A/N: So after the first date, I had to think long and hard about what snippet into this budding relationship should come next. I had so many of you respond positively to the last chapter being essentially just Killian and Emma, so I decided to do another like that this week. More of the others will be creeping in again in the coming weeks, but this is just a nice fluffy chapter about adventures in sailing and Emma and Killian testing the waters of their new connection. If you are not a fan of love forming quickly, then get out while you can. If you are like me though, and love instant connections and emotions manifesting swiftly, read on. I hope you all enjoy and thank you for reading!

Two weeks – that was how long it had been since Emma met Killian, but it almost felt like a lifetime. Since that first date, they'd managed to see each other in some capacity every day and her level of comfort with him struck Emma as extraordinary. Never in her life had she met a man who she didn't believe had ulterior motives, and at every point that Emma expected Killian to show some hidden ugliness or to do her wrong, he didn't.

That wasn't to say he was a perfect gentleman. Perfect gentleman didn't get unexpectedly frisky in their new pick up trucks with girls at the end of a third date. When Emma pointed that out, insisting that he come into her house with her so they could continue those more elicit activities, he shot her down, insisting that he meant to do this right, and then apologizing for losing his head. That she loved his slipping control didn't matter, to Killian Emma deserved more and part of her loved that. He made her feel important and special and when he looked at her like he was now, as if she was the most gorgeous woman he'd ever seen, she felt it all the way down to her toes. Out here on the open water, she'd expected a little fear, but all she felt was peace and happiness.

Despite living on the coast of Maine for quite a while now, Emma didn't have an exceptional level of experience on the ocean. She wouldn't call it an aversion per se, but she'd never really trusted putting herself out there on one of the fishermen's dinghies for fun. It always seemed too risky to put herself in the middle of the sea on one of those rickety vessels. This boat though, the one Killian had secured for the afternoon date, was far from a dinghy. It was top of the line, sleek and spacious, a sailboat not often seen in a town like Storybrooke, but damn if it wasn't impressive.

"As far as cards to play go, this is a pretty good one." Emma watched Killian's reaction, expecting a laugh or something, but she could have sworn she saw him blush instead as he ran a hand through his hair.

"I've been wanting to get you out on the ocean for a while now, and this seemed like a good way to do that." That was an understatement. He'd explained as they were leaving port that this boat belonged to a rich client from Boston who simply vacationed here a month each summer in an old family home thirty miles north of Storybrooke. The man had been so impressed by Killian's work that he offered a favor, and Killian asked to use the boat today, before the owner picked it up tomorrow. It spoke to Killian's personable nature that a relative stranger trusted him with such a prize.

"Do we have a destination in mind, or…?" Killian smiled, and Emma knew he'd snuffed out her subtle digging to find out where exactly they were headed. All he'd said to her last night when she agreed to this day together was that they'd be on the water and that she should bring her camera. The last part especially intrigued her because it meant they weren't simply sailing off into the middle of nowhere.

"I'm beginning to expect that you might not be terribly fond of surprises, love."

"Historically, no, but I could be persuaded to stop asking questions." Emma licked her lips purposefully baiting him and she delighted in the groan he let out at that and his mumbled claim that she was a 'bloody siren.' It was fast becoming one of her favorite things – tempting Killian into dropping his premise of propriety even for a moment.He gave her a quick kiss but then pulled back, reminding her that if he didn't sail this boat, they'd never even get to the surprise.

"So, the wedding fast approaches." Emma's heart stuttered at Killian's words, until she realized that he meant Elsa and Liam's wedding. The strange sense of loss she felt at the realization should have frightened her because it was definitely a little crazy, but she shook it away.

"In the next month we've got a shower, a bachelorette party, final dress fittings, the rehearsal and the wedding itself. It's a lot. Way too much if you ask me."

"Not one for the big white wedding, Swan?" Emma considered and shrugged. In all honesty, she wasn't the girl who thought about her wedding much at all, but something inside her seemed to think now was a good time to reevaluate.

"No I guess not. I always pictured small, something shared with just your closest friends and family you know?" Killian smiled, and Emma knew from the look in his eyes that he agreed. It wasn't a look of appeasement, but one of understanding, something she got in spades from Killian.

"Aye, love. My brother though is hell bent on giving Elsa everything and to him that means a great big affair."

Emma knew Killian was exactly right. Liam and Elsa were schoolteachers, and so not wealthy by any means, but here Liam was creating all of these moments for Elsa because he believed they would make her happy. Emma didn't doubt that they would, but she herself would go crazy with the details. Elsa was the opposite and actually seemed to enjoy it as much as Liam did, and for them it was working. Emma could certainly grin and bear the more unfortunate elements of the next month to see her sister happy though.

"Well not everything. He's not willing to give her a real girls' weekend away for her bachelorette party. He's got all of you tagging along too." Not that Emma minded at all, it meant she wouldn't have to go the whole weekend without seeing Killian at all. They were still a few weeks away from that weekend, and God willing they'd have taken that next step so she could invite him to stay in her room all night. The dirtier thoughts in the midst of their innocent day date made her blush a bit.

"Will my presence really be such a bother, love?" Killian asked teasingly, taking her hand in his and kissing it lightly. His soft sort of intimacy did nothing to quench the yearning she had for him, but she stuck with banter, loving the back and forth they had too much to break away just yet.

"That remains to be seen." He laughed at that, shaking his head.

"I guess I can only hope that today's destination solidifies your fancy for me, love. I would hate to think you're sick of me already." Now Emma laughed too, because that definitely was not the case.

"Not a chance, Captain." She placed another chaste kiss on his lips. Emma asked if she could help in any way, but Killian waved her off, insisting that her job on this leg of the date was to just enjoy.

Not even ten minutes later, though, Emma noticed the change in the landscape around them. Their boat began to pass a much rockier shore than Emma was used to at home. The massive boulders extended into the sea, and had multi colored spots on them. Only upon closer inspection did Emma realize those spots weren't just natural discoloration.

"Are those…" Emma's words trailed off as she gazed out into the scene before her.

"Seals. A pretty harmonious mix of harbor and gray if my eyes don't deceive me." Emma could barely wrap her mind around what she was seeing. There were just so many of them and they all sat there sunning themselves, with just a few bothering to swim in the ocean. It was easily one of the coolest things she'd seen in a long time, and Emma couldn't believe just how close they were getting under Killian's careful captaining.

The plump creatures surprised Emma in how unaffected they were by the presence of a boat or people. Some of them deigned to pop open their dark black eyes or turn their attention to Emma and Killian at first, but they all eventually returned to their own routines, satisfied that they were in no real danger. The varying sizes and coats of the seals also told Emma that some of them were still just babies, but the whole colony of seals seemed hell bent on taking it easy. They all glistened in the sun in varying shades of brown and black and gray and every once in a while one would make a sort of trumpeted crying sound that was somewhat drowned out by the surf around them.

"I've never seen any seals in the wild before. Just at the marine sanctuary in Portland and the aquarium in Boston. This is amazing." Emma reached for her camera and began taking pictures of the beautiful but blatantly lazing creatures. Killian meanwhile, came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her.

"Do you like it?" Emma nodded, not even having words for how cool this was.

"How did you know about this?"

"Research, love. I can't expect to remain in your good graces without some sort of inducement, now, can I?" Emma turned around in Killian's embrace, placing her camera carefully on the table beside her.

"Don't get me wrong, this date is amazing, but you know I don't need all this right? I'm dating you for you. The rest of it is just icing on the cake." Emma expected him to respond but he just beamed at her wordlessly. "What?"

"You said dating me." Emma raised a brow at his comment.

"Yeah, that's typically what it's called when you go on a number of dates with another person. Why what did you think this was?" Killian brought a hand to cup her cheek, his thumb grazing ever so slightly.

"I think that being with you is my life's greatest privilege, love, and that you've given me a good in with your words to ask you for something." Emma smirked a bit at how flustered he'd suddenly gotten.

"Killian Jones, are you about to ask me to go steady?" His eyes flashed back up to hers and though he smiled, it was shyer than she'd come to expect from him.

"I might not have phrased it like that, but yes." Emma ran her hand across his chest lightly, feeling the gentle thump thump of his heartbeat under her fingertips.

"How would you have phrased it?"

"I might have asked that you be mine as much as I'm already yours." Emma felt her body humming with energy. His words ignited something in her, and more than anything she wanted them to belong with each other, someone to be vulnerable with, and to share in the ups and downs of whatever life threw their way. She'd never had a relationship with someone that worked like that before. "Girlfriend seems a silly term for all I want from you, Emma, but it's the next step I think."

"Okay. Though I should warn you, I'll probably be a terrible girlfriend, as I've never really done this." Killian's brow furrowed.

"You've never dated anyone?" She felt slightly embarrassed at his surprise, but he immediately made her feel better when he held her tighter as if he was afraid she'd slip away from him.

"Not exclusively, and definitely not with feelings like these." Killian chuckled and the vibrations that came through his chest warmed Emma through.

"I guess in that regard we're in the same boat." They smiled at each other.

"Luckily for me I'm dating a pretty good Captain." Killian groaned at the sailing pun and with a last kiss allowed Emma to move about the boat and get more shots of the amazingness he'd brought her to see today. What he probably didn't notice though was that she got a few shots of him too, ones she couldn't wait to get home and develop.

The rest of the afternoon passed in the same way, with a happy fluttering feeling coursing through Emma all the while, but when the sun began to set and they returned to the docks once more, neither Emma nor Killian wanted to say goodbye. It was fortunate for them then that they didn't have to, and with a new plan in place, Emma went home only briefly to freshen up after their day on the water before meeting him at his house for dinner. Though she knew he'd probably stick to his guns about waiting to take things further, Emma also decided not to make resistance easy, and she had the perfect 'official girlfriend' outfit to emphasize just what he'd be missing.

…

Finally this house feels like home, Killian thought to himself as he worked to put the finishing touches on the dinner before him. It was the first real meal he'd made in the house, seeing as he'd only actually received the keys two days ago. 'The fastest sale in Storybrooke history,' Graham had called it, but Killian didn't bat an eye at the expense it had been to get there. There was still much to do in terms of getting it ready and truly livable. As it was the house was still pretty sparsely furnished, but Emma didn't seem to mind. If anything she found it charming.

"You're really sure you want me over? I can make us dinner at my place." She'd asked earlier, but Killian was adamant. He had spent the last few nights in this house clinging to the remembrance of Emma stopping by the day he'd moved in with a home warming gift of the best brownies he'd ever eaten. She hadn't stayed very long, as she had a job to do that afternoon, but his heart warmed at her thoughtful kindness. He wanted more memories of Emma here, to fill the house when she did indeed leave again.

He'd also managed to concoct a scheme that would involve more of Emma's influence here in this place. Currently she was sitting at the island counter, a glass of wine in hand and a pencil in the other, helping him make a list of what still needed buying and painting and the like. It was a way to see things through her eyes, and to get a better read on what she would want.

"How's it coming, love?" Emma looked up at him and smiled, a shy, sweet look that said she was trying but still a bit surprised at having been asked for her input. He'd told her that he rather liked the feel of her little house, and that he far preferred it to Liam and Elsa's interior creations, which was true, but honestly she could pick out chartreuse curtains, tiger print carpet, and a hot pink chandelier at this point and he'd probably humor her, as long as it made her happy.

"Okay. It's such a big house, and so beautiful, it's hard to know exactly what's right for it, you know?" He nodded.

"Aye, love. So you see my predicament." She straightened a bit in her chair, bringing his attention to the figure she cut in the lovely white dress she'd worn to this second part of their date. He clenched his jaw to keep it from going slack as it had when he'd answered the door and seen her standing there. She'd been gone all of an hour, and somehow she'd transformed from the prettily windswept look of a day at sea to effortlessly elegant. Her hair fell down around her shoulders now, freed from the tie that held it back this afternoon, and the only pop of color in her outfit were the sinful red heels she wore. They gave him ideas that sharply detoured from his honorable intentions.

"You know this list would be a lot more comprehensive if you actually took me upstairs." Killian grinned at that, knowing that the reason he hadn't been as hospitable as he should be was because he didn't think he could manage. Bringing her upstairs looking like that would be pushing the bounds of his will power, and though she called to him more than any woman ever had in his life, he intended to take his time with Emma and show her that while he might not be her first love, he wanted to be her last.

To keep away the thoughts of love growing between them so quickly, Killian plated their food and brought Emma her dish. Another night they might have eaten in the dining room, but he realized too late that he hadn't actually purchased a table and chairs yet. After the initial embarrassment however, he rallied, and now here they were. He filled her glass of wine, made sure she was squared away and pulled his own chair close to hers so that they weren't too vastly parted.

"Thank you." Her words bordered on a whisper, and the shyness had returned. She looked at him instead of the food before her, and a thoughtfulness passed in her jade colored eyes.

"What have I done to deserve that look?" Emma blushed and he itched to kiss her or touch her or do anything really to watch it spread. The way the rosiness complimented her sun kissed skin was indescribable, and it always seemed to come when he asked for a look into her mind, as if she wasn't used to people asking what she thought and what she felt. To Killian, her opinion and her feelings were paramount, and he craved those just as much as he wanted her person.

"Everything. This is our what, fifth official date, and every one is so much better than all the others I've ever been on." Killian grinned, glad to hear he was winning her over.

"Tell me about the worst date you've ever been on." Emma groaned, and he laughed a bit at the outburst. "I could go first if you'd rather?" She nodded.

"I can't imagine you planning a bad date, but sure." Killian didn't need to think very hard about it, for there was a clear winner amongst a history of relatively uneventful dating. Surely no one compared to Emma in terms of goodness, but one hour spent in the company of a woman definitely took the cake for most painful.

"Just before I shipped off on my first deployment, I went to dinner with this lass back home. She was always very friendly, a sweet girl I thought, and I figured she might be a good last outing before I left. I didn't want to admit it but I was a bit nervous and the thought of a kind, smiling beauty to look back on seemed a good thing to take with me into a warzone." Emma's hand came to squeeze his leg as he moved on. "Turns out she was in love with Liam."

"No!" Emma said, evidently shocked that such a thing could happen. He'd been just as surprised in the moment all those years ago.

"Aye, there we were, in the middle of the most expensive meal I'd ever been to, never mind paid for, and she was talking about my brother. He was already away, and I swear she looked at me and said she hoped I'd turn out just like him and then I'd be a truly great catch." Emma huffed at that.

"Seriously?! Some people are so stupid!" He muffled a bit of laughter at Emma's outrage. "Not that Liam's not great, he is, but you were never going to be him. And seriously thank God. He can be so…"

"Handsome?" Killian asked in a teasing way. Emma rolled her eyes.

"I was actually going to say preachy." Killian did laugh out loud this time.

"You'll hear no argument on my part over that. I've gotten more than my fair share of Liam life talks." Emma smiled, moving to eat some more of her food, but Killian saw an opportunity to keep their playfulness going. "What other differences have you found love? And please, spare me the ugly and just give me the good news." Emma hummed, pressing a finger to her lips as if considering. Her eyes ran across his face as she did.

"You're both charming, but I think you might just edge him out."

"Just edge him out?" She tilted her head, her smile widening at his feigned personal injury.

"You're also funnier than he is for sure." Killian nodded.

"My brother loves a good pun, and almost exclusively relies on them. I'm afraid that is his downfall." Emma laughed and he silently pleaded with her to go on.

"You're not terrible to look at." Despite her words, he knew Emma found him desirable. He'd caught her glancing at him many a time, though not nearly as much as he looked at her.

"On our first date you called me attractive, now I'm not terrible? Such flattery is liable to go to my head, Swan." She shook her head, and he watched a tendril of her golden hair fall forward as she did. He moved it back behind her ear without another word.

"I don't think so. You're humble, and despite the easy going wit, you listen and you care and that's probably the sexiest thing about you."

Both of them had completely forgotten the dinner in front of them at this point, instead focusing solely on the other, and Killian wondered not for the first time how she could see him like this. She held him in such high esteem and he couldn't believe he deserved it but it filled him with the strongest sense of rightness. He was trying to be enough for her, and so far it was working. Just at that moment though her stomach made a small sound of hunger, reminding them both of their need to eat something and he pulled back slightly.

"Much as I like the direction this conversation was taking, I believe you still owe me your worst date." Emma nodded, though she took a breath to have some more of her food and drink just a bit more wine. Killian watched as she straightened up, as if she needed to physically bolster her resolve to return to such a memory. "That bad?" Killian asked.

"Worse. Whatever you're picturing, I've been through it. In the past I have almost exclusively attracted weirdos and ass holes. But in terms of the worst date ever? I think mine's a pretty easy choice too. I once went out on a blind date with this guy named Walsh and within the first ten minutes he went from a nice, unassuming guy, to a complete loony toon." Killian laughed at her characterizations. She called Killian funny and charming, but her way of telling a story was far more endearing than his way ever could be.

"What happened?"

"What didn't happen? First he treated the staff like crap, and as someone who waited tables for a long time trying to get food on the table for me and my sisters, that immediately raised a red flag." Killian nodded, understanding the frustration on some level. He could never comprehend why people felt the need to be condescending or down right rude to people in the service industry. There was never any call for it, when kindness didn't take so much effort at all. "And then when I mentioned Elsa and Anna, he asked if they were my real siblings or just foster sisters, which made me damn near crazy."

"Why didn't you just up and leave?" Killian didn't like the idea that Emma had ever been made so uncomfortable, or that her love for her sisters was ever questioned like that.

"Oh believe me, at that point I tried, but he started to lose it a little bit when I made an excuse. The guy actually began crying right there, and I was just kind of stunned. So I'm sitting there watching him cry, and he starts talking about how his ex was the love of his life, and how he was trying to put himself back out there, because she broke up with him, which I could kind of relate to on some level. I mean I hadn't ever lost that kind of big love, but I could empathize."

"So he just wasn't ready to be dating then?" Killian asked, knowing in his gut there was more to the story.

"Oh no, because then he tells me he'll probably die alone now, because he's into role play, and it's very specific." Killian choked a bit on his wine, and watched as Emma gave him a wicked little smile. She knew she'd saved that twist for an opportune moment.

"Were you on a hidden camera show and you just didn't know it?" Emma put her face in her hands and shook her head but he could see her shoulders shaking from laughter that remained in her eyes when she looked back up at him.

"Trust me that crossed my mind. But I wasn't that lucky."

"Please tell me you didn't ask him for any more information about his preferences." Killian could barely get the words out. It was so ludicrous. He simultaneously wanted to punch the bastard in the face for putting Emma though that and to laugh at the absurdity.

"I didn't, but that doesn't mean he didn't tell me. He blatantly spelled it out for me right there, and meanwhile I was still so shocked all of this was happening I'm just silently taking it in. Turns out he has an obsession with The Wizard of Oz and his ex thought she was the Wicked Witch. Like fully lived her life as the Witch."

"So what was he, a flying monkey?" Emma was silent and Killian shook his head. "Bloody hell, love! Tell me you got out of there then."

"Not before said ex-girlfriend came into the restaurant and threw a fit about him being, and I quote, her 'dearest, darlingest love monkey.' That was the last straw, and I started laughing, actually nearly the entire restaurant started laughing, and then this woman called us all cretins and pulled him behind her from the restaurant. That was the last I ever heard of them, thank god."

"Well clearly you win, love, as far as horrific dates go, that might just be the worst one in human history."

"It was pretty terrible, but maybe I needed to have so many bad run-ins to get to this. Or does that sound super crazy?" Killian took Emma's hand in his, and noticed the shift from humor to sincerity that came swiftly between them. In such a short amount of time, the walls that both he and Emma had placed around their hearts had started to crumble down, and he was glad for it. Whatever his mentality might have been at first coming to Storybrooke, he knew himself to be fundamentally changed. Emma represented a life that he wanted and hoped to have, and to know that she saw him as something good and desirable too bolstered his hope that they could one day have it.

"It doesn't sound crazy at all, love. It sounds like music to this man's ears." His own words sparked a thought in his head, one he kept with him as they finished the rest of their dinner. When everything was put away, though, Killian brought Emma into the dining room.

"You know that this is the part of the tour you already gave me right?" Killian laughed at Emma's comment, as he brought out his phone and found what he was looking for. Making his choice, he was relieved when the song he'd chosen filtered through the speakers in the phone with crystal clear sound and enough volume.

"Soon enough this house will be full, love, and I might never have another chance to do this. So, Emma Swan, may I have this dance?" She looked hesitant even as she nodded.

"I'm not a great dancer." Killian didn't believe that for a second, the way she moved through life was rhythmic, surely she could move with such grace to music.

"You also believed you might not be a good girlfriend, but that wasn't the case either." Emma smiled, some of the tension in her shoulders already easing away.

"It's been less than a day. There's still time for me to mess that up too." Killian shook his head, pulling her in closer so they were chest to chest.

"You won't love."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because both of these things only work when you've found the right partner." With that, they moved to the music, and allowed themselves the moment to be lost in what it felt like to find that special someone they'd always been looking for.

As expected, it went perfectly. There were a few missteps of course, but nothing that they couldn't handle and didn't manage to correct as time went by. In the end the most important thing to Killian was that Emma was with him. He had indeed found her, the right partner that was, the only woman who would ever make him feel this good and this free and this excited for life all at once. Emma held the key to everything, and luckily for him, Killian currently held her in his arms. Now all he had to do was figure out how to keep her there forever.

Post-Note: Okay so there we are. Just another installment of fluff and cuteness, and I couldn't resist poking fun at Walsh and Zelena in the process. I don't know about all of you, but watching season 3B every week drove me a little batty. I could not handle that Emma had been dating a flying monkey in the year in New York and all of Killian's comments all season were really what kept me in the game of OUAT. It was so silly and bizarre, and I just thought this was a fun way to incorporate how ridiculous I found that all to be. Of course I also added some line parallels from the show and enough cuteness to last another week. I hope you all liked the story, and please let me know what you thought! Thanks again for reading!