on screen [CS&COLIFER]

vii. t[winning]

she knows, she knows, she knows.

dammit, liam.

he's fidgeting, nervously twirling a sapphire ring, round and round, under the gaze of emma swan. piercing depths of endless forest are glued on killian and is he sweating? her freckled nose -- her arms are freckled, too and he wonders -- wrinkles in contemplation, or confusion, and he's convinced she knows. 

(she does.)

dammit, liam.

he could not believe liam had even suggested this ridiculous plan because the bloody bloke couldn't handle a hangover he had brought upon himself. (killian could and curse himself because it was what had landed him here, suffering a minor headache, working at a poorly lit diner in place of his brother,
and under the watchful gaze of a stunning lass). worst- he couldn't believe he had agreed.

she knows, she knows, she knows.

swan turns around and he decides the worst is over.

(he's wrong.)

-

she had concluded this was not liam jones, and she had concluded this the second he had stumbled into the diner, wincing and grumbling as the bell above his head echoed a loud and resonating sound.

this was not liam jones, she decides.

she also decides on a list as to why this is not liam jones. (she also decides to stare. a lot.)

liam didn't wear rings (although, she figures he'd wear one for elsa if she asked).

elsa prances into the diner, radiating, and he doesn't even flinch. (he forgets her order, too.) (elsa dims.)

liam does not have a scar, faint, almost invisible, on his cheek.

liam jones does not raise his eyebrows involuntarily (or at all).

liam does not wear boots (he wears sneakers and emma hates them because they squeak at his every step).

she's still mindlessly listing why this is not liam jones, when the most obvious reason becomes apparent.

she strolls over to where he's wiping the counters, scrubbing at coffee stains.

"you're not liam jones."

-

she knows.

he turns to her, schooling his features, before murmuring, "aye."

she wrinkles her nose, again and he should've known.

"who are you, then?"

"killian jones."

realization dawns on her, slowly, and he can almost visibly see it.

"you're his twin." he wonders if she's talking to herself, or him, or both, as her voice lowers, and his eyebrows lift in slight amusement. then, as an afterthought, she adds, "he talks of you often."

he hums in confirmation. and then he stops abruptly, as his eyebrows rise - this time in confusion.

"love, if you don't mind my asking, how did you know?"

she looks at him then, and he wonders if her freckles form constellations. 

"how did i know you weren't liam?

he nods.

"you aren't alike at all." she's confused now, and he's too surprised to wonder why.

"we're twins, love. . .?" he wonders what she's even talking about - they're exact replicas.

"i'm not an idiot." he's going to correct her because he in no way thinks emma swan is an idiot, but she continues before he has the chance. "but you're not. liam doesn't wear rings, or boots. and liam doesn't have a scar on his cheek."

she frowns, a little as if its obvious, as if they are not two cut from the same cloth, with the same pattern, the same dna. he's touched she can tell them apart. (his parents couldn't) (not as if they'd tried).

she reaches for his hair, and he has no idea what hell she's doing, but he doesn't move away.

she parts his hair to other side, her fingers lightly brushing over his forehead, and almost threaded through his dark locks, "and liam parts his hair to the other side."

she steps back slightly, to look at his newly parted hair, before frowning again.

"doesn't suit you." he pretends to be offended. (he's not.)

she steps closer again, parting his hair to the opposite side, and he lets her. she smooths it out before stepping back again.

"better."

-

three weeks into their relationship, he finds a note tacked to his door, and emma's messy handwriting scrawled across the top.

"REASONS WHY KILLIAN JONES IS COMPLETELY DIFFERENT FROM LIAM JONES."

it leads to various arguments. ("I don't do that!")

(he frames the damn list.)

[a/n:

what are roman numerals ?]