A/N: Thanks for the support! I'm hoping to update this daily through Christmas time, but might miss a day or two so bear with me! Leave a review and let me know what you think!

Chapter Two | First Impressions

The seats on the plane are golden colored with embroidered headrests that display the name of the country that Emma's parents are apparently king and queen over. Misthaven.

The name itself creates a picture in his mind, of a land far, far away. In a fairytale, almost.

It being a private jet, there's plenty of legroom and the chairs that are actually luxury cushioned recliners they choose are sat in the middle of the plane, opposite each other with a couch on the other side of them.

After Leroy serves them champaign for the flight, he retreats to the cockpit with the pilot, and soon enough, they're airborne, and Killian is entirely, completely in over his head.

While it's just a taste of what royalty looks like, he feels as if there is no way he could possibly have ever prepared for it all: the gold lining on the windows, the embroidered headrests, the champaign, and the coffee table book titled Seasons in Misthaven.

He finds himself fidgety, looking around the private plane instead of at Emma because he's never been inside one before, and it's easier than facing what the future holds by gazing into emerald green eyes.

There's a giant television screen that displays a Christmas movie just beyond Emma's chair on the wall, and the floor is carpeted colorfully. It's unlike anything he's ever experienced before in his life. Liam would be impossibly jealous if he knew his flight wasn't crowded with holiday traffic like they'd grumbled about before Killian was out the door.

Slowly, he turns back to Emma. Dressed as she is, he could've assumed something was awry, but he'd thought she was just bloody gorgeous as ever instead. He's a complete fool, isn't he?

"It's just a title." Emma tells him, eyebrow lifted as she smiles nervously. "My parents let me leave for school and then I just stayed for a while. I was going to go back. I just… I needed time to experience life in the world and not in the bubble. You'll understand what I mean once we get there."

Killian holds his attention on her. He isn't sure if he should be angry that she's taking advantage of him or not. She walked him straight into this and he apparently should have known better that something was amiss with her in their friendship.

"Emma, we've known each other five years. I don't understand how you could have forgotten to tell me about this."

Her shoulders sag and she sighs. "I know. I'm sorry."

The silence that follows is hard.

He looks away from Emma and at the window so he can see the clouds. The sun's glow is orange and red, a harsh contrast to the cold of the winter air. Somehow, it's more magical up in the clouds.

"Are you angry?" Emma asks shyly.

As much as he could be, he isn't. She'd tricked him into coming along, yes, but they're best friends who spend far too much time together than they do apart. He owes her this much.

Killian turns to look at Emma again. Sighing, he says, "No. I'm just trying to tell myself that lying to a bloody king and queen of a small country about my relationship with their daughter isn't a crime."

Emma frowns. "It's not. And even if it is, I'll take the blame."

She's pleading with him now, and it's no different than the look she'd given him earlier today, only then she had just been Emma, his best friend, nervous as he's ever known her. Now, she's Princess Emma.

She's still the same person, he has to remind himself. Just maybe a little richer and far more important than he'd thought.

"Well," he sighs. "I'm here, aren't I? I suppose the week will just be less about getting your parents to like me and more about keeping my head." He manages a thin smile. "Any other surprises I should know about?"

He can see her thinking about this, as if she's trying to decide what to tell him now and what to share in the future, and what she wants him to find out on his own. At this point, he'd rather hear it all for sake of not sounding or looking like a buffoon in front of King and Queen Nolan of Misthaven.

"I have a brother?" She offers. Emma smiles slightly and continues, "His name is Leo. He's not hard to get along with. He might play tough with you though. He's younger than me, so he thinks he has to prove himself sometimes."

Killian takes a deep breath. "Alright. I think I can manage a brother. I have one of my own and we get on alright. Anything else?"

He watches her play with the ring wrapped around her finger- the ring he'd supposedly given to her upon their engagement. She shakes her head. "No other surprises."

Killian scrubs his hand over his face and threads his fingers into his hair before clapping it against his neck.

"We're still friends, right?"

He looks up at the nervous sound of her voice and frowns deeply. "Of course we are. Why shouldn't we be?"

Emma shrugs. That tender and scared look fills her eyes, as if she's afraid of losing him. "I don't know. Maybe because I didn't tell you who I really am."

"Darling, I'm not going anywhere. I promise you that."

She gives him a tiny smile. "Thanks, Killian."

On a deep breath, Killian shifts in his seat and plucks his champaign up from the armrest. He tips it toward Emma before having a sip.

"Alright, so story time, then, hm?" Killian asks. He settles the glass down and claps his hands together. "I propose we keep the story of how we met the same. It's easier to keep lies straight when they're based in truth."

Emma nods as she has a sip of her beverage. "Sure. That's fine." She pauses thoughtfully. "We've been together for a year?"

His face feels hot just considering what a romantic relationship with Emma would feel like, much less domestic and deeply devoted to the point of a marriage proposal. He studies her and allows his gaze to fall as he swallows thickly.

He's going to have to pretend to love Emma Nolan and he's not sure it's going to be too much of a leap for him. The thought is terrifying, so he won't allow himself to contemplate the depth of the situation just yet. They still need to get through traveling to the country of Misthaven.

"I proposed very romantically by the water at dusk." He lifts his eyes to meet her gaze. With a confident smirk, he adds, "On the anniversary of our meeting."

Emma seems just as flushed as he is thinking about all of this. She nods slowly. "Then I guess we have our story."

/

They arrive at the castle via limousine, which by all accounts is the fanciest vehicle he's ever sat in, aside from the plane.

It's fully stocked with snacks, of which he can't partake because he's nervous over meeting Emma's parents, and anyway, they're due to have dinner soon. He's been told it might be a fancy meal, with upwards of six courses, but Emma wasn't sure.

He tries getting himself in the mindset of an engaged person instead of focusing too much on his nerves. He runs through the stories they'd come up with to tell about their engagement and dating history, and as he considers how he should act with Emma at his side, it dawns on him that he's probably going to have to kiss her at some point.

Butterflies flutter around in his stomach at even the inception of the thought.

Of course, he's thought about kissing her before, perhaps once or twice while they were tipsy in the back of a dark bar, but he's always held himself at a higher caliber than the type to kiss one's best friend whilst drunk, especially considering she doesn't see him as anything but a friend.

When he looks away from the window that peers out at the snow-powdered and Christmas decorated streets of Emma's domain, he finds her nervous, staring down at her lap as she fidgets with her fingers. She's biting her lip, a nasty habit, and obviously trying to hold things together.

Killian reaches out and takes her hand, causing her to look up at him with widened eyes.

"You don't have to worry, love," he murmurs. "I'm here."

Emma manages a small smile. To his surprise, she holds on tighter to his hand. "I know, I'm just…" Again, she twists the ring around her finger and looks away from him. She laughs to herself, shaking her head, "I was… kind of hoping I would have found somebody by now, you know?"

Killian feels a pang of jealousy- for what reason he isn't certain. Thinking of Emma making this trip with another man she'll just toss aside in a few months in tow just seems wrong. While he adores Emma Nolan with all he is, her choice in men is, and has always been as far as he can tell, dreadful.

These thoughts are followed by his own dread in reflection on his own life's choices and how he hasn't had a steady girlfriend in over five years.

He shoves the corrupt thoughts away and leans in close to Emma, pulling his hand away from hers so he can wrap his arm around her instead. She presses against him as if by instinct and rests her head on his shoulder.

"Believe it or not, I know exactly how you feel." Killian finds himself saying. "Liam tells me it'll happen when it's right, but it feels awful in the meantime."

Emma doesn't move or speak for a few seconds, and when she does, she leans away from him and smiles a little.

"Yeah."

He gets caught up in the impossibly warm feeling of the moment and in the way her fingers touch his gently. He finds himself wanting to hold her closer, but at the same time he knows he shouldn't.

He searches her face and gazes into her eyes for far too long.

The car suddenly comes to a stop and they both jerk apart in attention. He clears his throat and looks out the window, a little more than curious about what sort of home the Princess of Misthaven goes to for Christmas.

What lies before them is the castle. It's a great structure, beautifully lit with the warm glow of the setting sun. There's a massive Christmas tree set in the center of the rounded driveway, proudly glowing bright even before night has fallen.

Nervous butterflies find their way back into his belly. Celebrating Christmas in a place like this is certainly going to be magical, if he can somehow get over the fact that he and Emma are lying about their relationship.

"So it's actually a castle," he says.

Emma laughs a little. "Yeah." With a twinkle in her eye, she squeezes his hand. "C'mon. Time to meet my family."

Even the vague thoughts he has of this moment frighten him to the point that his heart leaps against his ribcage. He follows Emma's lead out of the limo, and he finds he doesn't have to wait long at all to meet her parents. They're waiting for them, gathered together and practically jumping up and down with eagerness to finally see their daughter again.

"Emma, you look so beautiful!" Emma's mother gasps.

She's a pretty woman, with graying dark hair and a petite frame. She has a shawl on over her dress. When she looks over at him, he finds glistening bright eyes that remind him of his best friend.

Beside her, Emma's father stands. He's dressed more casually than he would've thought a king would, and he grins at the pair of them just the same. He seems kind and understanding, two attributes that contradict the fear Emma had expressed to him about being honest.

Emma's brother Leopold is a twenty-something with much the same look as his father, right down to the chisel chin.

Emma laughs at her mother's complement and accepts a warm hug. "Thanks, Mom."

She turns to him and gestures to her family. "Um, so this is my fiancé, Killian. Killian, my mom, Mary Margaret. My dad, David. And my kid brother Leo."

Killian chuckles when Leopold rolls his eyes at his sister's introduction. He extends a hand for Mary Margaret to shake, but the woman shakes her head and holds her arms out.

"Oh, no you don't! You're practically family and family get hugs."

He can't help but grin as he goes in for a hug with the queen. After, he turns to David and tilts his head.

"How about you, Sir? Would a handshake do better?"

David chuckles and nods. "A handshake is just fine for me, Killian."

So far so good, Killian thinks. He turns to Leopold after and shakes his hand too.

"It's good to meet you. Do you prefer Leo…?"

The prince shakes it off. "Either way is fine by me."

"Alright." Killian smiles. He turns back to Emma and presses his hand against the small of her back. "Thank you for having us. You have a beautiful… castle."

The royals laugh, Emma included.

"Thank you." Mary Margaret says on a giggle. She gestures toward the door. "Let's get you inside. I'm sure you're starved."

"Oh, you have no idea." Killian says, hoping his lightheartedness will get him into their good graces.

As they walk toward the castle, Killian meets Emma's eyes. She seems impressed by his behavior with her family, as she very well should be.

He smiles at her slightly. It's not anywhere near over yet. There's still far too much time for things to go wildly awry.