She was running out of questions to ask. Emma knew it, and she could guess that Killian knew it at some level too. But she couldn't avoid being drawn to those offices time and again. Surrounding herself with all the stories of love found was becoming a balm over her battered soul. Emma refused to acknowledge it as such, yet every time she crossed the doors into the office, she could feel her heart skipping a beat.

This time was no different, as she maneuvered the door handle while balancing two cups of coffee and a doughnut box under her chin. When she lifted her eyes, the sight in front of her almost took her breath away.

Ariel was perched on her desk, snuggling closely with a brown-haired man. He had handsome features and was currently nuzzling Ariel's nose, looking at her as if she were the only thing in the room.

"Swan! What a lovely surprise…"

Killian's voice made Emma turn her head and find his eyes. He was quickly at her side, relieving the pastry box from her and motioning to one of the cups.

"Is that one for me, love?" he asked and his fingers softly caressed hers as he took the cup. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach at the contact and Emma quickly tore her gaze from his and back into the couple who were completely oblivious to anything else around them. Watching them allowed her to avoid the feeling she didn't want to deal with.

"Oh, I see you've met another of our golden couples." There was a trace of something that sounded like regret in Killian's voice, but he seemed to quickly mask it as he took a few steps in Ariel's direction. "You probably don't have them on your radar because there was never a file opened on them per se, but maybe they'd be willing to do an impromptu interview with you."

Ariel finally tore her eyes away from the man in front of her to focus on Emma and Killian. "Sure! We'd love to tell Emma our story. This is Eric, my prince." Her smile was blindingly innocent and pure as she held Eric's hand in hers.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Eric retrieved his hand from Ariel's hold for a brief moment to shake Emma's and then he resumed his hand-holding with Ariel. "I'm not so sure our story is anything out of the ordinary, but we'd be happy to share it."

"Wait a minute." Emma turned to meet Killian's amused stare as he attacked one of the doughnuts. "You're responsible for this one?"

Killian took his time as he chewed, making a big deal of thinking this through. "It's tricky," he said once he swallowed, "as there was a sheer luck component in this one."

"It was destiny," Ariel pronounced. "And Killian was here to read the signs."

Eric noticed Emma's dumbfounded look and took pity on her. "They're always like this, you get used to it. I think we should start by telling Emma how I walked into this very same room by mistake almost a year ago."

Realization dawned on Emma. "What were you looking for?"

"A fishing company." Eric's cheeks tinted with a slight blush. "I had just moved to town and I still didn't know all my surroundings and I found myself in the presence of the most beautiful woman I've ever seen."

"He was so lost and I was so enthralled by him that it took me a few minutes to figure out what he was looking for and help him get to where he needed to be." Ariel smiled at him, clearly lost in the memory.

Eric lifted her fingers to his lips. "It just happened."

"Just like that?" Emma Swan wasn't someone who believed things like meet-cutes existed outside of romantic comedies.

Killian's voice seemed a lot closer than before. "Well, Swan, I figured something was there the moment Eric couldn't stop talking in front of her, all sorts of terrible nonsense." His lips almost caressed her ear as he leaned in closer to her. "Not to mention Ariel couldn't manage to utter a single word. You've met Ariel, right?"

Emma chuckled against her will and she could feel Killian's laugh as if it were caressing her skin. When she risked to look at him, she found him staring at her. "She was looking at him as if he was everything. All I had to do was follow after the fellow and convince him to use my services. Free of charge, of course."

Killian's smug smirk didn't seem to bother Emma any longer, not after all these weeks of knowing it was the way he hid how he truly cared for the wellbeing of others.

"It seems you do a lot of pro-bono work."

"A little here and there…" He shrugged off the compliment as if it weren't a big deal. "The company is doing really well, so if we can help a few people out for free along the way, why not?"

She took a sip of her coffee and contemplated the couple in front of her. Emma didn't need to ask any more questions. She didn't need more proof. She knew now - from the bottom of her battered, forgotten, and once frozen heart - that whatever was going on between these four walls, whether it was magic, sheer luck, or simply people who took time to learn about others, was real.

Her silence wasn't lost on Killian. "Swan?" he asked hesitantly.

She gave him a small smile as she nodded her head towards his office. He caught onto her meaning and led her there, closing the door behind them.

"What is it?" he asked the moment he was facing her.

"I'll be turning in my report later this week or at the beginning of the next," she said, trying to keep her eyes focused on his.

He swallowed. "And?"

"You're off the hook." She took a deep breath, her eyes scanning his office, wanting to commit every single detail of it to her memory. She didn't dare to do the same with Killian's face, though she was sure she'd never be able to forget his features anyway.

His hand on her arm brought back her attention to him. "Thank you," he said, his voice almost breaking with emotion.

"You don't have to thank me. I just did my job." The moment lingered between them and it became too much for her. "I'm just sorry that there wasn't enough time for you to find me a match."

His lips curved into a soft smile. "I'll still find it for you, Emma. I've promised." His reverence wasn't lost on Emma and she shuffled her feet.

"How long does this take… because it does seem to be taking a while. Am I that undatable?" she joked, finding self-deprecation to be the best tactic for ignoring the air thickening between them.

His voice was as soft as a caress. "Quite the opposite, Swan. But I'm not just finding you a date, I'm searching for your perfect match, and you…" he trailed off but didn't look away from her.

She swayed closer to him. "I- what?"

His fingers grazed her cheek as his eyes scanned her face. She could feel him committing her to memory. "You deserve everything."