A/N: I feel like I should note that in this particular universe, Neal and Milah are not related. :)
Emma and Neal walked back to the club just after 11:30. It had been a fun evening and she was sorry to have it end but Killian and her needed to get back to Storybrooke. Neither one really had a curfew, but they tried not to push their luck. Neal stopped in front of his yellow bug and leaned back against it, pulling Emma with him.
"I had a good time tonight. Did you?"
Emma snuggled closer to him. "I did. Can I see you next week?"
Suddenly Neal was kissing her. She was caught off guard for a moment, but quickly returned his enthusiasm. Then she heard a throat being cleared behind her. It could really only be one person. She turned around, still holding Neal's hand, to see Killian standing a few feet away with his arms crossed. Most people would see Killian's unamused expression and run the other way, but Emma caught the glimmer in his eye. He was enjoying catching her in an uncomfortable situation. She rolled her eyes at him, before turning back to Neal.
"Goodnight, Neal. Thank you for a great time." She kissed him quickly on the cheek and walked away, grabbing Killian as she went.
"So, Swan, how was your evening?" Sometimes he was such an ass.
"The big brother act isn't flattering on you." Killian unlocked the doors to his car and got in.
"You spent almost the entire ride here teasing me. I have to get in my own shots where I can." Emma sighed loudly for effect before sliding into her seat.
"Since you asked, my evening was great. Neal was an unexpected gem. And he was a complete gentleman," she added with a pointed look at Killian. He laughed, not fazed in the least. "And how was your evening?"
He grinned, "My evening was also great, but why don't you tell your story first?"
"You're not getting out of telling me how things with Milah went, Killian."
"I wouldn't dream of it, Swan. I'm just trying to organize the storytelling, since it seems we both have exciting things to share."
She shot him a suspicious look before she started. "Well, we walked over to the carnival. He bought our tickets, which I took as a good sign."
"That is good form."
"Yeah, good form and all that. We rode on the swings, that new ride with the cages that rotate all the way around as they sling shot you back and forth, the Ferris wheel, the big slide, those spinny cups, and probably a couple of others that I'm forgetting."
"How did Neal handle the rides?"
"What do you mean?"
"I just want to know if he's scared of heights? Does he scream a lot? Did he hang on to your arm in terror? Hey!" Emma punched him hard on his bicep. "You can't attack the driver, Swan! I could have killed us."
"You would not have killed us and I think you handle it. And it wasn't really screaming per se, just yelling? In excitement?"
"He's a screamer, isn't he?"
"Okay, maybe, but I was screaming too. It's what you're supposed to do on carnival rides."
"Sure, Swan, whatever you say."
"Anyway, then we had a late dinner. Neal knew a guy at the food trucks and was able to score us some food."
"Carnival food is the best. What did you have?"
"There was some barbecue, a funnel cake, some kettle corn, these really great steak tacos, and a lemonade."
"A lemonade? Meaning the singular?"
"It was free food. That situation doesn't really lend itself to complaints."
"True enough. What else did you guys do?"
"That was pretty much it."
"Well, now. You left out the ending! Every good story needs a proper ending, Swan." HIs fiendish grin was back.
Emma contemplated hitting him again. "You saw the ending to my story. I didn't really think I needed to repeat that particular event."
"What, Swan? Not proud of the position you were found in with your young gentleman?"
"You sound like you are fifty when you talk like that, Killian."
"So you aren't proud of that goodnight kiss?"
"No, I'm plenty happy with that goodnight kiss. I just don't have anything more to share about it other than it happened."
"Uh-huh. That's totally what I'm reading from this situation."
"Okay, I've been talking quite enough, and you've heard all about my evening-"
"-Not all about your evening-" He flinched away from Emma's glare at the interruption.
"-So now I think it's your turn. How did things with Milah go? How was your evening?"
"Well, at first, it didn't look so good. I usually get there and head back stage to meet the talent. In the past, it was usually Smee who let me and introduced me around. Now with Milah as promotor for the club, I assumed the same routine would continue. You know I can usually charm people into doing what I want them to do."
"Sure, that's one of your stronger skills."
"Right. So I start chatting with her, asking her about the band playing that night. Someone called Twelve Rocking Princesses. They actually are doing something really interesting called-"
Emma cut him off, "Killian, focus. What happened with Milah?"
"Right, sorry. So after a few minutes of chatting with Milah about the night's act, I ask if she'll take me backstage. Then she asks me why she would do that."
"Oh no."
Killian sighed, "Exactly. I try to explain that Smee would always introduce me to the band, but she wasn't having it. Then there was a crisis of some kind and she had to run off to solve it. That was the last I saw of her before the show started."
"Yeesh, not really a warm opening."
"Definitely not. I'd be lying if I said my confidence wasn't shaken a bit. But then I talked with Graham behind the bar about it and he helped reassure me. Reminded me that Milah had just started her job and she was probably just focused on that. He was right of course, so I decided to just focus on the show. Which is very good, I think you might have liked them."
"Extremely unlikely, but okay. Go on."
"And then as the show was wrapping up, she came over to the bar, downed two shots and asked me what my name was. She went on a rant about how the original band for the night had cancelled at the last minute and luckily the opening act had been more than happy to take the main slot. Apparently her first week has been 'hell on wheels', to use her phrase. Once she had relaxed a bit, she confided with me about who she was booking for the next week and we had a really pleasant conversation. She even complimented my earring."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Bow down to the king." They passed a sign reading "Storybrooke: 5 miles".
"Har, har. We ended things on a really promising tone."
"Well, I'm really happy for you. So you'll see her next week, or did you ask her out?"
"She actually invited me to come up tomorrow to see the show. The band is supposed to be brilliant. They're called the 'Merry Men' and they're using a lot of strings mixed with an overall earthy theme, it should be really interesting."
"Two Cadbury trips in one week? You must really like this girl."
"I do, and she particularly asked me to come, so I wasn't going to say no."
"I think it's a good sign. She wouldn't ask if she wasn't interested, right?"
"Obviously, I'm hoping not. Do you want to come along? You could see Neal again."
"I have plans with Ruby for tomorrow and to cancel girl time for a date is a friendship sin. Besides, I like my dates to call me for a second date."
"So you think you'll see Neal again?"
They were turning onto Emma's street."I do, but probably not until next week. We didn't exactly have an instant spark but we had fun tonight. We could probably build towards something."
"Well, I hope this guy turns out to be what you want." Killian stopped in front of her house.
"I hope MIlah does too. Let me know how tomorrow goes."
"I will. Goodnight, Swan."
"Goodnight, Killian."