Date night begins!

At quarter to seven, Killian found himself pacing the lobby of his hotel. He'd briefly considered stopping for a drink at the bar, but dismissed that idea just as quickly. He didn't want to smell like alcohol when she arrived.

If she arrived a little voice inside his head whispered.

Killian was aware of the amount of attention he had attracted too. While the hotel was one of the pricier ones within London, he also knew that word of his date for the evening had spread fast.

So he continued pacing.

At five to seven he made his way outside to wait for whatever car it was that Emma would be sending to collect him. He didn't have to wait long. He'd just started his second lap in front of the door when a black Range Rover pulled up in front of the hotel.

He recognised Anton's hulking form, as he climbed out from the passenger's side. Anton gave him a quick look over, obviously approving of Killian's suit choice for the evening, before nodding once and pulling open the door to the back of the car.

Killian took one deep cleansing breath before pulling himself into the SUV; Anton quickly closed the door behind him. His eyes hadn't even adjusted to the darker lighting in the car before he heard her.

"Well, don't you scrub up well?"

He whipped his head around to find that the car had been slightly modified. Instead of one back seat, there were two, and Emma was sitting against the one directly across from him.

His eyes snapped to hers, before raking over her form, where she was sat as beautifully as she always was. Her blonde hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail, but she had left her fringe free to sweep over her face. She had long silver and black earrings in that brushed against the collar of her black trench coat every time she moved her head. Her black pumps were flat against the floor, her legs bent in such a way as to allow her to sit modestly and comfortably. But it was her lips Killian was most draw too. They were painted a bright pillar-box red and pulled up into the most seductive smirk he'd ever seen.

Fuck, he was not going to survive this night.

"Do I pass your examination?" she continued, holding out a glass of amber coloured liquid to him.

"Fuck yeah," he blurted, and quickly took the glass from her to cover up the blush making it's way up his neck. "What's this?"

"Whiskey. I thought it might help with your nerves." At his pointed look she gestured to his left foot, which was bouncing restlessly against the floor of the moving car.

"Thanks. I'll be honest, there was a part of me that wasn't certain you'd show up tonight," he told her, downing the liquid in one gulp. As he fought to contain the barking cough that was making his way up his throat, he turned his attention back to Emma.

She was relaxed back into her seat, studying him carefully. She didn't look effected by his presence at all. Which was really unfair. But, considering who she was, he was hardly surprised.

"I was telling the truth the other day, Killian. You're not the only one who wanted this date."

He didn't know what to say, so instead, he changed the subject.

"So, tell me again about tonight. The last thing I wanna do is embarrass a princess with my poor behaviour."

Emma laughed, loudly, startling Killian a little. He'd never heard her laugh before. It was a beautiful sound, even if it was a little loud and unladylike.

"I doubt you ever could." She reached across the distance between them and took one of his hands into both of hers. Killian looked down, startled by the contact. Instead of focusing on her face, he focused on her rings and the way they glistened when they caught the light, or how her nails had been painted a dark black that looked beautiful against her pale skin.

"Killian?" she asked, drawing his attention back to her face. "It's okay. I promise. It's just a charity event. Lots of the UK's richest people flaunting their cash for a good cause. It's a closed event. There won't be any members of the press there. There will be an event photographer, but, your date is a princess, she gets full say on those pictures before they're published on the charity's website." She winked at him and Killian felt himself relax a little, whether it be at her words, or the way her thumb was gently rubbing over his knuckles. "We go in, we mingle a little, laugh at all the bad jokes told. We eat a fancy meal. Pretend to be interested in what's being said." He laughed again at her brutal honesty. "And then they hold the silent auction. Once that's over they have a live band, do a little dancing and at midnight, everyone runs out of the door before their cars turn into pumpkins."

He could do that. He expected that for the most part, he'd be silent anyway. Who'd want to talk to an actor from a fantasy show when they could talk to an actual princess?

"Now, there's just one more thing we need to do before we arrive." Killian's brows shot up again, confused as to what Emma would have in mind. But, before he could say anything, she'd moved from her seat on the bench before him and slid into the one next to him.

She flicked on the small light above them, illuminating the space a little, before extending her phone before them both.

"Say cheese," she told him, a wicked grin in place.

Throwing caution to the wind he wrapped his right arm around her shoulders and pulled her in close, before smiling for the camera.

When Killian's phone vibrated in his pocket, Emma nudged him with her own shoulder. "You should check that," she told him throwing him a salacious wink for good measure.

He pulled it out to see one single tweet lighting up his screen.

Off to the GOSH fundraiser tonight. Dig deep fellow attendees.

(Oh, and yes, I'm dragging this one along with me).

Killian wasn't even slightly ashamed of himself when she leaned over to watch him like, then retweet, her message before saving the image of the two of them together to his own phone.

For those interested, I based Emma's look here on Jen's look for the Art of Elysium "Heaven" Gala from 2011.

Thanks for reading.