Like what?' Killian asks curiously.

'I don't know. Sweet? I guess. I thought you'd be…' She stops and he can tell she doesn't want to say it but he knows what she's thinking anyway.

'I've just seen you act differently with other people, that's all.' Emma shrugs and he can't decide whether she seems angry about that or not. He knows what she means, he was hardly discreet with his flirting in and around the office with other women.

'It wasn't serious with them.' He tells her simply and she takes a long drink of her coffee before replying.

'Have you dated recently? Like a serious relationship, not just sex.' Emma asks, leaning forward as she talks quietly (probably to avoid her friend Ruby eavesdropping).

'No. I haven't been in a serious relationship since I was 22, before I even moved here.' Killian answers honestly and watches as Emma's mouth drops open in surprise. She recovers quickly, but he can still see the shock in her eyes before she bites her lip, perhaps realizing she's his first serious girlfriend in almost ten years.

She takes another drink of her coffee and he glances over at the clock on the wall. Their lunchbreak is over in 10 minutes but he doesn't want to go back yet.

'So, you're really serious about me, huh?' Emma laughs shakily and he laughs too, mostly from relief. He doesn't answer though, just finishes the last of his coffee and gestures to the door with his head.

'Come on love, we should go back before we're late and give Regina an excuse to fire us both.' He sighs, his heart lifting when she slides her hand in his with ease when she stands up.

'Hey guys, I was thinking we could all go out for some drinks tonight?' Ruby asks as they head to the door and he feels Emma's hand tighten around his slightly.

'Well I work evenings at Mulligan's so you could stop by for drinks and I can join after my shift? I'll throw in a free round too.' Killian smiles at Ruby, who grins back looking pleased.

'Great. But we can't call it a double date because Mary Margret will get upset and complain that she's the fifth wheel.' Ruby replies with a sigh, looking at Emma as she mentions their other friend. They say their goodbyes and walk briskly back to the office, still holding hands.

'Is your friend Mary Margret not happy being single then?' Killian says, making Emma snort.

'Definitely not. She's a hopeless romantic. She adores romantic comedies and fairy-tales, she even enjoys reading the wedding and engagement announcements in the newspaper. We've tried introducing her to a few people but she firmly believes in fate and destiny and love at first sight and everything. She wants it to be organic and romantic.' Emma replies and Killian raises her eyebrows in surprise.

'And how is it you two are friends?' He asks teasingly and Emma sways into him so her shoulder bumps his playfully. The reach the office and their eyes meet for a moment before they separate their hands, the cold air hitting his skin immediately after he loses her touch.

He watches Emma walk back to her desk, looking over at him with a secret smile and Killian wishes he had kissed her when he had the chance. They didn't get long together but it definitely feels like an improvement to his day to spend that time with her.

'Jones.' He hears as Will Scarlett sits on the edge of his desk with a grin and Killian wonders what he's in for.

'You spent some time with Emma right? Back at Fashion Week and all that? How easy do you reckon she is?' Will asks with a raise of a single eyebrow and a lick of his lips and Killian clenches his fists under his desk.

'I don't think she's into that sort of thing, Scarlett.' Killian replies dismissively but Will shoves his shoulder and Killian feels his anger build slowly.

'So you're saying I should take her to diner before I bang her?' Will continues and Killian grits his teeth. He isn't sure if Will has always been so crass or if he's only noticing now because he's talking about his girlfriend. Regardless, Killian feels the urge to tell Will the truth, to make him back off but he knows he can't.

'I just don't think you're her type is all.' He shrugs, grateful that Regina decides to walk through the office at this point, prompting Will to quickly go back to his own desk. He smirks at the way she looks over at Robin's desk as she goes and wonders if he and Emma are that obvious.


She didn't really need to print out her research, she didn't need to use the printer near Killian's desk and she really didn't need to pretend to struggle with the paper tray. Even so, she's surprised when she senses him come up behind her, gasping when he overlaps her hands with his on the tray and gently helps her guide it back in.

'Killian, what are you doing?' She whispers, her skin prickling when she feels his warm breath on her neck and his body curve around hers.

'You looked like you were having some difficulty, Swan.' He replies simply, but his voice his husky and low and she can't help the swoop of her stomach.

'Scarlett was being so obnoxious earlier, asking me how easy I think you are.' Killian continues quietly, making her inhale as his lips hover over her neck.

'Is it terrible that I feel possessive over you?' The tray is back in, her research is printing and yet they're still standing close together, Killian's hands lingering on hers before he steps back. His eyes are dark with desire and he's staring at her lips and she entertains the idea of relenting to her own desires for a second before sighing.

The printer is tucked around the corner, only visible from Killian's desk and one other empty one and Emma is tempted to make use of their momentary privacy but hears the clip of Regina's heels marching somewhere and knows she shouldn't.

'Did you tell him I wasn't interested?' Emma asks, glad to have decided to print numerous pages of probably irrelevant information if it gave her an excuse to linger a little while longer.

'Aye, but he's persistent. I almost wanted to go over and kiss you in front of everyone just to show him that you were taken.' Killian admits and she knows by his tone he's being honest. She tests their luck by touching his arm, giving him a gently squeeze of reassurance. He seems riled up about Will, nearly as much as he was about Graham.

'You really don't like the idea of me being intimate with anyone that isn't you, do you?' She teases quietly, grinning as he scrunches his nose.

'Of course not Swan. And why would you want to anyway?' He grins back, resting his elbow on the photocopier as he licks his lips.

'We haven't even slept together yet, how do I even know you're any good?' Emma asks, knowing as soon as she opens her mouth that it is a stupid question, teasing or not. Killian closes the gap to her, his eyes clouding over with desire once more and she glances behind him nervously before looking back at him.

'Well maybe we need to change that and I can show you just how good I am.' Killian whispers and Emma doesn't realize she moaned out loud until his warm hand rests on her hips and he's kissing her. Her heart is racing, from his touch, his words, his husky voice and lust filled eyes. It's also racing because she's entirely aware that they could get caught at any minute and despite her worries over keeping this a secret, despite all those guidelines they came up with, she finds it kind of thrilling.

She's vaguely aware of someone clearing their throat and she would have shoved Killian away had he not already jumped from her at the sound. It's Robin, grinning like the Cheshire cat as he moves to grab something out the printer that she hadn't even heard come out.

'Don't worry, I'll keep quiet.' He says softly, his grin still present as he nods to them, gesturing with his finger that Killian had some of her lipstick on him.

'We couldn't even go a day.' She says and Killian laughs lightly, the bubble of desire around them swiftly bursting with Robin's interruption. Killian rubs off her lipstick from his face with a look of humiliation and she smiles.

'I'll see you tonight.' She says quietly before walking away, almost forgetting her research until Killian calls after her and she comes back to retrieve it, a look of affection in Killian's eyes as he smiles at her embarrassment.

Emma scolds herself for being so reckless; she was the one who suggested the whole guidelines thing and now she's the one breaking them already. At least if there were going to get caught it was Robin who saw them. He couldn't judge given his position and from what Killian had told her he seems like an honorable man, or at least someone who would keep his word.


Emma watches Killian at the bar, expertly making drinks and smiling at customers, looking over at her with a different smile every so often. She barely registers her friends speaking to her until Mary Margret puts a hand on her arm and she tears her eyes away from Killian.

'I was just asking how come Killian works here as well as with you?' She asks and Emma plays with the straw in her drink.

'Oh, well you remember what it was like for me when I first starting writing, I had to take up some hours at Granny's again because the pay wasn't so great. There's a hierarchy in the journalism world, or at least Regina implements one, so Killian doesn't earn as much as me.' She looks back over at him as she speaks, remembering what he said about being lucky his friend David owned the bar and offered him a flexible bar-tending position.

'They were so cute at lunch earlier.' Ruby says with a grin and Emma blushes. They usually talk about Ruby and Victor's relationship, or Ashley and Thomas, even Mary Margret's hopeless romantic qualities, but never usually Emma's love life. Of course that would qualify her to actually have a love life and not random dates and one night stands but now this thing with Killian is real and the topic of discussion and secretly she kind of likes it.

'He's so into you Emma, I saw the way he looked at you. And he's hot and that's always great.' Ruby laughs, making Victor frown beside her in the booth before she reassures him of her continual attraction to him.

'I also saw the way you looked at him.' Ruby adds a while later, more seriously this time and Emma feels the heavy eyes of her friends waiting for her response. She doesn't respond, only takes a drink from her straw with a smile. She's not good at talking about her feelings but they all already know how she feels about Killian judging by their grins and not so secret looks of happiness that she's finally committing to something.

They chat for a while about random things until Victor's pager goes off and he quickly dashes back to the hospital. Ruby pouts and says she loves having a doctor boyfriend but hates his crazy hours and how he can never truly relax when he's on call (hence the glass of water left on the table instead of a beer). It's almost 10 and Emma knows Mary Margret usually starts to make a move to leave at this point, but she notices her friend is rather focused on the bar and Emma follows her gaze.

It certainly wasn't Killian she was looking at so she assumes it's David her friend has her eye on. Emma smirks at the heart shapes that are practically in her eyes and tries to look casual as she leans back.

'Killian said he was lucky to get this job actually. His friend David, that's the blonde guy at the bar, he owns the place and offered him a position.' Emma starts, watching Mary Margret begin to smile.

'That was so kind of him.'

Emma makes a mental note to ask Killian if he can introduce the two of them when he comes over.


It's almost 10pm and his shift is nearly over, thank goodness. He doesn't hate working here, in fact he quite likes working with David and the customers are usually pretty good to deal with, but when Emma is sitting over in one of the booths just waiting for him he definitely wishes the shift would end right away.

'Killian just go over there already, I've got this covered.' David smiles and Killian is grateful for his friend's kindness. Emma is laughing about something when he slides in the booth beside her, his stomach flipping when she turns to smile at him and looks at him with a soft expression of happiness.

'Hello, love.' He says quietly, kissing her cheek despite her friends watching intently. Ruby is sitting opposite them, grinning ridiculously at them. He assumes the women on Emma's other side is her roommate Mary Margret, who seems to be staring over at David. Emma catches his look of confusion and smirks, which he assumes means that her friend is attracted to his friend. If he remembered correctly Mary Margret was the hopeless romantic, the one that believed in love at first sight and he decides he'll call David over once he's finished.

He learns that Emma and Ruby have been friends since high school. Ruby's grandmother gave Emma her first job at the diner when she was 16. They met Mary Margret there a few years ago and the three became good friends. Killian can see how much the three of them care for each other and he realizes with a wave of quilt that it had been insensitive of him to assume Emma had no friends back when he didn't know her.

'So now you know how important Emma is to us, you know we'll make you pay if you hurt her right? Well, I will, Mary Margret isn't exactly threatening.' Ruby laughs as Mary Margret looks insulted.

'Aye, I see that. But Emma is rather intimidating on her own anyway.' Killian grins, Emma wriggling beside him to slap his chest playfully.

'How come you guys hated each other in the beginning? I mean Emma definitely didn't hold back when she complained about you.' Mary Margret asks and Killian feels Emma stiffen beside him. They had both come to an understanding that their previous opinions of each other had been unfair and while their conclusions had made sense to them it wasn't exactly something easily explained to others.

'Killian hated me because I didn't swoon over him like everyone else.' Emma replies with a roll of her eyes and he laughs.

'And Emma hated me because I ignored her.' Killian adds, but while Ruby and Mary Margret laugh and Emma smiles, he notices a slight change in her expression and he wonders if he hit a nerve. He squeezes her shoulder and she shifts closer, changing the focus to Ruby and her plans to convince her grandmother to give the diner when she retires. Ruby is talking a mile a minute and Killian tunes out for a moment, wishing he could be alone with Emma right now. He likes her friends and he appreciates that she wanted to introduce him to them, but he also wants to kiss her (and talk privately, but kissing it definitely his priority).

The pub begins to quieten down near 11 given that it's a Monday night with no sporting event happening and David comes over to join them. He slides in beside Ruby but Killian glances over at Mary Margret who is already blushing and curling her short hair behind her ear flirtatiously.

'This is David, my colleague and more importantly my closest friend.' Killian says sincerely while David nods to them all as a hello. His eyes linger on Mary Margret and Killian shares a knowing smirk with Emma before David clears his throat.

'It's nice to finally see you with Killian, Emma. I saw him pining for you months ago that time you guys came in here. He was all jealous because you were with a guy that wasn't him.' David grins, looking sufficiently pleased with himself when Emma raised her eyebrows in surprise and looked at Killian questioningly.

'When was that?' Ruby asks curiously and despite the playful, teasing mood of the conversation Emma still looks to still be in disbelief.

'When you forced me to go for drinks with Walsh and said you and Victor would come to make it less awkward.' Emma replies and Killian feels a stab of jealousy at Emma mentioning the man's name. It was ridiculous to feel that way, she was after all sitting pressed against him and not this other guy but it makes his stomach drop to think of Emma with someone else.

He feels a little better when Emma spends the next 10 minutes bashing Walsh before she yawns and he remembers they have work in the morning. They decide to call it a night and Ruby catches a cab to her place, hugging her friends and even Killian before leaving. He realizes awkwardly that while he had planned to walk Emma home, Mary Margret was her roommate and needed to get home too.

'I could drive you home, if you don't mind waiting until midnight to close up?' David offers and Killian relaxes at the suggestion. Mary Margret agrees enthusiastically of course and Emma says goodnight to her roommate with a smile before they leave, walking hand in hand down the street together.

'I'm so glad David likes her too. I've never seen her so enamoured by someone before.' Emma says happily and he tugs on her hand to pull her into him, kissing her as soon as their mouths are close enough.

'Why did you flinch when I said that thing about ignoring you?' He asks (finally) and she sighs against his lips.

'Because it was true. Because it drove me crazy that you would flirt with everyone but me because it made me feel undesirable and deep down I wanted you to like me, I wanted you to want me and I thought there was something wrong with me because you didn't.' He hadn't expected her to answer so honestly and he sighs her name sadly. She steps away from him and keeps walking but he slides his hand back into hers as they go.

'You shouldn't measure your self-worth on the opinion of others.' Killian says softly, surprised when she snorts loudly.

'Are you really going to lecture me on this?' She asks with a laugh.

'Emma-'

'Look, I spent my whole life thinking about how my parents gave me up, how no other family wanted me and how all of my relationships end badly. It's hard to think anything different when I'm always the problem.' Emma replies sharply but her uneven delivery gives away her emotions.

Killian has gotten glimpses of the true Emma beneath the surface but this is the most vulnerable he's seen her so far.

'Swan, you're not the problem. I'll admit your negative attitude probably doesn't help though.' He jokes, trying to lighten the mood as he watches Emma chew her bottom lip. She stops abruptly on the sidewalk and he stops too, watching her as she looks at him thoughtfully.

'You said that the person I thought you were was just an act, a persona you thought would make you more successful. You thought women would like you more if you were confident and flirty and guys would respect that fact and like you too. You measured your self-worth by what other people thought of you too.' Emma tells him simply and he nods in agreement.

'Aye, you're right.' Killian admits quietly, stepping closer to Emma to cup her cheek.

'Then why do you get to be hypocritical about this?' She asks, leaning into his touch despite the fire in her eyes.

'Because no matter what's between us now, I was another person who made you feel like you weren't good enough. I stayed away from you because I felt something and I panicked, but that's my own fault, not yours.' He realizes that they're having a rather intense conversation in the middle of the sidewalk late at night and that the both of them should really to getting home and going to bed and be responsible but he waits until the fire in Emma's eyes dies down.

She kisses him, soft and quick but it's the confirmation he needs to know she okay. They make it to her apartment building a little while later, their walk mostly consisting of comfortable silence and a few casual kisses while they wait for cars to pass. He thinks she's going to kiss him again but she pulls him in for a hug and somehow the gesture means more than a kiss in the moment.

'I'll see you tomorrow.' Emma smiles, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek before heading up to her apartment. Killian is grateful for the long walk to his own apartment; the cool night air is refreshing and the moment of solitude gives him time to think about things (namely Emma).

It isn't until the next morning however when he sees her walk in to the office wearing that damn see through blouse and a ridiculously smug grin on her face that he realizes just how much trouble he's in with this woman.