The Wedding Date (pt. 3)

CS genre: CS fake!dating AU

A/N: Parts 1 and 2 of this fic can be found in chapters 20 and 21 respectively

Emma peered into the brightly-lit oval vanity mirror, turning her head this way and that. She nodded in satisfaction. Earlier that morning, she'd gone with Regina and all the rest of the bridesmaids to Rapunzel's Tower, the premiere hair salon in Misthaven.

Regina had very strict requirements for her wedding party when it came to their appearance for the ceremony, insisting that her wedding photos would not be ruined by a sloppy updo or clownish makeup. To ensure her bridesmaids lived up to expectation, she'd insisted they all have their hair styled by Rapunzel herself. (Seriously, who named their kid Rapunzel?)

Emma had to say, the hair dresser had done a wonderful job. Her loose bun with artfully curled flowing tendrils was both romantic and sophisticated. The small tiara woven atop it all was the perfect finishing touch. Combine that with her red, long-sleeved ball gown with the sweetheart neckline and Emma nearly felt like a princess about to attend her first ball.

After the hair appointments, the ladies had headed to the chapel, where a room in the basement had been set up for their particular use. They'd quickly changed into their own dresses and then helped Regina into her wedding gown. (Emma secretly thought it was a bit ridiculous that it took four women to get a bride into her dress, but what are you going to do?)

Now they all sat behind their own personal vanities applying make-up. Taking up a brush, Emma swirled it across the delicate pink blush (the color entitled "middlemist rose"), and then absently swiped it across her cheeks.

She wondered idly what Killian was doing. Would he feel awkward off by himself all morning while Emma and the others primped for Regina's big day?

Not likely. He and David were keeping each other company, and they seemed to have become best friends over night. Emma felt a small twinge of regret as she thought about it. When this was all over and she and Killian "broke up"….it was going to be more complicated than she thought. Her brother was going to take the news hard.

So am I, her traitorous heart unhelpfully whispered. Emma sighed as she snapped her blush closed and started rifling through her eyeshadow and eyeliner options. The fact was…she was starting to genuinely like Killian. The man she was spending the weekend with was warm, kind, witty, romantic. Nothing like the pain in the ass that was constantly landing himself in her jail cell.

Maybe he was just a really good actor, but Emma didn't think so. She'd always read people well, and she got the distinct impression that this weekend she was seeing the real Killian Jones for the first time since she took office as Storybrooke's sheriff a year and a half ago.

Maybe….maybe things didn't have to just end when the weekend was over. Maybe they could…

No! She was not going there. She didn't care how much her stomach had swooped when he'd sauntered into the kitchen that morning, brushed a kiss against her cheek and promptly laced their fingers as he sat beside her. She didn't care how much she'd genuinely enjoyed talking and laughing with him and David and Mary Margaret over breakfast. She didn't care how fast her heart started beating every time she looked over at him and caught that tiny wistful smile on his face as he looked right back at her.

She'd built the wall around her heart for a reason and she couldn't let him scale it. The inevitable heartbreak would destroy her.

The bench dipped beside her, and she looked over to see Ruby Lucas, wide smile in place. Emma grinned back; it was hard not to. The wedding planner's grin and sunny disposition was infectious.

"You look amazing, Emma!" she said, reaching up to arranged a stray curl.

"Thanks," Emma answered with a laugh. "I ought to, as much time and effort as Regina made us all put in. How'd you manage to get away from the 'Evil Queen', anyway? She been running you ragged all day."

Ruby shrugged and rolled her eyes dramatically. "Who knows? Somehow I managed to slip away while her back was turned. She wants this wedding to be perfect, but the thing is, Robin's so crazy in love with her, he'd probably be happy if she wore dirty sweats and they got married in a barn, just as long as they were husband and wife at the end of the day. And that little Roland of his! That kid's so excited his daddy's marrying 'Mama 'Gina' he can hardly contain himself."

Emma smiled wistfully. What would it be like to have someone love her that much? Was there even anyone who was capable of showering her with that much love? Unbidden, an image of Killian flitted into her mind, but she ruthlessly shoved it aside.

"So…" Ruby said, sliding closer and giving Emma a sly smile, "What's this I hear about you and a new boyfriend who's hot as hell?"

Emma felt her face redden. She shrugged. "Not much to tell. His name's Killian Jones, we haven't been dating all that long, and he's my date to the wedding."

Ruby gave her a knowing look, her head shaking from side to side. "No way. Not a chance! You're not getting off that easy. I need details. So spill!"

Emma shrugged again. "I mean, he was a total pain in the ass when we first met, but then he started to grow on me. We just, I don't know, suddenly clicked, and right now things are good."

"I'm glad for you. Really. You deserve to be happy." Ruby sighed in what Emma assumed was supposed to be ecstasy. "You have no idea how good it is to see you so happy and in love and glowing."

"Ruby, I'm not…"

"Oh, don't even try to deny it!" Ruby cut in. "I'm a wedding planner, remember? People in love are my specialty. And you, Emma, are most definitely in love. Wouldn't surprise me if you two love-birds needed my services yourselves in a few months!"

"Don't get your hopes up," Emma said, trying her hardest to quell the panic that flared up at the fact that the thought didn't panic her. She really needed to get it together before she saw Killian again, or she'd end up making a world class fool of herself. He was her fake date. She had to remember that. Fake.

Ruby shrugged. "Well whether wedding bells are chiming in the distance or not, it's a good thing you really do have a date that you're into tonight."

"Yeah? Why's that?"

"Well…" Ruby began, looking around furtively and then leaning in. "Mary Margaret would probably murder me if she knew I was telling you this; she was afraid you'd run for the hills if you found out before the reception, but she's got this plan for making Regina and Robin comfortable…"

Emma listened in growing horror as Ruby laid out Mary Margaret's plan. What had she gotten herself into? If this evening didn't end in total disaster it would be a miracle.

~c~s~c~s~c~s~c~s~c~s~

Killian took his seat on the "bride's side" of the aisle and watched as the photographer set up her camera and prepared for pictures of the wedding party. The wedding chapel was apparently in high demand, so it had been decided that all the wedding photographs that did not involve the bride and the groom together (Mary Margaret would have probably fainted at the thought of the groom seeing the bride before the wedding) would be taken before the actual ceremony so that they could vacate the premises in time for the next wedding of the day—apparently something mermaid themed for a couple named Ariel and Eric.

As the photographer artfully arranged Robin Locksley and his groomsmen, Killian let his mind wander back to this morning.

He'd always been an early riser, and this morning was no exception. He'd woken with the sun to find Emma Swan in his arms, her soft, vanilla and cinnamon scented hair tickling his nose, her soft head pillowed on his chest, her arms surrounding him.

It had been heaven; there was no denying it.

It had taken him all of three seconds to decide to savor the sensation, the way his heart just warmed at her touch, for as long as it lasted. He had no doubt that once she woke there would be hell to pay. No doubt she'd lecture him up one side and down the other when she learned he'd held her through the night rather than sticking to her demands that they remain strictly separated on their own sides of the bed.

But really, he was no more to blame than she. He hadn't consciously sought her out. They'd both fallen asleep on their sides of the bed, but when he woke, they were smack dab in the middle; both of them must have moved to come together in such a way.

Emma lay with a slight smile on her lips as she slept; she stirred, and then burrowed deeper into him. Killian smiled, feeling an almost irresistible desire to kiss the top of her head, to smooth her wild, riotous hair, to whisper his feelings to her.

But he knew that wouldn't do, so he contented himself with merely laying still, closing his eyes and savoring the moment, as warm and comforting as a shot of rum.

She stirred again, this time jerking as she fully came awake and became aware of their current position. Killian feigned sleep, wanting to put off the inevitable explosion as long as possible. He'd no doubt it was coming at any moment.

But it didn't.

Killian felt her push herself up slowly, and then remain still. For long moments she seemed frozen like that, and then Killian felt her gently, tentatively cup his cheek, her thumb caressing his scar.

His heart turned over at the tender, intimate gesture. He wanted to open his eyes, to smile at her, to tangle his hand in her hair and bring her lips down to his for a slow, deep good-morning kiss, but he knew that was a recipe for disaster. Emma may let her walls down when she believed he slept, but if she knew he was aware…she'd throw those walls up, taller and stronger than ever.

So he continued to feign sleep until she carefully climbed from the bed, gathered clothes for the day and headed for the shower. When the door had closed behind her, he reached up and reverently cupped the cheek she'd so recently caressed.

With every passing moment he was falling harder and harder for this woman. She was going to be the death of him.

"So, how ya holding up?" David Nolan asked as he slid into the pew beside Killian.

Killian looked over at Emma's brother and grinned. "It's not my wedding, mate."

"True," David answered, "but it's gotta be awkward coming to a wedding with your girlfriend, not knowing anyone but her, and then being left on your own while she goes off and does her bridesmaid duties."

Killian shrugged. "I know you, and I'll see my lass again after the ceremony. My current state is a small price to pay to have Emma Swan on my arm tonight, although it did seem the ladies left extraordinarily early to prepare for the big event."

David laughed and clapped him on the shoulder. "Why women need three hours to get themselves ready for a formal affair is beyond me."

"Particularly ladies as naturally lovely as ours."

"You've got that right."

The groomsmen scattered and Robin was summarily whisked away, and then the bride and her bridesmaids arrived. Killian sucked in a deep breath as Emma came into view. Emma dressed in her informal jeans and red leather jacket was beautiful, but Emma dressed formally in a ball gown was a vision from heaven itself. To say she cut quite the figure in that dress was an understatement of mammoth proportions.

She made him want to spout poetry. She was poetry come to life.

David's chuckle brought him back to earth. "Like what you see, Jones?"

Killian grinned. "Dave, your sister puts even the stars to shame."

Emma's brother was quiet for so long that Killian finally tore his eyes from his "girlfriend" to find David giving him a shrewd, assessing look.

"What?"

"It's not real, is it?" David asked with a knowing grin. "You and Emma. You two aren't really together, are you?"

"How did you know?" Killian blurted out, too shocked to even try to deny it.

David laughed. "Killian, I've known my sister for a long time, and she might have a nearly supernatural ability to spot a lie, but that definitely does not extend to an ability to convincingly lie herself. Quite frankly, she's trying way too hard. And then there's the little issue of her being surprised and startled every time you even casually show her affection. Emma may not be the most demonstrable person in the world, but she's never before had that deer-in-the-headlights look when one of her boyfriends simply held her hand."

Killian felt the pink staining his cheeks and the tips of his ears. Absently he reached up and scratched at the back of his ear. "Aye, well," he said, "it was all rather sudden. We hadn't the time to properly plan and…acclimate ourselves to our 'relationship' before we arrived yesterday."

David shook his head, chuckling under his breath. "Well, she certainly went to elaborate lengths to make us think you guys were dating, but the question is why?"

How to answer that question without offending David or Mary Margaret? "Well," Killian said slowly, picking his words carefully, "Emma has become rather…weary of your wife's attempts to find her a man. She loves Mary Margaret, but…well…she just believed her visit this weekend would be more…enjoyable for all…if your wife didn't feel she needed to play matchmaker."

"That was a diplomatic way to put it," David said. Killian could hear the amusement in the other man's voice. "I love my wife with every beat of my heart, but I know exactly how she can be sometimes. She means well; she just wants Emma to be as happy as we are, but she does have a tendency to come on a little too strong sometimes."

Killian looked over at him and grinned. "Just so. Emma does realize your wife's motives are pure; she merely wished to have a free weekend, so to speak."

"I kind of suspected it was something like that," David said.

Silence fell for a moment, and Killian turned back toward the ladies. The photographer flitted back and forth trying to arrange them just so. Emma caught Killian's eye and gave him a quick grin before the photographer scolded her for her lack of attention. She shrugged slightly, rolled her eyes dramatically at him, and then turned back toward the far-from-amused woman.

"You know, Killian," David said, bringing Killian's attention back to him. "Emma's not the only one in the family who can read people."

"Aye?" Killian said absently.

"Aye," David answered with a decisive nod. "I noticed that you and my sister aren't in a romantic relationship, but do you know what else I noticed?"

He went on without waiting for an answer. "I also noticed that you desperately wish the two of you were in one."

Killian shot startled eyes in David's direction. "I was that obvious was I?"

David laughed. "Only to someone who was looking. It's in the way you look at her; the way you reverently touch her. You, my friend, are a man in love."

Killian let out a long slow breath, and turned to look at the object of his affections once more. "Aye. She's captivated me since the moment I first saw her. Mate, your sister is bloody brilliant, amazing, but it doesn't matter."

"Why'd you say that?"

"Because," Killian said, once more looking at David, "I'd hoped she'd one day feel as I do, but she's made it quite clear that that will not be the case."

"I wouldn't be so sure," David said slowly. "Just as I've seen your feelings for her, I'd swear she's got some for you too. No way she reacts that strongly to your touch if she felt nothing."

Killian's heart began to race. Was it possible?

"My advice for what it's worth?" David said. "Fight for her. She's had some stunningly bad relationships, and it's made her gun shy about letting anyone else in. Be patient with her; show her you mean to stick around. Eventually she'll let her guard down and explore the feelings brewing between you two."

Killian smiled tenderly, once more looking up at Emma. "Aye. I'm in it for the long haul. I'll wait for her as long as it takes."

"Good," David said. "Anyway, I had another reason for coming to talk to you. Given your current…lack of relationship, I thought I'd best warn you what my wife has planned for the reception."

"This doesn't sound good, mate."

David laughed. "Oh, I don't know. You might find it extremely good, but it's best you be prepared. You see, Regina was being difficult about all the reception customs, you know, kissing when people clink their classes, having a first dance, feeding each other cake, the whole nine yards. The only way Mary Margaret got her to agree to it all was to forge a compromise."

"And that compromise might be?"

"Regina only agreed to the traditions as long as she and Robin weren't singled out. The long and short of it is, everything the newlyweds do, the bridal party and their respective dates have to do as well. Given how fond Ruby is of bringing about public displays of affection…I think you and I had best be ready to engage in multiple make-out sessions with our respective bridesmaids."

Killian closed his eyes, remembering his one and only almost-kiss with Emma. A slow smile curved his lips. "I do believe this is a task I'm well up to mate."

David slapped him on the back good-naturedly. "Thought you might be. Anyway, looks like the photo shoot is coming to an end. I'm going to go see if I can intercept my wife before the ceremony starts. Be back in a minute."

Killian gave his head a quick shake as Emma's brother walked away. That was a loaded conversation if he'd ever had one. He hardly knew how to take it all in. Was David right? Did Emma harbor feelings for him? Would it truly be wise to pursue her? Would it lead to bliss…or to heartbreak?

A nearly forgotten memory came to mind; a conversation he'd had with his older brother long long ago. "A man unwilling to fight for what he wants deserves what he gets, little brother."

Quite so.

Killian nodded once in determination. She may shoot him down mercilessly; she may break his heart into tiny pieces, but it didn't matter. He would fight for her, fight to win her heart, until she definitively let him know his feelings were unrequited.

Emma Swan was worth the risk.

Notes:

-It's Friday again! I'm not sure how necessary fluff is going into Sunday's episode; based on the sneak peek that come out yesterday, it looks like it's going to be really, really good (although I'm equally convinced those good and beautiful moments are early in the episode, and they'll be balanced out with some world-class angst before the episode is over). Nevertheless, I'm still giving you your weekly dose of fluff. :-)

-I thought I could finish "The Wedding Date" in this installment, but it looks like I'm going to need one more week. Given how totally resistant to Killian Emma seemed at the beginning, I thought it was important to add another scene to show how much her feelings have begun to change—thereby making their eventual getting together (sorry for the spoiler, but you had to know that was coming, right? lol.) more believable. And as long as I was giving Emma a scene with Ruby, I couldn't resist a Captain Charming scene as well. (That also gave me a chance to let you all knew exactly what it is that Mary Margaret's up to.)

-Up next: The reception. Will Killian succeed in winning Emma's heart because she wants him? How can Emma possibly resist when she's already more than half fallen for him already…particularly when he's set out to seriously woo her?