Killian shut the cabin door behind him, cutting off the wind with a bang. He shivered and crossed the room to start the wood stove. A concentrated blast of heat kindled a few moments later. Killian let the warmth wash over him until he stopped visibly shivering. So far this December had been particularly unkind to him and its insistence on being as miserable as possible was not letting up.

He moved over to the side of the one-room cabin that served as a kitchen. Killian opened a few cupboards and checked the fridge twice before he reached an unfavorable conclusion: he had nothing to eat. He groaned out loud a little at the prospect of having to go back out in the cold but he knew the sooner he got moving the sooner he could be back. At least he hadn't taken off his coat yet. He dragged himself back over to the stove to turn it off and opened the cabin's door again to move outside. He cringed as the wind hit him once again and practically ran over to his truck. He had only been inside for maybe five minutes so the cab was still warm but he cranked the heater up anyway, conserving petrol be damned.

He started down the dirt road to head into Storybrooke and tried to decide what he wanted to do about dinner. The obvious thing was just to stop somewhere and pick a meal up; maybe even eat at Granny's. But he had eaten so many meals there recently and if he was being honest, he really didn't want to have to interact with people tonight.

It had been an uncommonly long day today. Lunch with Emma had been great yesterday, if you didn't count all the awkward bits when they realized they were in uncharted territory. Killian had practically floated through the rest of the day. He tried to get a grip on himself and put it out of his mind but he found himself replaying the whole encounter over and over again.

At first, his mind had only focused on the good things: the way she said his name, her laugh at his jokes, that she still ordered cinnamon on her hot cocoa, anything that was the same as it always had been. But his mind could only ignore the less-than-great parts for so long. By the time he was going to bed, he was obsessing over everything that was different now post-break up. She hadn't said anything about Henry, when before she had talked about him constantly. Killian wasn't allowed to touch her anymore, whether it was to brush her hair off her shoulder or kiss her forehead goodbye. Emma hadn't even let him pay for her meal as a gentlemanly courtesy.

Of course, rationally Killian understood that things were different now. Trust had been broken between them after the Neal incident and the consequential break up. It was too much to ask that things remain the same after everything that had come out but Killian unquestionably missed the easy banter they use to share, everything that made their relationship so great. And of course, he missed Emma herself more than anything.

Killian hadn't been able to sleep at all and that made today so much harder than it needed to be. Marco had come by to do those repairs on the Jolly but Killian had been distracted and grumpy the entire time Marco was there. Killian genuinely liked the man and normally enjoyed working with him, but he was just in the wrong frame of mind to be around people right now. He needed to stop pining after Emma and everything that they had been together. She had wanted to move on and he needed to get on the same program.

Killian reached Storybrooke's main (one) road and decided that it would be best if he just went to the store and bought groceries. It was clear to him that he needed to be eating more of his meals at home where he could focus on getting into a better place.

He pulled into the market's car park (parking lot, he remembered, they called it here) and made his way inside. He was mentally check-listing the things he wanted to get as he grabbed a basket and stepped aside to let someone pass him on their way in. Then he saw the blonde hair and the too-familiar face. His heart stopped and he hoped that there wasn't too much surprise on his face.

"Hello, Swan."

She was reluctant to return his gaze but returned a cordial, "Hello, Killian." He offered his basket, unsure of what else to say. Obviously she was here to shop so he couldn't ask what she was doing. He had just spent time with her yesterday so he knew most of what she was up to. It was taking a lot of his self-control to not notice how normally they should have been here shopping together.

They walked into the store proper, moving automatically in the same directions. He felt her glance at him and he searched desperately for something to say. "So…what are you here to get?"

She stopped and looked at him fully now. Killian could read her expressions well enough to know that she obviously had something she wanted to talk about and was figuring out the best way to say it. He stopped walking and waited for her to start talking.

"I don't know that we should be doing this." She actually stepped back from him and Killian felt the increased distance like a knife in the side.

"We shouldn't be doing what exactly?"

"Spending time together. Casually and accidentally. We haven't laid out any ground rules for this friendship thing and I don't know, it's awkward, to be with you without knowing exactly what is considered friendly but not too friendly. We haven't drawn a clear line of demarcation yet and it's confusing. For me." She was avoiding his gaze again and shuffling her feet. Killian had only seen this a handful of times, but Emma Swan was nervous.

He wasn't totally clear what she wanted yet though and he really, really wanted to be clear. "You want to draw a demarcation line? To decide exactly what is considered just friendship or…" Killian struggled for the right word. "…something more?"

"Yes, I just want us to be on the same page about what's appropriate and not. I suppose we could probably figure out through trial and error but I don't think I can handle another awkward moment between us, Killian."

He breathed a sigh of relief. He had been sure she was going to say she didn't want to see him anymore and bolt. A tiny part of him said that would probably be for the best, but he ignored that part and waded in anyway. "I think that's a great idea. I really want this friendship to work out and I can see why ground rules would help." She gave him a small smile and made eye contact with him for a brief second before shifting her gaze again. "Can we maybe shop while we do this, though? It might be awkward to just stand here in the aisle and hash the details out."

She smiled at him, for real this time, and nodded her assent. "I think that's a good idea. I'm starving and I don't want to wait any longer to eat than I have to." She started moving forward again and Killian fell into step with her.

They quickly agreed that they should limit the time they spent together and always be in public. They should also exercise self-control when they were drinking, as they both agreed they weren't always entirely in control of their actions when they drank and there was no need for the possible complications that could follow from that. They debated about what level of touching was okay. They agreed that hugs were too familiar but handshakes too distant. They settled on celebratory high fives only, barring any action needed to save the other's life. They would nod in greeting, maybe offer a passing wave, but nothing more.

Killian tried to hold his emotions in check and tell himself that this was the equivalent of a business meeting, but he couldn't help noticing how easily they moved through the store together. They had been together long enough to develop a shared strategy about tackling the supermarket and now it was second nature to take that same route. Emma and he had always worked well together and this newest project was no exception-even if it was how best to interact as ex-lovers.

Neither of them needed very many items tonight and they were checking out and heading to the car park sooner than Killian wanted to admit. At least now they had a procedure for how to say goodbye.

"Good night, Swan. Celebratory high-five for hammering out the details of our new friendship?" He smirked as he said it, trying to hide how badly he wished he could hug her.

She smiled and offered her hand. He smacked it with his own lightly, before grinning and walking away. She walked to her bug and he waited in his truck until she had started to pull away. As she passed him, she raised her hand and waved. He waved back and headed in the opposite direction. His wanted so badly just to follow her home and forget about all the silly friendship rules they had just created. But he kept on driving anyway, even as his heart squeezed painfully.