I'll Miss This One This Year

Spring

"You said there wasn't a story to tell!" Mary Margaret commented as Emma finished recalling the events.

Mary Margaret settled back from her position on the edge of her seat and took a sip of the hot chocolate she held in her hands. Emma was certain it wouldn't be so hot any longer because Mary Margaret had been so engrossed in the details of her encounter with Killian that her beverage had remained untouched.

"It's hardly a story," Emma maintained. "We met, I took his number then neither of us really had the time to message that much, let alone arrange a meet."

"But you did meet again!" Ruby piped up enthusiastically.

"You were keeping that quiet!" Mary Margaret shuffled forward in her seat again, looking at Emma expectantly.

"It's not that exciting," Emma argued.

"Come on, tell us!" Mary Margaret encouraged.

"Fine," Emma agreed, knowing Ruby would only take it upon herself to the recount the details she did know if Emma didn't start to tell them. "It was Spring by the time our paths crossed again. I was in Florida with Graham for that sheriff convention…"

Emma hurried along the sidewalk. She was late. She was very late.

And it most definitely was not her fault.

Something told her she was going to have a hard time explaining to Graham that a skunk had found its way into her hotel room on the fourth floor and she'd gotten stuck with the hotel management… but it was true!

She wasn't too bothered about missing the convention, it was far from interesting for her, but she hurried anyway, knowing she would be pushing her luck turning up any later with that excuse.

Luckily, she had the pictures as evidence should anyone require proof, but they had timestamps on so the sooner she actually got where she needed to be, the better.

She could see the building she was meant to be in just across the street. She took a quick glance to her left. There was a car approaching but she was sure she could beat it. The moment she took the first step into the road, however, she knew she had made a mistake. The car was travelling faster than Emma had first perceived.

The screeching of the car brakes filled the street as Emma braced for impact. She let out a loud chuckle of utter relief when the car skidded to a stop, not even half a metre away from her. She hastily stumbled backwards to return to the sidewalk.

The car pulled over to the side of the road. The door opened and Emma expected to be on the receiving end of shouting and cursing. Instead, she was met by the sound of laughing.

"Bloody hell, Swan, we have to stop meeting like this!"

Before the driver had even emerged from the driving seat, Emma recognized the British accent. It was completely unbelievable. Of all the cars, the streets, the cities and the states of America, it was Killian's car that she had stepped out in front of. What were the chances? She was no mathematician but even she knew the probability had to be extremely low.

He got out of the car, striding straight over to her. His hair was neater than the last time she'd seen him. It had been destroyed by the snow back at the ski slopes and flopped over his forehead. This time it was styled, pushed back of his forehead.

Why was she so focused on his damn hair?

"I know I am devilishly handsome but were you really going to throw yourself at my car just to get my attention, love?" He asked her with a smug grin.

Emma stared at him, very surprised to be seeing him in the flesh. In Florida. Did he live in Florida? She had asked him a few questions over text, and he her, but they had never gotten to details about where they lived.

"What are you doing here?" Emma asked, finally finding her words.

"Well, I came over to check that you're alright," Killian told her.

"No. I mean, yes, I'm fine but I also meant what are you doing here, in this state?" Emma rephrased.

"Oh, I'm going skydiving over the Keys this afternoon with me mate," Killian answered, glossing over his statement like it was nothing. He was going what? "Right now, however, I'm headed for lunch. So, what do you say, Emma? Take two at that lunch?"

She wanted to say yes. She really wanted to say yes.

The last time he had asked, she'd been conflicted. Unsure, only because she didn't know his name, let alone him. Since then, she had learned his name and they had spoken a few times on text and even a couple of times over the phone.

She was wary to get her hopes up, given how little time they'd had to get to know each other, but she dared to admit to herself that he seemed to be everything she was looking for. She'd had no plans to get back into the dating scene since things hadn't gone well with Graham, but all those inhibitions had gone since meeting Killian.

He was different. He wasn't a friend that she needed to fear ruining a pre-established relationship with. He was someone completely new. Someone she didn't already know near enough everything about. It was a chance to start anew and whilst that was completely terrifying, it was also really inviting.

Of course, life had to keep getting in the way. Fate was teasing her. It had pushed them together twice now but never for longer than a few minutes. The first time, she had to get Henry home. This time, she had a convention to get to and Graham was really going to be wondering where the hell she was.

"I can't. I was meant to be at a work convention over an hour ago," Emma sighed, sending him an apologetic look. Twice now, she had been forced to turn him down. She really didn't want him to get the wrong idea. She quickly found an alternative option, "I can do dinner?"

Killian shook his head, "No can do, love. I have a flight to Manhattan this evening. Captaining a cruise from there in the morning."

Emma had to laugh. It was just typical. "Someone hates us."

"I promise you, Emma, even if it kills me, we will get this date eventually," Killian told her, and there was such determination in his tone that Emma knew he would stick to his word.

Even if, at the rate they were going, it took them five years.

"In the meantime, love," Killian continued, his car chirping and lights going orange as he locked the vehicle, then proceeded to offer her his arm, "may I walk you to your convention?"

"It's just across the road," Emma told him, gesturing to the building that they could both see. It even had the huge banner, above the entrance, swinging gently in the breeze, reading; Sheriff Convention.

"You've already proven you need assistance with that," Killian shot at her teasingly.

She returned with a playful glare in his direction but she couldn't exactly argue with him after she had just stepped out in front of his car. She took his arm and they waited for the traffic to die down, providing them with a chance to cross.

It was during this time that Killian must have looked at the building for the first time, for his eyebrow raised when he read the words on the banner.

"You're a Sheriff?" He questioned, doing his best, and failing slightly, not to sound surprised.

"A deputy technically," Emma clarified.

"But you still have the handcuffs, right?" Killian asked, shooting her a smirk as they began to cross the road.

"Don't get ahead of yourself," Emma chuckled. "It's going to take us five years before we get that first date at this rate."

"You couldn't keep me in them anyway," Killian shrugged.

"Oh yeah? You some kind of escape artist as well as a Captain?" Emma asked mockingly.

The amount of times she had heard guys say they could get out of them and then fail to do so was significantly high. It was always amusing, watching the expression on their face change as they realised they had no chance.

"Something like that," Killian said with a nod, and he sounded oh-so-confident. "Give me… ten seconds."

They stopped outside the convention building and Emma took her hand from his arm, crossing her own arms over her chest. She had heard plenty boast about getting out of them over the years, she had never heard someone give themselves such a short time limit.

It was impossible. Surely.

He had to be full of bravado.

"Ten seconds?" she repeated doubtfully. "There's no way."

"I'll happily prove it to you, love," Killian told her. "Care for a wager?"

"I would… if I had my cuffs on me," Emma told him. "Unfortunately, you're out of luck."

Killian, it turned out, did not give up that easily. He glanced at the building, eyeing the security guards at the entrance to the building. He strolled over to them, a walk filled with confidence, gesturing for Emma to follow him. She did, with a small smile on her face at how determined he was to prove himself.

"Hey, mate," Killian spoke to the first of the two security officers who looked at him. It was more of a glance than a look but Killian had leapt at the smallest slither of eye contact. "Bit of a strange request incoming. Emma here is a deputy. She is actually attending this very convention but, before she comes in, she and I have a small wager to settle. Do you have any handcuffs she could borrow?"

The security guard didn't respond to Killian. Instead, he turned to Emma with an exasperated look. She could only wonder how many times he had been on the receiving end of the same kind of request. Killian was watching her expectantly and so, with an apologetic look at the security guard, she pulled out her deputy badge and convention pass to prove that Killian was telling the truth and wasn't a complete madman.

Though the jury was probably still out on that last one.

Even with the proof that Killian was telling the truth, Emma wasn't convinced that he would get what he wanted. She was rather surprised when the security guard handed her a set of cuffs. He also held out the key which she waved away as she took the cuffs.

"He claims he can get out of them," Emma explained, sharing an amused look with the security guard as he closed his first around the key, "so we shouldn't be needing that."

Killian had a smug smile on his face, like he had a trick up his sleeve, and didn't seem at all concerned when she walked away from the security with cuffs but no keys.

"Alright, what are we putting on this?" Emma asked.

"When I win, and I will win, I get to choose the location of our first date, whenever it may be," Killian declared.

"Vice versa if I win," Emma stated.

Killian smirked at her, "But you won't."

"Time to put your money where your mouth is," Emma prompted, holding the cuffs out.

Killian held out his gloved-covered hands, skin exposed just below the wrist for Emma to clamp the cuffs around. She did them up pretty tight, earning a smirk and a raised eyebrow from him. Too loose would make it easy for him and, if he really could get them off in ten seconds, he wouldn't have to worry about skin getting raw and sore.

"Go," Emma declared after checking they were clicked into place.

Emma really wasn't sure what technique she expected him to try. She certainly wasn't prepared for what happened.

He reached his right hand over to his left, gripping just above the cuff. For a split second, Emma thought he was actually going to go down the route of dislocating his thumb just to win a wager. Instead, he casually pulled his hand from his wrist, shook the cuff off and then pushed the prosthetic back in place.

She stared at him. Was that cheating? Could she argue that was cheating?

Killian held both his arms in the air, the cuffs dangling from his right one, "Looks like I win."

"No, no, no," Emma protested, getting competitive again. "It's still on your right hand."

"But my hands are free," Killian protested. "They're no longer restricted."

"Maybe so but if you were on the run now, that would make you stand out," Emma shrugged it off. She wasn't too bothered about picking the date location anyway. "The last thing you want to do when you're on the run is stand out."

Killian's grin faded and he looked at her with a tiny frown on his brow, "Is that spoken as a deputy, or from experience?"

Damn. How the hell did he pick up on that?

"Both," Emma admitted.

She pulled her crossed arms a little tighter to her chest. It wasn't a topic she talked about that often and certainly not to someone she barely knew. But Killian was looking at her with those blue eyes and a look which just screamed that he was willing to listen. Could she open up to someone that soon? Was she prepared to risk getting hurt? She wasn't sure she was. But she was standing in an awkward silence and didn't know where to go.

"I have experience," Killian spoke up softly, breaking the silence.

Emma's head shot up instantly at that. She didn't want to make judgement but, in just three words, Killian had triggered alarm bells in her head.

"Kind of," he went on. "Not from the police."

That calmed her initial concerns.

"I was in the foster system. My older brother aged out, went to work on some boats and they judged his living and working conditions as unsuitable to be my legal guardian. Expected me to say in a broke system for another three years," Killian scoffed lightly. "I was having none of that. Took matters into my own hands, went and joined him on the boats. He took some convincing at first, but we got there. The ocean became my home. Has been ever since."

Emma didn't respond at first. She just stared at him in a mixture of surprise and disbelief. She kept saying that their luck hadn't been very good but suddenly Emma found herself face to face with someone who might just be the first person to understand where she was coming from. Many of her previous relationships had fallen apart over abandonment issues. It was a concern that she had whenever she tried dating again and one which often got in the way with progressing any further. Either she would push them away or they wouldn't be able to cope with the reassurance she required.

There was a chance that Killian could understand all that. The prospect that she may not have to hold back those concerns with Killian was exciting, refreshing, like a weight lifted off her shoulders.

"Emma, are you okay?" Killian's voice broke her from her thoughts.

"I'm fine," Emma nodded. "I just- I can't believe how similar are situations were. I was in the foster system too. Decided to drop out of it a few years early, went on the run from the system. I wasn't lucky enough to have a sibling to go through it with."

"I'm sorry," Killian apologized immediately. It wasn't one of those throwaway 'sorrys' that people used whenever they felt awkward and didn't really know how to respond. It was heartfelt and meaningful. Emma actually believed it. "I don't know what I would have done without my brother."

"It was-"

"Emma! There you are!" Graham's voice called out.

Oh crap! She had completely forgotten about the convention. She spun around to find Graham at the doors into the building, making his way towards them. Emma remembered she still had the joys of telling him all about her morning encounter with the skunk.

"I'll text and call. We'll make plans," Killian told her, already backing off towards the security guard, no doubt going in search of the key for the handcuffs which hung around his right wrist.

"Easier said than done," Emma commented given they had been trying that since they met in the winter.