A/N: I'm about half way through the next chapter I'm writing, so I thought I'd post this! Hope y'all enjoy it :)

Killian came to the lounge every night Emma was working, without fail. Emma would look across the lounge from her spot on the stage and would see his smiling face, just staring at her as she sang. She hadn't gathered the guts to ask him how he felt about her voice (not like it was important or anything.) But according to the look on Killian's face-the way he looked absolutely flabbergasted and just so young-Emma thought that he quite liked her voice.

It was this way for the next two weeks: Killian would come to the lounge and watch Emma sing and they'd spend some time talking later-much later, when customers were gone and it was only the two of them in the empty lounge, surrounded by silence and tension that never seemed to ease. Emma didn't want to feel those things-the tension that came over her in waves, the stutter of her heart whenever he broke into that stupid smile, the way that smile seemed to be only for her. Her heart continued to betray her whenever Killian came around, with his perfectly mussed hair and piercing blue eyes and God that stubble.

Because of this routine (one that Emma begrudgingly admitted that she looked forward to-because she was still trying to protect the walls around her heart), Emma noticed when Killian suddenly wasn't there on Thursday night, nearly three weeks after the serendipitous meeting at The Frozen Heart. She tried to ignore the niggling feeling the empty booth left in the back of her neck, the one that said that it was only a matter of time before he got bored with her.

Emma shook her head as she took the stage, trying to shake off the negative emotions the stupid table was giving her (it was just a table, for fuck's sake.) But even as she sang-something that always gave her great joy-, Emma couldn't stop the fear from clawing at her, taking hold of her heart and squeezing it almost painfully. She kept wishing that when she'd look back at that booth that Killian would be sitting there, coming in late because something came up. But he never came that night. And Emma did not like the way her stomach clenched at the thought of him giving up on her (because everyone gave up on her.)

"Where's your pirate?" Elsa asked with a smile when it was only the two of them left in the lounge. She had taken to the nickname because Killian did play James Hook on television and, well, he did dress sorta like a modern-day pirate. When Emma didn't respond, Elsa looked up from her desk, where she was organizing her papers, and the smile fell from her lips. "What's wrong?"

Emma shook her head (cursing herself for allowing herself to become distracted by thoughts of of course he left and you'll never be good enough.) "What? No, I'm fine."

Elsa stood up straight and pursed her lips at Emma. "Tell the truth, Emma."

Emma sighed and let her arms drop from their crossed position over her chest. "He didn't come tonight."

Elsa furrowed her pale-blonde eyebrows. "What?"

Emma sighed again and looked at her friend sternly. "He didn't come. Got it?"

"Emma-"

"No, I'm fine. I'm just gonna head home," Emma interrupted Elsa, turning to walk to the cubbies in the corner of the office. Emma was not in the mood for Elsa's pity and apologies. "See you tomorrow night, Elsa."

And Elsa didn't try to stop Emma as she exited the office and left the lounge in her dust, walking down the late night/early morning streets of late July. She walked for what seemed like an hour, just down the sidewalk in her black stilettos with her keys gripped tightly in her hands. She told herself that she shouldn't care that Killian wasn't there that night. But she couldn't silence that niggling voice in the back of her mind, telling her that he gave up on her, that she wasn't worth the waiting. It didn't matter that they were soul mates or whatever; he gave up on her because she wasn't worth it (she was never worth it.)

Emma refused to cry over this stupid soul mate business any more. She had spent enough tears on the sheer stupidity of it and she didn't want to waste any more. When she was three blocks from the lounge, Emma finally hailed a cab to save her sore feet, which drove her the final five minutes to her apartment.

And if she shed a few tears onto her pillow when she collapsed onto her bed, she didn't think about it.

Ugh, Emma was exhausted. After falling asleep nearing four in the morning and needing to be up for her eight am shift at the diner, she was bound to be completely drained. Emma couldn't remember how she had done this five million times before, but all she wanted was to crawl back into her bed and sleep all day. Well, until her shift at The Frozen Heart that night.

She was so tired that as she was pouring a cup of coffee for one of the twenty customers at the diner, she overflowed the cup and burning coffee landed on her hand, nearly making her shout a loud string of curses that would've indubitably gotten her fired.

"F-f-f-f-f-f-f-f," Emma muttered, forcing herself to not finish that word as she put the coffee pot back and hurried back to the kitchen to wash off her now-burning hand. Once she got back into the kitchen, however, Emma allowed herself to let loose her thoughts. "Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck."

Emma blasted cool water from the faucet and ran her hand under the stream, sighing at the feeling of the pain fading away slowly. She knew she should keep her hand under the water for a while, but Emma had five tables to get back to and she didn't have time to nurse her burn, even if it's going to kill in a matter of minutes after leaving the water.

"What happened?" Aurora asked, knocking her hip into Emma's as she walked back to probably pick up food.

"Burnt my hand on the coffee," Emma responding, wincing when the pain returned after removing her hand for a few moments from the water.

"Oh," Aurora said, wincing. "I'll get your tables for you until you come back. There should be some aspirin and Neosporin in the first aid box in Granny's office."

Emma sighed. "Thank you, Aurora."

"Not a problem," Aurora responded as she marched off toward the counter, grabbing three plates from the stainless steel counter.

Emma let out a deep breath as she turned off the water and hurried toward Granny's office, walking around in the cramped area to find the first aid kit attached to the wall. She had gracefully avoided mentioning to Aurora, or actually anybody, about her new view on life. She had avoided the subject with Mary Margaret and Ruby like the damn plague whenever she saw them because they'd be overjoyed at the aspect of Emma finally finding her soul mate when it indeed was not a good thing for Emma. She was still a little leery of it, even if she and Killian were beginning to hang out and maybe she liked him.

No-no she didn't. He wasn't at the lounge last night. He gave up on her. Emma did not like him because he thought better of this whole situation and didn't want to be with her, much like Neal. No, Emma didn't like him because she was much better off alone, as always.

Emma shook her head of the thoughts as she dry-swallowed two aspirin and quickly rubbed some Neosporin on the red site on her left hand. She hurried back to the dining room of the diner and quickly made her rounds, catching up on what she left behind and what Aurora had taken care of for her. She was hurrying around so quickly that she hadn't noticed that a familiar man had taken a seat at one of her booths until she came around to take his order.

"Emma Swan," he said and Emma looked up from her pad as she stood at the front of the booth.

Emma narrowed her eyes at him as she looked at him, trying to recall his name. Then, it hit her. "Liam Jones."

Liam smiled (God, he looked so much like Killian that it hurt) and chuckled. "I thought you worked at The Frozen Heart."

"I do, but only on Thursday through Sunday nights. This is my day job," Emma responded, holding her pad tightly because she did not want to ask about Killian. "How haven't I seen you around?"

"I've never been here. I just thought I should stop by for a minute since it's only a block from my place," Liam explained, folding his hands on top of the table. "But, I'll need a to-go order for my wife."

Emma nodded and held the pad up. "I can take your order now and then take your wife's when you're ready to leave."

Liam nodded and smiled again (and dammit could he stop that because Emma didn't need to be reminded that Killian was an ass and gave up and ugh why did she even come into work today?) "I'll have the French toast with home fries on the side. And a cup of coffee." And Emma must've made a face at the coffee because Liam quickly corrected himself to, "I mean, a cup of chocolate milk."

"I'll be right back," Emma said as she hurried off to the kitchen to hand off the order.

She wasn't able to really talk to Liam for another hour, save for the short period of time she was able to drop off his food. By the time she was able to stop by Liam again, it was nearing eleven o'clock and she only had an hour left of her shift, then she could go home and crawl into bed and just sleep.

Emma sighed as she stood at Liam's table, stacking up his empty plates. "Still need that to-go order?"

Liam nodded as he wiped off his mouth. "A stack of pancakes and a side of bananas and strawberries."

Emma quickly jotted down the order on her pad and bent to pick up the stack of plates and Liam's empty cup when Liam spoke again. "You know, Killian feels like a rightful git about missing you last night."

Emma's heart stopped and she looked over at the older Jones brother. "What?"

Liam sighed and folded his hands on the table again. "Killian feels bad about not being at the lounge last night. He just started filming again, so he couldn't make it. He had a night shoot last night. He basically always does."

Emma let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. He didn't give up. He just had a job. God, Emma was so idiotic. "Really?"

Liam raised a single eyebrow (must be a Jones thing.) "You look relieved."

Emma opened her mouth to respond, but she didn't know how to respond. So she said something that she knew she could actually say: "Lemme go drop off this order for you."

Emma rushed off before Liam could say something else about Killian and hurt her heart even further. She hated that she was already so wrapped up in a man that she hardly knew. She didn't give a fuck that he was her stupid soul mate; Emma Swan was not one to go all mushy over a dude.

"What's wrong?" Granny called from her office doorway with her arms crossed, back from a breakfast with Ruby, her granddaughter.

Emma gulped as she slid the slip onto the counter for the cooks to see the order. Emma shook her head when she met her gaze with Granny. "Nothing. I'm fine."

Granny raised her eyebrows because she was not one to take lightly to lying. "Emma."

"I'm fine, Granny," Emma responded hastily, rushing out of the kitchen to avoid Granny's judgmental stare.

Emma knew that if she told absolutely anything to Granny, she would go right to Ruby and tell her everything. So Emma was not going to tell her a single thing, especially since this all related to a certain big secret that Emma hadn't told her two closest friends.

"Emma, sit," Liam said as soon as Emma exited the kitchen and walked toward his direction. "There's a lull and I just want to talk for a moment."

Emma sighed, seeing that there indeed was a lull in business at the moment, and sat across from Liam in the booth. "What is it?"

"Killian's filming by Chelsea Piers," Liam told Emma.

Emma shrugged. "And?"

Liam sighed. "And I know Killian wanted to see you last night, but couldn't because of his filming schedule. So, I was thinking that maybe you'd like to pay him a visit on set."

Emma furrowed her eyebrows, wringing her hands together in her lap. "Am I even allowed to do that?"

"I'd go with you, obviously, because they know me," Liam replied, running his hands through his curly mop of hair. "I wouldn't be able to stay for long because I have a newborn and this is my first time out in days, but I'd go with you just to show you where to go. You'd have to wait in his trailer because obviously you can't go on the actual set. But, I know it'd mean a lot to my brother if you'd do this."

Emma sighed and tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear. She wanted to see Killian, no matter how hard she fought against her feelings toward him. She knew she cared about him, which did indeed terrify her because now Killian had the power to absolutely break her heart. Which was why Emma struggled with deciding whether or not to visit him on the set. She was still so scared of letting him in all of the way, but Emma knew that she also cared too much to just forget about all of this.

"I have work at five," Emma responded, which was the truth. But that was the easy excuse to avoid Killian for the day. She needed to sort out her thoughts because her brain was going to explode with all of the conflicting emotions she was dealing with. "I don't have time today."

Liam tilted his head to the side (wow, him and Killian were definitely related) and leaned forward, folding his arms together on the table. "Emma, I don't know what happened in your past that made it hard for you to trust people, but please, give my brother a chance."

Emma clenched her hands into fists and narrowed her eyes at Liam, sliding her legs to the end of the booth and beginning to stand up. "I have to get back to work."

"Sorry!" Liam nearly shouted in the almost empty diner, reaching out to keep Emma from leaving. Emma settled back into the booth and crossed her arms over her chest. "Emma, I'm sorry, but please. It would mean a lot to him if you would stop by to see him, even if it was only for a moment. Life hasn't exactly been kind to him either and finding you-it brought a new meaning to his life."

"Liam-"

"I know I'm probably overstepping boundaries here, but I'm looking out for my little brother," Liam continued, relaxing back in his side of the booth. "I know you're scared; my wife was too when we first found each other. It's completely normal. But you should give him a chance. And I know you want to because if you didn't, you would've left by now."

And Liam was right. If Emma didn't care about Killian or giving him a chance, she would've already gone back to work. She hated that apparently both Jones brothers could see through her. Emma nibbled on her bottom lip and looked at Liam, the pure exhaustion in his eyes, and she gave in.

"I get off at noon," Emma told Liam, uncrossing her arms and plopping them onto the table.

Liam nodded and smiled weakly at her. "Thank you, Emma. I'll come by again then so I can take you to the set. But I won't be able to stay because my wife would kill me if I left her alone with the newborn for that long. You'll just have to sit in his trailer until he comes by."

Emma nodded and slid out of the booth. "Okay. I'll go get you your to-go bag."

Emma walked off before Liam could say anything else. She took a deep breath as she entered the kitchen to pick up Liam's wife's food, trying to calm her pounding heart. She would be surprising Killian on set in only an hour-hour and a half at most. She didn't know if Killian would even be okay with her popping in, even if Liam had asked her too. Even if Liam had said that Killian felt like an ass about missing her last night, she didn't know if she would be encroaching on Killian's territory, even if he had been stopping at her work for the past two weeks to see her.

Emma shook her head as she picked up the to-go bag from the stainless steel counter. No, she'll go. She told Liam she would and she really did care about Killian. She wanted to try, so Emma had to go see him. Even if she didn't want to admit it to anybody, Emma actually missed Killian.

"What was that about?" Granny asked with her arms crossed as she stood by her office door (did she even move while Emma was talking to Liam?)

"Uh, nothing," Emma responded, lying through her teeth because she was not about to tell Ruby's grandmother about the soul mate thing. "Just an old friend that I haven't seen in a while."

Granny raised her eyebrows and dammit she knew that something was up with Emma. "Tell me the truth, Emma."

"That's the truth," Emma replied, walking back toward the dining room of the diner.

Emma heard Granny huff indignantly, but she ignored Granny. If she told anything to Granny, she would indubitably tell Ruby and Ruby would tell Mary Margaret and then everybody would know and Emma was not at all ready for that. Not only would her life become hell for keeping this from her closest friends, but her entire life would go to shit once the media found out that heartthrob Killian Jones found his soul mate and she was just an ordinary woman and here's where she lives and works and what she looks like and…just no.

No one else could know until everything was sorted out.

"Here, put this on," Liam said as he held out a dark grey, zip-up hoodie, just exiting the taxi that drove them from the Bronx.

Emma furrowed her eyebrows as she took the sweatshirt from him, sliding it on over her arms. "Why do I need to wear this?"

"Paparazzi," Liam said simply as he stared ahead, walking closer and closer to the gathering of trailers on the set of Killian's TV show. "If anyone were to get a picture of you going into Killian's trailer, hell would break loose. Knowing Killian, he would not want that to happen. And I imagine that's the same for you. At least, until everything is figured out."

Wow, was Emma actually an open book to both Jones brothers? Like damn.

Emma zipped up the hoodie to cover her stark white t-shirt and put up the hoodie to hide her blonde hair. All that was now showing was her bright red, short (so short) skirt, which she should've thought to go back to her place and change out of because it just screamed 'Granny's Diner,' and her black Toms, which again were part of her waitressing uniform.

"I'm not exactly inconspicuous, Liam, even with this sweatshirt," Emma murmured as they walked past a security guard, who waved knowingly at Liam. Emma motioned to her skirt (and God why did her uniform have to be so obnoxious?)

Liam chuckled under his breath as he led Emma toward Killian's trailer, weaving around hurrying PAs and excited extras. "Well, the whole soul mate thing is actually pretty rare, so not a whole lot of people around here will be able to see your fire truck red skirt."

Emma mentally crossed herself because she's just praying that nobody could actually see the obnoxious red of her skirt and connected to the small diner in the Bronx. That would lead to a difficult conversation to Ruby and Mary Margaret and probably to death threats of crazy fans who wanted her to disappear.

(Who the fuck made up this soul mate business?)

"We're almost there," Liam told Emma as they cut through a small gap between two trailers (Emma wondered for a moment who they belonged to.) "Just a little bit further."

It was only a few more seconds before Liam must've spotted the trailer, leading Emma over to the rather large trailer and allowing her to enter it first. She stepped up the few stairs and swung open the door, revealing a modern, but comfortable interior. Her eyes widened as she entered the trailer and stared at the 52-inch flat screen propped against the wall beside the door, the brown leather couch resting in front of the television, and the elaborate kitchenette on the far side of the trailer. She looked down the narrow room and saw two doors: one of which must be for a bathroom, the other possibly being for a bedroom.

"Wow," Emma said dumbly as Liam stepped inside and closed the door behind him.

"Yeah," Liam responded as he immediately walked over to the mini-fridge, grabbing a bottle of water from one of the shelves and tossing it over to Emma. Emma deftly caught it without blinking an eye, earning her a smile from Liam. "He should be back soon-ish. This is around the time he usually has his breaks for a few hours. He typically comes back by himself, but sometimes he's got Izzy with him."

Emma furrowed her eyebrows as she opened the water bottle. "Izzy?"

"Isabelle Greene," Liam responded, as if Emma should've known who he meant.

And wow, Emma should've known.

Emma's jaw dropped. "Isabelle Greene? Isabelle Greene comes over here sometimes?"

Liam smiled again as he stood by the trailer's door. "Big fan, I assume?"

Emma's heart pounded hard in her chest. "Sorta, yeah. I guess you could say that."

Isabelle Greene played Emma's second favorite character on Never Landing (her first being Hook-obviously since that was Killian's character): a modern-day Tinkerbell. Actually, for the first Halloween after the show premiered, Emma went as Tinkerbell.

(And no, she did not hook up with a guy who had gone as Hook.)

(Okay fine, yeah she did.)

Liam chuckled as he placed his hand on the door knob, preparing to exit the trailer. "Just wait here. He'll be here eventually."

Emma moved to unzip the hoodie Liam handed to her, but Liam held up his hand and said, "Keep it. You'll need it when you leave. And whenever you come back to visit. Gotta be careful about this until you two figure out what's going on."

"Thank you, Liam," Emma said as Liam went to open the door.

"It was my pleasure, Emma," Liam responded with a smile. "I'll see you another time."

With that, Liam left the trailer. Emma sat silently on the corner of the couch as she waited as patiently as she could for Killian to show up. She hoped she wasn't stepping on his toes by sitting in his trailer, somewhere that's pretty much his own place. Hopefully he'd excuse her being her since Liam was the one who gave her the idea and helped her get here.

Emma began sipping on her bottled water when her phone vibrated loudly in her purse, on the opposite side of the couch from her. Emma groaned and reached over the leather couch, searching through the main pocket for her phone and Jesus how hard is it to find a phone in her small-ass purse? Emma let out a yelp of success once she finally found her phone and crawled back up to where she was originally sitting. She swiped her screen and tapped in her security code to see that she received a text.

Henry: you home yet? I'm hungry and wanna go try that new Thai place around the corner.

Emma snorted (typical Henry) and responded.

Not home. Busy.

It was only a moment later before Henry texted back.

You busy during your designated three napping hours? Blasphemy.

Emma rolled her eyes.

I'm out.

Where?

If I tell you, I'd have to kill you.

*rolls eyes* oh come on, Emma. Talk to me. Does this have anything to do with your famous soul mate?

Goodbye, Henry. Tell me how the Thai is.

You can't avoid me forever, Ems. But fine. Be that way.

Emma rolled her eyes at Henry and tossed her phone back to her purse, relaxing back in the super comfortable couch (seriously, it was better than her own bed). She must've dozed off while she awaited Killian's appearance because she was suddenly startled by the sound of the door swinging open and Emma shot off of the couch, standing awkwardly beside where she was sitting and patted down her skirt where it had ridden up during her short nap.

And then he appeared, looking down at the plate of food in his hands (and the smell of barbecue filled Emma's nostrils and her stomach grumbled loudly). He looked up and his eyes widened as the door shut behind him. And Emma praised God that he was wearing his character's everyday clothes: a leather jacket, white t-shirt, and those black jeans that drove Emma insane.

"Emma," Killian said, shocked at her appearance at his trailer (she didn't notice the way Killian's eyes shot down to her exposed legs). "What are you doing here? Wait-I mean how are you here?"

"Liam and I sorta ran into each at my work this morning and he brought me here after some convincing," Emma explained, tucking her hands into the hoodie's pockets. "He had to leave right after he led me here, something about not wanting to leave his wife alone too long with a newborn."

Killian chuckled and scratched that spot behind his ear (God, that was so endearing). "Jenny would not like being left alone with Amelia for that long. But why else are you here, love?"

"Liam said that you felt like an ass for not making it last night," Emma replied, shuffling awkwardly in place. She looked up at Killian, who was still staring at her with a look Emma couldn't place. So, Emma took it as something negative as she reached for her phone and purse. "I knew I shouldn't have come. I'll just go-"

"Emma, wait," Killian asked as he stood in front of the door, holding a hand out to Emma to stop her from leaving. "Stay."

"I don't need you pitying me, Killian," Emma snapped out and dammit she didn't want to be a total ass to him.

"I'm not pitying you. I want you to stay," Killian responded immediately, taking her reaction in stride. "Liam was right. I felt like a total arse about missing you last night, so it's nice to see you, Swan. I have a break until at least six, maybe longer. So, Emma Swan, I would like to hang out with you, if that's okay with you."

Emma gulped and a small smile spread on her face, nodding at Killian. "Okay."

Killian furrowed his eyebrows as he scoped Emma's figure, making her blush a deep red that would've rivaled the red of her skirt.

"Is that my brother's sweatshirt?" Killian asked with confusion laced in his tone and Emma told herself to calm down because he wasn't staring at her because of the short-ass skirt she was wearing.

"Uh yeah," Emma responded, placing her purse and phone back onto the sofa. "He said that we should be careful with paparazzi until we figure things out."

Killian smiled and chuckled, walking toward the couch. "Liam, ever the wise one." Killian held out his plate, where Emma could see (and began to drool over) his sandwich and curly fries. "Want to share?"

Emma gulped and chuckled under her breath, looking up at those blue eyes and her heart stuttered. "Honestly, if you let me have some of that, I would not be sharing."

Killian laughed and held the plate closer to her. "Then, here. I heard your stomach grumble when I walked in. I'll just eat some of the snacks I have in here."

Emma heart swelled at the simple gesture as she took the paper plate from Killian's hands. Killian walked around the couch to the small kitchenette behind them, looking through the cabinets.

"So, what do you usually do after you get off work?" Killian asked, snagging a big bag of peanut M&M's from the cabinet and hopped over the back of the couch, plopping beside Emma with a loud 'oof.' "I'm assuming you don't always wait for devilishly handsome men to show up at their trailers on set of their television show."

Emma snorted as she popped a curly fry into her mouth (and ohmygod it was the best fry she'd ever had). "Only on Fridays."

Killian chuckled under his breath as he threw a handful of M&M's into his mouth. "But really though. What do you do in your free time?"

Emma sighed and relaxed back in the sofa, resituating herself to slightly angle toward Killian. "With the free time I do have, it's sleeping. I have work at five Thursday through Sundays and at my day job, I work doubles the other days of the week. So if I have time, I sleep."

Killian made a face and nodded. "That's a solid way to spend your free time. Usually, mine is sleeping, watching bloody awful soap operas, and eating my weight in chocolate."

Emma chuckled and raised her eyebrows at his bag of M&M's. "I can see."

"I have an awful sweet tooth, just so you know," Killian responded, popping another M&M into his mouth. "It's a good thing I have to actually work out and keep in decent shape for this show. Otherwise, I'd have a problem."

Emma ate a handful of fries and had to suppress a moan from escaping. God she was just so hungry, but she didn't want to make things awkward between her and Killian by letting out a sexual sound when they haven't even kissed.

(Why is she thinking about kissing him?)

(Who was she kidding? Of course she was thinking about kissing him.)

"What kind of meat is in the sandwich?" Emma asked around a mouthful of food.

"Brisket," Killian responded, staring at her with a look that Emma didn't know how to classify.

And well, that time, Emma didn't suppress the moan when she bit into the sandwich because God she loved brisket.

Killian raised his eyebrows as he chewed on his chocolate. "Enjoying yourself there, Swan?"

Emma nodded, licking the spare barbecue sauce from her lip. "Oh yes."

(Emma didn't notice at the slight darkening of Killian's eyes when she swiped her tongue across her upper lip.)

They sat in silence while Emma chowed down on the sandwich, which completely filled her appetite, and Killian continued to eat his M&M's. Soon, Emma's plate was empty, with only stray pieces of fries and barbecue sauce left on it, and she stood up to walk over to the trash can in the kitchenette she had noticed when she first walked in.

"Want a tour, love?" Killian asked from the couch, leaning his head on the back of the couch as he looked over at her.

"Sure," Emma responded and Killian hopped off of the couch, carrying his bag of chocolate with him.

Killian made a gesture with his arm as he twirled around in his spot beside Emma, leading Emma to laugh at his antics. "So, this is the main area. Little kitchenette with a mini fridge and microwave. Then big TV for my soap operas, as I've mentioned before." Killian led Emma down to the small hallway, shoving open a door on the right. "Bathroom. Nothing special there, really." Killian nudged open the door directly in front of him. "And here's the bedroom. The bed's actually quite comfortable. Handful of times, I've fallen asleep on it and nearly missed filming until someone came in to get me."

Emma followed Killian into the small bedroom, where the queen-sized bed nearly took up the entire space, minus a few things here and there. She looked in the left corner, closest to where she and Killian were standing, and nearly gasped.

"You have a guitar?" Emma asked, looking over her shoulder, where Killian was nodding. "Can I hold it?"

"Go ahead," Killian replied with a twinkle in his eyes.

Emma smiled widely as she grabbed the neck of the guitar, bringing it over to her arms as she exited the bedroom and found her spot back on the couch. She began strumming on the strings, the muscle memory coming back into work as she held the guitar. She missed the way the guitar sounded as she plucked the strings, or the way it just eased the stress of her everyday life.

"You play guitar?" Killian asked as he sat beside her on the couch, his knee gently brushing hers (and no, goose bumps did not raise where he touched her.)

Emma nodded and looked over at him, where she was struck by his reverent stare. "Yeah. I used to have one, but I had to sell it one month for rent. And I used to have a keyboard, but I had to sell that the next month for rent. So, I haven't played a guitar or a piano in almost a year." Emma sighed and shrugged. "Just how life is." Emma gently nudged Killian's legs as she laughed. "Now scoot over. I don't wanna hit you with the neck."

Killian chuckled and scooted back down where he was originally sitting before his grand tour of the trailer. He waved a hand at her, telling her to continue strumming on the guitar. Emma rolled her eyes at him (stupid, idiotic, attractive man) and her fingers found the notes to "Simple Man" by Lynyrd Skynyrd. Emma noted the soft smile on Killian's lips as she began singing the lyrics (she swore that she'd make him smile like that as often as she could).

And her face began to flush when she heard his gentle voice join her singing. Emma glanced up at Killian, who was still sitting firmly on the opposite side of the couch. But God it felt like he was right there beside her, the way her body felt on fire. She had known that he could sing (of course he could fucking sing), but it was so different hearing it right in front of her than listening to it on her old laptop.

(And no, his voice did not do things to her.)

(God, who was she kidding?)

Emma plucked the last few notes of the song, looking away from Killian's intense eyes because she just couldn't handle staring at them anymore. It made her feel things that she hadn't felt since-

Don't even fucking think it.

"You never struck me as a classic rock type of girl," Killian said, raising an eyebrow.

Emma smirked 'cause she did get that a lot, looking back to Killian. "It drove my parents crazy, but I love me some rock music. Classic rock, alternative, hard rock, soft rock. You name it, I probably have it on my laptop."

(She wanted to correct it to 'adoptive' parents, but that would mean letting Killian in too much and she couldn't do that.)

(Not yet.)

Killian smiled back at her as he leaned forward, toward Emma and her heart did not start pounding in her chest. "Just who are you, Swan?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

"Perhaps I would."

Emma felt her face blush deeply, but she couldn't fucking look away from those stupidly blue eyes (the ones that now haunted her every thought and her every dream). He opened his mouth to say something else, but all that came out was a loud yelp and Killian jumping from the couch, looking down at where he was sitting.

"What the hell was that?" Emma asked, furrowing her eyebrows.

Killian picked up Emma's cell phone and handed it to her. "It started vibrating underneath me. I must've sat on it."

Emma chuckled under her breath as she took the phone from Killian's hand, ignoring the way electricity flowed up her arm from the small contact of her fingers against his. "It's Elsa." Emma swiped the screen and held the phone to her ear. "Elsa?"

"Emma!" Elsa said in a panicked tone.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, what's wrong?" Emma asked, standing up from the couch as Killian furrowed his eyebrows worriedly, placing the guitar down where she was previously sitting.

"Olaf called off sick-some sort of stupid summer cold. I need you to play piano tonight," Elsa rushed out and Emma could imagine her pacing endlessly in her office.

"That's fine, Elsa. Just take a deep breath," Emma told her friend.

"I already called Anna in to take over your tables for tonight," Elsa said after taking several deep breaths, and she already sounded calmer. "I just need you to come in earlier than usual so we can figure out what you're comfortable playing for tonight."

"I'll be there as soon as I can," Emma responded. "Just keep taking deep breaths. It'll be alright."

Emma hung up the phone and realized that it was already nearing four. Shit, that nap must've been a lot longer than she originally thought.

"I gotta head out. Elsa needs me at work," Emma told Killian as she grabbed her small purse from the other end of the couch.

"I'll walk with you, so I can tell security to be expecting you on set every now and then," Killian responded, but he phrased the statement as a question, as if he was wondering if Emma would be visiting him against on set.

Emma nodded and couldn't hide the smile that spread on her face. "Okay."

And Emma's heart stuttered at how that boyish grin spread on Killian's face. Killian waved his arm in front of them, signaling for her to exit the trailer first. "Alright."

Emma stifled a giggle (she was not a fucking twelve-year-old girl, dammit) as she exited the trailer, into the muggy outdoors of late July. She wanted to groan as Killian began walking beside her (summer was her least favorite season, just ahead of winter). Emma pushed the sleeves of Liam's hoodie up her arms and sighed.

"Not the biggest fan of summer?" Killian asked, raising an eyebrow at her as he looked over at her.

"Not at all. I'm sure it's better in different places, but it's fucking miserable in New York," Emma grumbled as she hitched her purse higher on her shoulder.

"I agree with that," Killian responded as he looked back out to the busy set workers, running around to make sure the show filmed without a hitch. There was a short lull in the conversation before Killian looked back at Emma with a smile on his lips (which seemed to be ever-present whenever Emma was around). "We should probably exchange numbers so there aren't any more surprises. Although, I must say, it was quite the pleasant surprise."

Emma elbowed Killian in the side as she took her phone out from the hoodie pocket and handed it over to Killian. "Use that line on all of the girls?"

"Oh Swan, you insult me," Killian replied, taking the phone from Emma's hand, as they continued walking. "Who do you think I am?"

"I've seen the tabloids. You're quite the ladies' man," Emma laughed out.

"Well, you seem to like it," Killian said as he held up Emma's phone, showing off her background.

Holy fucking God, she needed to go hide in a hole and preferably die there.

Emma felt her face burn with blush from looking at her phone background, which was a decidedly sexual picture of Killian Jones from his latest GQ shoot (which she had obviously made her background long before she realized that their lives were going to weave together like this). He was soaked, head to toe, in a white t-shirt and black jeans, leaving abso-fucking-lutely nothing to the imagination.

(Emma nearly had a heart attack when she first found the picture.)

(Actually, she thought she passed out for a short while after finding it.)

"My, Swan. You've gone red," Killian added, laughing under his breath as he brought the phone back to himself and tapped in his phone number.

Emma was not going to talk about this. "Whatever. You seem to enjoy it anyways, knowing that men and women fawn over you left and right."

Killian laughed again. "Comes with the territory, love. Especially with how I made my mark in the pilot."

Oh dammit, why did he have to mention the pilot episode of Never Landing? That fucking episode had fueled her sex-filled dreams for weeks after it premiered.

(But she was not about to tell him that.)

Hell, even now Emma was having trouble concentrating after being reminded of the way he hit the punching bag in that thin tank top. Or the way he fought Rufio Rodriguez, sweat dripping down his body as Hook pinned him in the ring. Or when he came out of the showers with just a towel wrapped around his waist to talk to Tink…

"Here you go," Killian said, snapping Emma out of her thoughts (and wow she needed help), handing her phone back.

Emma looked down at the contact and scoffed at the name. "'Dashing rapscallion?' Honestly?"

"Would you prefer 'scoundrel?'" Killian asked, raising a dark eyebrow. Emma pursed her lips at him and he chuckled. "Well, we do need to keep a low profile. I thought it'd be a little suspect if you had my name in your phone, if anyone were to get ahold of it."

"Aye, aye, cap'n," Emma muttered under her breath as she put her phone in its rightful place in her purse.

"I'm not a captain," Killian replied, side-eyeing Emma as they neared the exit of the set.

"On the show, you were, before you left the Navy to come home and go legit as an MMA fighter," Emma corrected Killian, a smug smile on her face. "What, do I know your character better than you do?"

Killian barked out a laugh. "Wow, impressive."

"I can be pretty impressive," Emma responded.

"Yes, you are," Killian said under his breath, so quietly that Emma almost didn't hear him.

Emma didn't have the chance to question what he said, as they had reached the edge of the set. Killian quickly introduced her to a security guard (Anton, or something like that), saying that she was an "old friend" that'd be visiting frequently. After Anton snapped a quick picture of her, Killian sent her off in a cab, bidding her a happy farewell.

And she ignored the way her stomach twisted as the cabbie drove her away from the set, already missing those blue eyes.

Killian grumbled as he collapsed on his bed in the trailer, dialing the familiar number into his cell phone. Today had been a pleasant surprise: seeing Emma when he hadn't been able to last night, listening to that bloody beautiful voice again, learning more about the complex woman life had chosen for him. He wasn't surprised to hear that his brother was the one behind all of this (the git could never stay out of Killian's business).

"Surprise," Liam said as he answered the phone. Killian could practically hear that smile on his face.

"Why didn't you tell me that she was coming over?" Killian asked, staring up at the ceiling of the trailer.

"Well, once you got the text, you would've already been back in the trailer-because I know you don't bring your cell phone to filming-, which means that you would've already seen that Ms. Swan was waiting for you," Liam explained, as if it was completely obvious. "What, didn't appreciate the surprise?"

"Piss off," Killian mumbled as he rubbed his exhausted, sore eyes.

"Never," Liam replied. "And I'm not sorry. I know you felt like an utter arse for missing her last night, so I did you two a favor. A thank you would be nice, little brother."

"Younger brother," Killian corrected quickly. "And thank you."

"There. That wasn't so hard, was it?" Liam taunted Killian. "I gotta go. Jenny's taking a nap and Amelia is bound to wake up soon from hers. Still meeting us for lunch tomorrow at our place?"

"Yes," Killian responded. "I'll see you tomorrow. Give Jenny and Amelia a kiss for me."

"Of course. Bye, little brother."

Before Killian could correct his brother again, Liam ended the call. Killian rolled his eyes as he continued to stare at the ceiling. His heart was still pounding from seeing Emma (in that short skirt, no less) (no, stop thinking about that). She reminded him how to be happy, something he hadn't truly felt since-

Stop.

Killian let out a deep breath and just as he was sitting back up to head back out to the living area, his phone buzzed. Killian furrowed his eyebrows as he swiped the screen, seeing the text was from an unknown number.

Saving a song for you tonight, captain.

Killian's heart fluttered (another old, welcome feeling) and he chuckled. He'd try his hardest to be there that night.

(And if he arrived there at two in the morning, just as Emma was winding down "Arms" by Christina Perri, where she smiled directly at him, he'd attribute his heart racing to the way he ran to the lounge from down the street.)