Killian noticed instantly the way the cute little blonde maitre d's eyes lit up the moment Liam walked through the door behind him. Perhaps she's the reason his brother had been so cryptic ever since he'd arrived this afternoon? Killian had offered, as he always did of late, to take Liam out on the town for the evening, but Liam had distinctly demurred, insisting instead that they go out to dinner with his flatmate. When Killian had pressed him as to why he'd rather have a meal with his flatmate whom he sees literally every day than to take the far rarer opportunity of having his devilishly handsome brother play wingman for him with the local female population, Liam had awkwardly muttered something about "explaining it later" and changed the subject.

But this? This could easily explain it. Killian smirked to himself with fraternal pride as he took in the way the maitre d devoured his brother with her gaze. Perhaps Liam had finally found himself a lass and a bit of happiness and… no. As Killian turned his attention to his brother, it became obvious that Liam was thoroughly unaware of the Cupid's arrows the lass's eyes sent his direction. Killian sighed in resignation. Bloody git. This is exactly why you need my interference.

Liam caught up to him and the two walked together the handful of steps to the hostess station where the maitre d waited for them eagerly.

"Liam!" she chirped, beaming at him. "So good to see you tonight. Emma called and said she'll be a few minutes late. Do you want to go ahead and be seated? Or you could wait up here?"

The faintest hint of red crept up the back of Liam's neck and tinted the tips of his ears as the lass spoke, giving Killian hope that perhaps his brother wasn't as unaffected as he seemed.

"We'll just wait here, thank you," Liam answered, his hand drifting up to scratch at a spot behind his ear.

Oh, ho ho! Killian thought. The gesture was one he knew well, though he wasn't quite sure which of the Brothers Jones had learned it from whom. So the lass made Liam nervous, did she? This was promising indeed.

No longer able to to keep his mouth shut, Killian stepped forward. Finally drawing the lass's attention away from his brother, he politely inclined his head to her before turning to Liam and raising an eyebrow at him in mock condemnation. "Where are you manners, brother? I don't believe the lady and I have been properly introduced."

Liam cleared his throat, glaring daggers at Killian for a brief moment to Killian's great amusement, then gestured to the lady. "Well then, allow me to introduce Tink, a friend of Emma's and the reason we were able to get a table tonight. And this," he turned, backhanding Killian none-too-gently in the stomach, "is my little brother Killian."

"Younger brother," Killian said almost on reflex as he extended his hand to her to shake. "A pleasure to meet you, Tink."

She offered him a quick but firm handshake and an amiable smile. "Likewise."

"Tink," Killian mused. "That's an unusual name. Is there a story behind it?"

She chuckled lightly. "I suppose you could say the story behind it is Peter Pan. " At Killian's befuddled expression, she elaborated, "Tink is a grade school nickname that stuck. I was a tiny little thing as a girl, and with a last name like 'Bell', well - my classmates saw fit to name me after the famous fairy. My given name is Rose, but no one's called me that in ages."

"And she's lovelier than either of her namesakes," Liam chimed in with a polite smile at the lady in question which she returned in spades, before he looked back at Killian with a glower. "Now stop flirting with the lady and let her do her job."

"Oi! I was just talking to her," Killian answered indignantly.

Liam squared his body up to Killian's, leaning toward him to grumble in a low voice. "When it comes to the fairer sex, with you there seems to be very little distinction."

Killian covered his smirk at the truth in his brother's words with an eyeroll so dramatic it involved his head and shoulders in the motion. He was suddenly looking very much forward to this evening if Liam was going to be so easy to wind up.

Just then, the door opened again and a flurry of red, black and gold rushed up to them, babbling an apology for being late in a feminine voice. When the blur of colors finally stopped next to Liam, the red resolved into a smart red woolen coat, the black into a pair of shapely legs clad in dark tights atop sinfully high heels, and the gold… The gold fell in soft waves, smooth as silk and framing a striking yet oddly familiar face.

The woman glanced between the Jones brothers with a breathless smile, and Killian blinked dazedly at her for a moment before regaining his composure and allowing a slow, appreciative smile to spread across his face. His tongue darted out of its own accord, wetting his lips, and he grinned again as the woman's eyes raked over him top to toe in cool assessment. Not a lass to be trifled with, this one.

It suddenly hit him why the woman looked so familiar. He'd seen her standing next to his brother in the group photos Liam would text him on occasion in an attempt to prove to Killian that he had not, in fact, become a hermit. This must be Emma Swan, the flatmate. Gods, how did Liam share an apartment with a woman like that without either doing something greatly ill-advised or else spending all his time taking either very long or very cold showers?

A hard clap on the back from Liam snapped him out of his trance as Liam began to make the introductions. "Emma, this is Killian Jones, the wastrel of a brother I've been telling you about."

Emma extended her hand for Killian to shake with the slightest narrowing of her eyes. He knew he should behave himself - he could feel Liam's watchful and mildly disapproving gaze on him - and yet… "I prefer dashing rapscallion, brother."

Keeping his eyes fixed on hers, he grasped Emma's fingers delicately, dipping his head to brush his lips across her knuckles. He felt a swelling in his chest (and a stirring far lower) at her small but sharp intake of breath. "Pleasure to finally meet you, love."

Liam coughed pointedly, and Killian released her hand. As his eyes followed the path of her delicate fingers drifting down to her side, he realized the fingers of her other hand were threaded together with those of his brother. Taking in the sight of their joined hands, Killian tilted his head in confusion, his brows knitting together.

"As I was saying," Liam continued and Killian's eyes snapped up to his brother's face. "Killian, this is Emma Swan. My flatmate and girlfriend. "

Bloody. Hell.

At 8:15 p.m., Emma parked her yellow Beetle in the lot outside Tony's, the quaint harborside bistro where her friend Tink worked. She and Liam had decided that Liam would tell Killian about their "relationship" as soon as he got to town, and that then she would meet them later for a sort of "coming out" dinner. She'd been thrilled when Tink had been able to work them in for a table at Tony's for Friday night - a feat which usually required a reservation more than a week in advance.

Unfortunately, just as Emma had tried to leave her office for the day, her boss had dumped a pile of paperwork on her desk, and yeah, okay - maybe she'd been a little less than prompt that week about filling out her reports on the bail skips she'd caught recently, but she'd put them off for this long already. There was no reason it couldn't have waited until Monday. Her boss, however, being in one of her typical hard-ass moods, did not agree.

Two hours later, Emma had flown home just as fast as her beat-up Volkswagen could take her. She'd showered, changed, and hauled ass back to the waterfront in record time, practically jogging across the bistro's parking lot to the extent her 4-inch heels would allow.

As she approached the glass front door, she caught sight of Liam, facing away from her and chatting with Tink at the hostess station. Tink was batting her lashes at him and smiling so brightly her face might crack, giving Emma the fleeting thought that maybe the sudden opening in Tony's packed reservation schedule had more to do with Tink having a raging crush on Liam and less to do with simple luck. Laughing to herself, Emma wondered idly if Liam had any idea how many women in town would just about make a deal with the devil for a night with him.

Still a bit breathless and spiking with adrenaline - which had nothing to do with the fact that she was finally going to meet Liam's brother and everything to do with her rush to make the reservation time - she yanked open the door.

At the sound of the bell above the door jangling to signal Emma's inelegant entrance, Liam turned toward her as did the man standing beside him. He was slightly shorter and with darker hair, but identical to Liam in that confident, almost cocky bearing Emma had come to associate with her roommate when he was being particularly smug or stubborn. This had to be Killian.

Rushing up to where they waited, Emma tugged off her scarf while muttering an apology for her lateness. When she finally managed to stand still for a moment, she found herself fixed by two sets of crystal blue eyes (one smiling in recognition, the other widened in surprise), and her words trailed off. Those eyes (all four of 'em) called to her, pulled at her like a magnetic field. Emma knew intellectually that Liam was an attractive man, but she was so used to seeing him as a brother-figure that his looks didn't really register with her anymore. The two Jones boys together, though, made a hell of an impressive picture. Suddenly she could empathize with Tink's glowing grin, feeling her own lips curve upwards as she glanced between the two men.

She'd seen Killian in pictures before, of course. Liam had a few framed around their apartment. Still, there was a huge difference between seeing a person in a 4x6 snapshot and having the full-sized three-dimensional version right in front of you. With perfectly manicured stubble. And sex hair. And bedroom eyes. And…she needed to get a grip on herself. She was supposed to be playing Liam's doting girlfriend not shamelessly checking out his brother. And, wait - was he checking her out, too? What the hell?

His tongue did something positively sinful, and Emma's smile fell away, replaced by cold calculation. What kind of asshole does that at his brother's girlfriend? Casually linking her fingers with Liam's as a show of solidarity, she gave Killian a thorough once-over, taking in his black leather jacket, tight black jeans, ear stud and trace of guyliner (she assumed anyway - no one's eyelashes could possibly be that thick and dark without cosmetic enhancement). He checked all the boxes for a stereotypical 'bad boy', and Emma decided maybe her previous mental image of him as a pirate hadn't been too far off after all.

Liam slapped him on the back and began the introductions, so Emma cautiously offered her free hand to Killian to shake. Of course the bastard had to make a ridiculous comment about being a 'handsome devil' or 'charming scoundrel' or… hell, Emma hardly knew what he said. She was too busy being shocked by the scratch of his scruff and warmth of his lip - HIS LIPS - against her knuckles. Surely the heat surging through her was righteous anger.

Emma heard Liam cough - probably reminding Killian to keep his lips to himself - and for the first time, Killian's arrogance seemed to falter. He couldn't stop looking at Emma and Liam's joined hands, which shouldn't have been strange to him at all, unless…

"As I was saying," Liam's voice rang out and Killian's eyes shot up to meet his brother's. "Killian, this is Emma Swan. My flatmate and girlfriend. "

Killian's mouth dropped open in surprise. Ohhhhhh… Dammit, Liam. Okay, so maybe the little brother wasn't quite so bad as she had given him credit - still a shameless flirt, but at least not a guy to blatantly hit on his brother's girlfriend right in front of him.

Attempting to stay in character, Emma cocked an eyebrow at Liam and gave him a playful swat to the chest. "Hey, I thought you were gonna tell him about us as soon as he got to town, babe!" Babe? Did I just call Liam 'babe'? Emma cringed inwardly. "Isn't springing something like that on him right before dinner what you'd call 'bad form'?"

"Aye. Bad form indeed," Killian replied, inclining his head to Emma in an almost courtly gesture of deference before turning a narrow-eyed glare on Liam who glared right back.

"I'll have you know-" Liam began, and Emma tried to stifle her laugh at the Jones brothers' ridiculous staring contest - the same bull-headed expression on both of their faces - but maybe she just didn't try very hard to stifle it. Her muffled snort seemed to snap them out of it at least. She didn't try at all to hide her laughter at the way they each simultaneously reached up with their right hands and sheepishly scratched behind their ears, the gesture both vaguely childish and endearing.

Tink tapped Liam on the shoulder to let the three of them know their table was now ready, but as she gathered their menus before leading them to the dining room, Emma caught a confused and almost wounded expression on her friend's face. Shit. She made a mental note to call Tink and explain this whole crazy situation first thing tomorrow morning.

As they wove through the other tables to reach their destination, Liam felt a pang of regret that Tink had overheard him introduce Emma as his girlfriend. It's not that he thought she'd be bothered whether he was dating Emma or not. Surely that lass had her choice of any number of suitors. Rather, he had hoped no one outside of Killian would have to hear that bit of subterfuge, and now, knowing that Emma and Tink were good friends, Emma was sure to explain to Tink all about their little scheme, and he couldn't stomach the idea that Tink might think him a dishonest man. Dishonesty was the worst form of all, but surely Emma could explain the extenuating circumstances.

Satisfied with that thought for the moment, Liam noticed that Tink had lead them to a cozy little booth next to the large windows overlooking the harbor. It was a splendid view - he always found the moonlight over the water to be calming - but the table… Well, he understood matters of ambiance as well as the next man, but this was certainly going to be close quarters. With his height and Killian's gangly legs, the three of them were like to be kicking the hell out of each other throughout their meal.

Still, he would in no way seem ungrateful to Tink by asking for a different table. Goodness only knew what lengths she had gone to procure this one for them on short notice. She really was a thoughtful person and a good friend to Emma to do it. He made a mental note to make a point of thanking her if he happened to run into her tomorrow at Granny's when he stopped by on his lunch break. It was a fine coincidence that he and Tink seemed to often have their lunch breaks at the same time lately and both shared a taste for Granny's brand of comfort food. He'd become quite happily accustomed to seeing her there several times a week.

Liam folded himself into the booth, angling his legs to the side so that he wouldn't kick the opposite bench. Emma slid in next to him, gracing him with a warm smile and he pressed a quick kiss to the apple of her cheek. Speaking of lasses whom he owed a debt of thanks, he'd certainly be beholden to Emma for quite some time for this. He thought the ruse was going well, actually, despite his little brother's reflexive need to charm the knickers off of every woman he met. The casual gestures of affection and familiarity between him and Emma felt comfortable enough that he was certain they must look natural. Any excessive public displays of affection would be an immediate tip-off to Killian that something was amiss. Liam was perhaps not the most demonstrative person after all.

Emma arched her back to try to wiggle out of her coat, and thankfully Killian leaned down to assist her. Perhaps all those years of attempting to knock some idea of being a gentleman into Killian's thick skull had paid off after all. Oh, now he was being a bit unfair, still sore about Killian's earlier flirtation. He knew his brother was a gentleman and a good man at heart, despite not always approving of his life choices. And God knew Liam would fight anyone who dared to hurt Killian. It would forever be the Brothers Jones against the world… and occasionally against each other.

Killian removed his own coat as well, that bloody motorcycle jacket that he never went anywhere without, and tossed it casually on the bench seat opposite Liam and Emma before taking a seat himself in his typical sprawled position - a posture he'd heard Emma refer to as 'manspreading'. Leaning forward with his elbows on the table, Killian began his interrogation straight away.

"So, what this about Liam finally getting a proper girlfriend then? I'm expecting a ripping tale since I've been made to wait this long to hear it."

His attention was fully focused on Emma, obviously directing the question to her, and bless her if she didn't miss a single beat. "I don't know how 'ripping' this is, but Liam and I got along really well from pretty much the moment he moved in." Emma glanced up at Liam coyly, nudging his shoulder with hers. "Aside from a few disagreements on housekeeping methods, that is."

Liam crossed his arms over his chest and grinned down at her fondly. "Meaning that I employed methods of keeping the house and you didn't, love?"

Emma gave a nonchalant shrug. 'Yeah, that. Anyway, we were fast friends. So one night we were playing some stupid drinking game while watching Game of Thrones and got pretty hammered. I planted a kiss on him and then immediately fell asleep on his shoulder. It got weird, as those things do, and we tried to avoid each other for a week. But it's really hard to avoid someone when they're just right there in front of you all the time. So finally - and soberly - I kissed him again, and well… here we are."

"And I couldn't be happier." Liam smiled at Emma and wrapped an arm around her shoulders giving her a squeeze. It had been a perfect delivery. The story exactly as they'd rehearsed earlier in the week. Nothing elaborate. Simple and plausible. No wonder Emma was so good at catching her bail skips - she was quite the little actress.

"But when was this?" Killian pressed. "I mean the first kiss - the drunken one?"

"About a month ago," Liam answered, tilting his head at his brother's skeptical tone. "What are you getting at?"

"So then right before the last time you came down to visit me in Boston." Killian paused and Liam nodded in confirmation. "Well, that would explain why you were being such a bloody prat that weekend. I suppose I thought you were still mooning over Ariel, when it was really your own flatmate you were pining for. I apologize, brother, I wouldn't have pushed so hard to make you go out to the pub if I'd known you had such a lovely lass waiting for you at home."

A nervous chuckle bubbled up Liam's throat and he had to stop himself from reaching to scratch behind his ear. Emma must have felt his fingers twitch against her shoulder because she crossed an arm over her chest to place her hand over his. He glanced over at her and she looked up at him reassuringly. "Aye, that I did," he finally answered.

They were all saved from any further awkwardness by the appearance of their waitress asking for their drink orders - a great stroke of luck as they all seem to be in dire need of a cocktail. After a top shelf rum for he and Killian and a whiskey and Coke for Emma, the conversation began to move more fluidly.

Emma regaled them with stories of a few of her more outrageous captures - none of which were new to him, but he did love to see the pride in her eyes as she told them. The entrees arrived and Liam countered with humorous tales from his and Killian's youth. If most of them happen to feature his little brother in an embarrassing predicament, well - what are big brother's for?

At first Emma had been practically crying with laughter and Killian's ears turned seven shades of pink, but at some point something shifted in Emma's demeanor. She laughed less heartily, seemed to be greatly distracted by something, and kept shooting rather inexplicable glances in Killian's direction. Her own face and neck appeared to be reddening as well, though for the life of him Liam couldn't think why shewould be flushed. That is, until -

"Just what the hell do you think you're doing?" Emma snapped angrily.

"What?" Both Joneses responded in unison, sitting bolt upright.

Emma spoke to Liam, but kept her fiery gaze on Killian. "You know I was ready to give him a second chance after he practically eye-fucked me when I first walked in the door, because he didn't know I was your girlfriend then. But now he's trying to play footsies with me under the freaking table!"

Killian's jaw flapped open and shut like a codfish for a moment, before his expression shifted to blazing indignation. "I bloody well was not! What on earth are you on about woman?"

Emma narrowed her eyes. "You mean to tell me you just accidentally kept grazing my leg with your foot that many times?"

Killian slumped back in his seat with a muttered curse and ran a hand through his already messy hair, still clearly angry, but with a hint of guilt coloring his expression.

Liam leaned forward on an elbow and fixed his brother with a hard stare. "Killian? Care to explain?"

Killian pressed his hand to his forehead, exhaling heavily. When he finally spoke, his voice was low and moderated, but an undercurrent of irritation still pervaded. "I was aiming for you, you wanker. I was trying to kick your bleeding shins for telling those stories about me, but there's no room under this bloody table, and I may have nudged Emma's leg a time or two trying to figure out where your shin even was." Killian pulled back to look underneath the table. "And now I see your leg was taking the coward's way out and hiding behind a lady's ." He finished with a derisive smirk.

Liam was about to scoff at this until he looked down himself and realized that Killian was in fact correct. In an attempt to fit his six-foot frame into the booth, he'd managed to tuck his right foot up under the edge of the bench seat with Emma's legs over and in front of it.

He huffed a laugh and looked over at Emma to show her, but the look on her face shut him up immediately. She looked - well, he didn't bloody know how to label it. He might have called it embarrassment, but that didn't make any sense. Her eyes were widened almost comically, and her nose and cheeks were redder than he'd ever seen them. Liam couldn't tell if this was simply the after effects of her anger or if there was some other emotion at play. But what would she have to be ashamed of? She'd been more or less defending Liam from what she thought was attempted cuckoldry by his own brother. Surely, this would only further the desired illusion of her as a loyal girlfriend.

Still, they'd gathered a bit of an audience among the other dining patrons, so perhaps it was best to call it a night and go home. "Love, why don't I go collect the check and we can head back to the apartment. I think we've all had enough excitement for one evening, aye?" Liam glanced between Emma and Killian, who seemed to be doing their damndest to avoid eye contact with the other, and each nodded at him in assent.

The bill paid, the three of them walked to the parking lot in silence, Emma and Killian each still pretending the other didn't exist. A right pair of naughty school children the both of them. Fine then. He'd practically raised Killian from the time his brother was eleven and Liam only eighteen. Wayward children he could handle.

They reached Emma's car, and Liam sidled up next to her just as she pulled her keys out of her bag. He spun her quickly toward him, catching her off guard with a quick, chaste kiss on the lips. Nothing passionate about it - the kind of kiss one would give to their favorite great aunt - but it was enough distract her so that he could snatch the keys out of her hand. Ha! Killian's not the only dashing rapscallion in the family.

"There now," Liam answered cheekily to Emma's annoyed huff. "The two of you are the most important people in my life, and besides that, we're about to spend the weekend all under one roof. Make nice with each other and I'll give you the keys back. Otherwise, I'll leave your stubborn arses here."

Liam chuckled at their synchronized eyerolls, but both seemed to relent quickly.

Emma was the first to speak. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions about you."

"'Salright, lass. I suppose I didn't make the best first impression. I'm just glad that Liam has finally found a bit of happiness, and with someone who's willing to fight for him no less. Even if I did wind up on the receiving end of all that -" Killian raised an eyebrow and his lips tipped up into a smirk. "- ferocity ."

Emma rolled her eyes again, but Liam could tell there was amusement behind it this time. He pulled her into a hug and she raised up on her tiptoes to press a kiss to his cheek. When he released her she looked up at him, head cocked to the side and very deliberately turned her palm up.

"My keys?"

"Ah. Right," Liam answered, handing them over. Once Emma was settled safely in her car, the engine running, he tapped a goodbye on her driver's window with a "See you at home, love."

She pulled away from the curb, and as he and Killian moved toward Liam's vehicle, he felt Killian's hand on his shoulder.

"Well, I suppose that could've gone better," Killian said with a self-deprecating chuckle.

"Aye. I suppose so," Liam agreed, laughing as well.

As they walked together in companionable silence, Liam added in his own mind: And after that little speed bump, surely the worst is over now.