#cs ghost story au | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

jrob64 · 3 months ago

Text

Ghosted (Now a complete story!)

Chapter 5 - Moving Forward

Well, the 'short' epilogue I intended to write turned into a 9300+ word final chapter for this story. This chapter does contain two smut scenes (I only planned for there to be one, but these two idiots couldn't keep their hands, and other things, to themselves.) Both my beta @hookedmom and my artist @kmomof4 requested there be smut, and since I owe them so much for their work on this story, I couldn't refuse. If smut is not your thing, look for the double asterisks for when it begins and ends.

STORY SUMMARY: When Emma Swan’s ex-boyfriend dies, she’s haunted by his ghost. Her neighbor, Killian Jones, a ghost hunter who has a YouTube channel, realizes what’s happening and offers to help. However, there’s more at stake than simply helping the apparition move on. There’s also the matter of Killian telling Emma he’s in love with her.

RATING: M (for smut in this chapter)

WORDS (Ch. 5): 9327

Previous chapters on Tumblr: Ch. 1 Ch. 2 Ch. 3 Ch. 4

Also posted on Ao3 and ffn

*********

Emma and Killian kissed, cuddled and talked into the wee hours of the morning, before the exhaustion from the events of the day finally overtook them. When Killian’s eyes finally blinked open, bright sunlight was shining through the opening between the curtains in Emma’s bedroom. He was unwilling to wake her by trying to reach her phone on the nightstand to check the time, so he decided to be content holding her in his arms, reflecting on everything that happened between the two of them in the last two days.

Now that Neal’s ghost was hopefully gone for good, they could go on the date they discussed - was it really only a day ago? A lot had happened since then. No wonder the two of them slept so late.

Slowly, he brought his hand up to brush Emma’s hair away from the side of her face. Since she was lying on her side facing away from him, he was unable to see her features, but he could tell she was relaxed and sleeping peacefully. After watching her experience nightmares several times without being able to help, he was very happy he had a hand in helping her find that peace.

As his mind began to wander, he considered how things were going to change. Now that their feelings were revealed, he and Emma would obviously be spending more time together - going out on dates and frequenting each other’s apartment more often. Belle and Will started dating, which might affect the dynamics of the work environment.

Liam would move on.

Sudden tears burned Killian’s eyes. Liam’s unfinished business was making sure Killian had someone to love, and now he had Emma. It was only a matter of time before he would be saying goodbye to his brother again.

While visits from Liam’s spirit weren’t the same as having him there physically, at least he could speak with him and feel his presence. Once he was gone, Killian wouldn’t even have that comfort anymore. He had faith that one day he would spend eternity with Liam in Heaven because he and his brother were both believers in Jesus. At least they wouldn’t meet the same fate as Neal, but his time with his brother on Earth would be over

Suddenly, a thought struck Killian for what he was ashamed to realize was the first time. Liam had stayed because he needed to make sure his ‘little brother’ was going to be okay, even at the cost of his own peace. The fact that Killian never considered that before made him feel like the most selfish person in the world. Of course it would be difficult to say that final goodbye, but if anyone deserved to be at rest, it was his loyal big brother.

With his mind so totally engrossed with thinking about Liam, he failed to recognize that Emma had awakened and turned to face him. It wasn’t until he felt her fingers on his cheek that he shook himself out of his thoughts.

“Killian?” she asked, a furrow of concern across her forehead. “Are you okay?”

He briefly considered telling her he was fine, but didn’t want to lie to her. “I, uh, I was just thinking…about Liam.”

“Did you get another visit from him?”

“No, not this morning. It’s just, I…I’ve been incredibly selfish,” he admitted.

“You? Killian Jones, you don’t have a selfish bone in your body. Why would you say that?”

“Because,” he started, then closed his eyes and took several breaths, trying not to get emotional. “Because he…he’s stayed here with me for six years. Six years, Emma! He could have been enjoying his eternal rest for six years, but hasn’t because he’s been too worried about watching over me.”

“But that was his choice, wasn’t it?”

“The last thing Mum told him before she passed was to take care of me,” he said, tears falling unbidden from his eyes. “And Liam is so stubborn, he wouldn’t move on without making sure I was going to be happy and…”

“In love?” she finished.

“Aye.”

She brushed away his tears, first from one cheek, then the other. “Now that we are,” she said quietly, “his unfinished business is done, isn’t it?”

He nodded, dropping his eyes.

“And he’ll be moving on,” she stated simply.

“Aye, and even though he’s put that off for so long because of me, I still don’t want him to go. Which proves that I’m the most selfish person alive.”

“No, it doesn’t,” Emma said firmly. “You love your brother and don’t want to lose him. Again.” When he still wouldn’t look at her, she took his face between her hands. “Killian, my love, I know it’s going to be hard for you to say goodbye to him. Wanting to hang onto him is natural, but you’ve had more time with him than most people who lose someone they love. Just think of it though - he’ll be in Heaven watching over you. Someday, you’ll be reunited with him and you’ll never have to say goodbye again.”

He attempted to smile, but couldn’t quite manage it. She gathered him in her arms, holding him tightly and rubbing comforting hands along his back and through his hair.

“Thank you, Love,” he whispered hoarsely, emotion clogging his throat.

She didn’t answer, but gave him a gentle kiss on the lips and continued to calm his racing mind and aching heart with her gentle, loving touch. Just when he finally felt like he had his sorrow under control, her stomach rumbled loudly, causing both of them to laugh.

He reluctantly pulled himself away from her embrace, cocking an eyebrow as he asked, “Would you like some breakfast, Swan?”

“What time is it?” she asked, stretching her arms over her head.

Killian spotted her phone on the nightstand, picked it up and tapped the screen to see the time. “Eleven-seventeen.”

“In the morning?” Emma gasped. “Why did you let me sleep so late?”

“I woke up just a few minutes before you. It was an extremely eventful and exhausting day yesterday, so I believe we earned the right to sleep in. Is there somewhere you need to be today?”

She thought for a moment. “No, I don’t think I have anything going on - today is my day off.”

“In that case, I vote for being lazy all day.”

“You don’t have anything to do, either?”

“No, except to call…shit! I’m sure Will and Belle are wondering what happened last night.”

“Why don’t you call them while I take a shower, then we’ll get something to eat.”

“Sounds like a plan, if you think you can survive without eating for that long.”

“Hey, I survived being haunted by a ghost who was intent on killing me, I think I can go a few more minutes without food.”

He chuckled as he threw back the covers and swung his legs over the side of the bed. “Fair point, Love. I need to find my phone. I don’t remember where I put it.”

“I’m pretty sure you didn’t bring it into the bedroom last night. I saw it on the coffee table while you were reading to me. And speaking of coffee…”

“I’ll start the coffee maker while you shower.” Twisting his body around to look at her, he asked, “Will you be okay? The last time you took a shower was pretty traumatic for you.”

She pulled her knees up and wrapped her arms around them. “How sure are you that he’s gone?”

“I’ve never experienced something like that before, but after what we witnessed last night, I’m almost positive. However,” he smirked, “if you’re afraid to take a shower alone, I could join you.”

She playfully nudged him with her shoulder. “Thanks for the very generous offer, but I think I can manage.”

He grinned. “Well, if you’re sure, I’ll go find my phone.” Leaning in, he gave her a kiss, then stood up and left the room.

After switching on the coffee maker, he found his device right where Emma said. Swiping his finger across it, he saw several notifications on the lock screen. When he unlocked it, his messages icon announced nine texts.

As he sat down to begin reading them, he heard the bathroom door close. He sat frozen until he heard the water begin to run, then let out a relieved breath. Turning his attention back to the messages, he saw six of them were from Will and three from Belle, all asking what happened with increasing degrees of intensity. He laughed at the final one from Will, which simply said, “ARE YOU FUCKING DEAD????”

Quickly dialing his number, he wasn’t surprised when Will picked up after less than a complete ring. “What the fuck, Kil?” he exploded. “You said you’d let us know what happened last night. Here it is, middle of the day and not a bloody word from ya! We’re on pins and needles over here.”

“We?” Killian questioned. “Does that mean Belle is there with you?”

“Aye. We were texting back and forth this mornin’, seein’ if you’d bothered to contact either of us, so she just came over to my place. That way, if a police officer showed up at my door to tell me my best friend had been found dead because of an attack by a ghost, at least we’d be together for the news.”

“Dial down the dramatics, Scarlett,” Killian said. “I’m sorry I didn’t contact you, but we just woke up a few minutes ago. And before you start making remarks about what kept us up so late…”

“Why would ya think I would do somethin’ like that?” Will interrupted.

“Because I know you.”

“Will,” Belle piped up, “let Killian tell us what happened.”

“Sorry, boss. Did Cassidy show up?”

“He did. I was able to enter Emma’s dream and wake her up from the trance…”

“How were you able to do that?” Belle asked.

“I, uh…I kissed her,” Killian admitted.

“So screamin’ in her face didn’t work, but kissin’ her did?” Will asked.

“How romantic,” Belle sighed.

“Anyway,” Killian said, eager to move ahead with the story, “as soon as Emma was awake, she yelled at Neal, telling him she didn’t want to die and spend eternity with him because that would literally be hell for her.”

“Bravo, blondie!” Will interjected.

“She was bloody brilliant, but of course Neal didn’t give up. He kept trying to pull her away from me, until she screamed at him to go to Hell.”

“Then what happened?” Belle asked, obviously on the edge of her seat.

“I don’t know how I’m going to be able to describe the next events to you. I’ve never seen anything like it and I hope I never do again.” Killian took a few moments, picturing the chaotic scene in his mind. “A huge, black opening appeared and a Hell beast came out of it, along with a bunch of its minions.”

“Oh, my word!” Belle exclaimed. “What did they look like?”

Killian described the beasts the best he could and could hear Belle gasp, while Will muttered, “Bloody fucking hell.”

Killian paused the story when he heard the shower shut off, listening intently for several seconds. “Can you hold on for a minute?” he asked his friends.

“What? You’re leavin’ us hangin’ at this point in the story?” Will protested.

“I’ve got to go check on Emma. She’s getting out of the shower, and after what happened yesterday…”

“Go ahead. We’ll wait,” Belle said.

Killian quickly moved to the bathroom door and tapped on it gently. “Swan? Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m not being harassed by a ghost this time,” she replied.

“Okay,” he chuckled. “Just checking.”

“Thanks. I’ll be out in a few minutes.”

“I’m in the middle of updating Will and Belle, so take your time.”

He went back out into the living room and picked up his phone. “Alright, where was I?”

“The Hell beasts just entered the picture,” Will reminded him.

“Right. They started coming after Neal and he screamed for Emma to help him. Then they just turned and left him, going back into the abyss.”

“They didn’t take him with them?” Will growled.

“No, but shortly afterwards these spikey, fiery ropes came out, wrapped themselves around him and dragged him away.”

“Wow!” Belle exclaimed.

“But it was all a dream, wannit?” Will pointed out.

“Supposedly, but I think the events actually happened.” Killian explained his theory about Neal creating the nightmares and pulling Emma into them. As he was finishing up, she walked into the living room, dressed in yoga pants and a loose V-neck shirt. Sitting down on the arm of the couch, she flung her arm around his shoulders and leaned into him.

“Hi Belle. Hi Will.”

Will called out a greeting, as Belle said, “Hello, Emma. Sounds like you had quite an adventure last night.”

“You can say that again. I assume Killian told you about everything that happened?” When Belle and Will both murmured their assurances, she continued, “We think Neal’s really gone this time.”

“I bloody well hope so,” Will said. “I hate to think of anyone spendin’ eternity in Hell, but after what that tosser put you through, I can’t say I feel very sorry for him.”

“We should be able to get the double episode on YouTube by the end of next week,” Belle said.

“Hey Kil, if ya don’t want us sayin’ anything about how you could get into Emma’s dreams, how are we gonna explain what happened to the spirit?” Will asked.

“Oh, that’s a good point,” Belle said.

“We’ll figure something out,” Killian answered, “but right now, Emma and I are going to get something to eat. We’re both famished.”

They said their goodbyes with a promise to get together the next day to go over edits for the episodes.

“What would you like to eat, Love?” Killian asked, rising from the couch and stretching his arms above his head.

“Technically, it’s lunch time, but we missed breakfast and I would really like a breakfast pizza.”

“That sounds good to me. Do you want it delivered?”

“Sure. Do you like Petey’s Pizza? They’ve got a good one .”

“I haven’t had it before, but I’ll take your word for it.”

They ordered the pizza, then Killian went to his apartment to take a shower while they waited for it to be delivered. He was relieved that Emma wasn’t worried about being left alone. Still, he grabbed the infrared thermometer and EMF meter before heading back to her place, just to ensure she had peace of mind.

The instruments didn’t register any paranormal activity then, or either of the other two times he tested for it during the day. They stuck to their plan of being lazy all day - watching three Mission Impossible movies while lying on the sofa together, putting in another DoorDash order for dinner, and sharing childhood memories, all interspersed with very enjoyable make-out sessions.

“This is nice,” Emma said, after one such session. “I almost forgot what it feels like to relax.”

“Mmm, it is nice,” Killian agreed, lazily running his fingers through her hair. “I was wondering…”

She pulled back a bit to look into his face. “About what?”

“About when we should go on our first date.”

“Did you have a specific day in mind?”

“It depends on your schedule. Mine is pretty flexible.”

She twisted around to reach her phone on the coffee table and opened her calendar app. “I work the next three evenings. Ashley and I switched shifts on Thursday because she’s going on a field trip with her daughter that afternoon. How about that evening?”

“That’s fine with me. They have trivia night at my favorite pub on Thursdays, so perhaps we could go there after going out to eat. What do you think?”

“That sounds fun. Do you know where Neal took me on our first date? To the horse races. I know some people enjoy it, but he didn’t even ask me if I liked racing, which I don’t, by the way. Then he spent most of the evening schmoozing with rich snobs, introducing them to me like I was supposed to be impressed.”

“If you had such a bad time, why did you go out with him again?”

“After we were there for a couple of hours, I told him to take me home. That’s when he figured out I wasn’t having a good time. He apologized all the way home and asked me to give him a second chance. Unfortunately, I did.”

“Does it bother you to talk about him?” he asked.

She thought for a moment before saying, “It used to, but not any more. I’m just glad I don’t have to put up with him or his ghost any longer.” Then a tiny smile quirked up the corners of her mouth and her eyes sparkled. “We won.”

“That we did, Love.”

“I’m still amazed that you woke me with a true love’s kiss. It’s like something out of a fairy tale.”

“It was a long shot. I had to try.”

She kissed him, then burrowed into his chest. “I’m looking forward to going on our date, but I hope I won’t have to wait until Thursday to see you again.”

“You can see me anytime you like. I’m right next door, you know.”

“Yeah, but I don’t want to bother you when you’re working.”

“That’s the advantage to having a non-traditional job. I can set my own hours.”

“What about Belle and Will?”

“Evenings work better for Belle because she works at the library during the day, and Will doesn’t usually roll his lazy arse out of bed until afternoon.”

“But he sent you all of those texts this morning.”

“I’m sure he sent them while he was lying in bed.”

Emma giggled. “Do you ever give the poor guy a break?”

“He’s my best friend. I have to take the piss out of him now and then, and he does the same to me. It’s just the way we get along.”

“Take the piss out of him? What exactly does that mean?”

“Ah, it means to poke a bit of fun at him,” he explained. “Anyway, I don’t want to wait until Thursday to see you again, either. Being with you as much as I have, albeit under stressful circumstances, has spoiled me and I don’t want to go back to only seeing you sporadically.”

“Good,” she said simply, stretching up to begin another round of kisses.

*********

As much as he hated to leave Emma, Killian went back to his own apartment to sleep. While it was true their relationship was deepening, he didn’t want to assume he would be welcome to stay the night. The nights he spent with her were out of necessity to protect her and help get rid of Neal’s spirit. Now that it was gone, Killian was going to leave the choice to her.

He was surprised when Liam didn’t make an appearance for the next three days and, with a sinking feeling, was wondering if his brother had moved on without telling him goodbye. The niggling idea that Liam might have little to no warning for when his spirit moved on, or that he wanted to spare his younger brother the pain of saying that final farewell wouldn’t leave Killian’s brain. He kept busy going through the edits with Belle and Will in the evenings and spending several hours a day with Emma, but Liam was never far from his thoughts.

As he prepared for his date Thursday afternoon, he realized with surprise that he was nervous, even though he had spent the better part of a week in her presence. They talked about their expectations for their developing relationship and briefly touched on their hopes for the future, but actually taking a step in that direction was a big deal.

There was also the prospect of taking their physical relationship a step further. Their make-out sessions had grown increasingly passionate and it was becoming more difficult to bring them to a halt. They actually discussed the possibility of becoming more intimate and Emma informed him that she was on birth control. Following her break-up with Neal, she had gone to the doctor to make sure he didn’t give her any STDs. Killian assured her he tested clean also, and hadn’t been with anyone since he moved across the pond.

So as he straightened the collar of his royal blue button-down and examined his image in the mirror, he was trying not to get ahead of himself. He was determined to enjoy every moment with his lady love without letting the anticipation of what might happen intrude.

Checking his phone, he saw that it was five minutes before the time he told Emma he would be at her apartment. He stuck his wallet in his back pocket, keys and phone in his front pockets and headed for the door.

Standing in front of Emma’s apartment, he silently gave himself a quick pep talk, then blew out a breath and knocked. She opened the door immediately, as though she had been on the other side waiting impatiently.

Killian had seen Emma wear many different outfits. Dressy clothes for work and going out on dates, casual clothes, sleepwear, and even in nothing but a towel once, but he was unprepared for the vision she presented for their first date. He suspected it wasn’t that her attire was anything special, it was that she was dressed specifically to go out with him.

She was in form fitting, dark wash jeans, a short-sleeved cranberry colored blouse with a sweetheart neckline that gave him just a peek of her cleavage, and matching heels. Her hair was pulled up on one side, fastened with a silver barrette, while the rest fell in golden waves around her shoulders.

“Hey,” she breathed, a smile crossing her face, which was graced with just the right amount of flattering makeup. “You’re right on time.”

“Well, traffic wasn’t bad,” Killian grinned. “Ready to go?”

“Let me grab my purse and sweater.”

His nerves settled during the drive to the restaurant as their conversation flowed as easily as ever. They enjoyed a delicious meal, sharing an appetizer, then gave each other samples of their food once the dinner course was served.

Trivia at the pub proved to be a lot of fun. They laughed at some of the goofy answers they and other players came up with, and impressed each other with the obscure facts they knew. In the car on the way home, they bantered back and forth playfully.

“No men of college age should know so much about Sex in the City,” Killian groused.

“Oh, come on,” Emma teased. “They probably binge watched it during their freshman year before upperclassmen showed them the ropes.”

“Perhaps they should have looked into getting fake IDs instead of sitting in their dorm filling their heads with such nonsense.”

“You’re just upset they beat us.”

He glanced over at her with a raised brow. “As you should be, too, Swan. I know how competitive you are.”

She shrugged. “I didn’t really care about winning. I was just having fun playing.”

He reached over and took her hand, bringing it to his lips to kiss her fingers. “I’m very happy you enjoyed yourself, Love.”

“I have to say this first date is the best I’ve ever had.”

“Is it, indeed?”

“Aye, it is,” she said, in a sad attempt to copy his accent.

He chuckled. “I’m glad the date was better than your British accent.”

“Hey!” she protested, swatting his arm with the back of her hand.

He laughed again as he pulled into the parking garage, wheeling the car into his assigned spot. As she gathered her things, he exited the car, rushing around to open the door for her, just as he had all evening.

They walked up the stairs hand-in-hand, still chatting about the trivia contest. When they stopped at Emma’s door, she turned toward him. “I know most first dates end a bit awkwardly, saying we had a good time and trying to figure out if there will be a kiss. I feel like we’ve moved beyond that point, so I’m going to take a bold step and ask you to spend the night with me.”

His eyes widened before a slow grin spread across his face. “That’s an offer I can’t refuse.”

“Mrs. Jones didn’t raise a fool, did she?”

“No, she did not.” He leaned in and touched his lips to hers. When she turned and unlocked her door, his hands went to her hips and he nuzzled into her neck.

They entered the apartment, quickly closing the door behind them. Then they were in each other’s arms, hands and lips roaming. Killian started backing her toward the couch, but she gasped, “Bedroom,” and changed their direction.

By the time they stumbled through the doorway to her room, she had his shirt unbuttoned and was tugging it out of his jeans. “Eager, are you?” he breathed into her ear.

“You have no idea.”

“Oh, trust me, I do.”

*****

Her hands caressed his chest and abs, sending shivers of pleasure up his spine. As she pushed his shirt over his shoulders, he accommodated her by shrugging out of it, letting it drop to the floor. She sucked a mark into the dip below his collar bone, then raised her eyes to look up at him through her lashes, biting her bottom lip.

His fingers found their way under the hem of her blouse, stroking the soft skin there while he began scattering kisses along the slope of her neck. The moan she made went straight to his groin, which was already stirring to life.

She put a little distance between their bodies, her hands coming up to frame his face, “I love you, Killian,” she said, then kissed him with abandon. He would have happily continued kissing her, but she interrupted it to pull her blouse over her head.

His breath stuttered as his eyes raked down her form, taking in the smooth expanse of skin from her throat to her chest. His hands instinctively moved up her arms to her shoulders, where they encountered the straps to her blush pink bra. Lifting his eyes briefly to seek her permission, he saw her pupils were large and dark with desire.

She gave him a slight nod and his eyes dropped again, finding a scar just above her left breast. He traced it lightly, asking, “How did you get this?”

“Burned it with hot grease when I was a teenager.”

He bent to kiss the spot tenderly, as his hands made their way around to her back. After unhooking her bra, he pulled the straps down, exposing her breasts to his sight. The garment joined their shirts on the floor, but neither of them noticed. Killian’s mouth and hands were busy licking and fondling, while Emma’s head was thrown back, moans of pleasure escaping her.

“So beautiful,” he murmured between kisses. “So bloody perfect.” Sucking a nipple into his mouth, his right hand sneaked down to her ass and gave it a squeeze. “Killian,” she gasped, her nails scratching across his back.

“Hmm?” he hummed, too busy sucking small marks around her areolas to be bothered.

Now it was her turn to squeeze his ass, and pull him against her, needing friction against her throbbing clit. As she stepped backwards, she lost her balance when the back of her legs encountered the bed. She landed on it and, unable to stop himself, he fell on top of her.

“Sorry,” he apologized, immediately rolling off of her.

She sat up and used the opportunity to start working on his belt buckle. He stopped her and she huffed in frustration.

“I’ll get mine, you get yours,” he said, making quick work of the belt and starting to remove his jeans.

She stood up and undid the button and zipper of her pants, pushing them down her legs, along with her panties. When she tried to step out of them, she realized she was still wearing her heels. As she kicked them off, one of them flew across the room, hitting the wall beside her dresser. “Oops,” she muttered, and Killian chuckled.

As she struggled to free her feet from the muddle of her clothes, he succeeded in removing the rest of his. Emma was in front of him, the perfect globes of her ass on full display. His large hands caressed them as he leaned forward, lightly biting her right cheek. She let out a surprised yelp as he licked the spot, then kissed it.

“D-do that again,” she said.

Killian obliged, moving to her left buttock. This time, she groaned and thrust her backside toward him. Realizing this was a turn-on for her, he continued nipping, licking, sucking and kissing her soft flesh, inhaling the scent of her growing arousal.

After lavishing attention on her ass for many long, titillating moments, he dipped his fingers between her legs. Finding her slick already, he slid his digits through her folds. She widened her stance, giving him more freedom to explore. He took the opportunity to find her bundle of nerves, rubbing small circles over it.

“Killiannnn,” she moaned, her hands moving to her breasts, squeezing and pinching her nipples.

The thought of her fondling herself, combined with the heady scent coming from her cunt, had him rock hard in an instant. Spreading her folds apart with the fingers of one hand, he slipped his other index finger into her opening.

“Oh, fuck!” she exclaimed, her legs beginning to shake. Killian removed his fingers then tugged her down onto his lap, his erection sliding through her folds as he did, making them both groan.

Emma reached down to wrap her hand around his cock, lifting herself slightly to rub the head of it against her clit.

“Emma,” he gasped, wrapping his arms around her and licking a long stripe up her spine.

She continued pleasuring herself, her movements becoming jerky and her breath coming out in short pants. Killian’s hands found her breasts and squeezed them hard, which was enough to push her over the edge. She cried out his name, throwing her head back in ecstasy.

His arms wrapped around her and he rolled them into the middle of the bed, her body still shaking from her orgasm.

“Need you…inside me…now,” she pleaded. “Please, Killian!”

He pushed himself up on his forearms, looking down on her flushed, wanton body beneath him. Cradled between her thighs, he lined himself up, but first leaned down to kiss her. “I love you, Emma,” he said, then began pushing into her depths.

She was so highly aroused, he met no resistance and was soon fully seated within her still-throbbing walls. “Gods, Emma,” he groaned. “You feel so bloody fucking good.”

“So…do you.” Planting her hands firmly on his backside, she panted, “Move, Killian. Please move.”

“As…you…wish…” he responded, slowly pulling out and pushing back in on every word.

Her legs wrapped around his hips, encouraging him to keep going. Soon, they found a very pleasurable rhythm together, their movements accompanied by the sounds of sex - groans, pleas, gasps, and the wet slapping of skin against skin.

When he could feel himself getting close, he pulled almost completely out, then thrust all the way back in, the force of it rattling the headboard.

“Yes!” Emma cried out. “Yes, Killian!”

Spurred on by her shouts, he continued his actions until he could feel her core tightening around him. Her arms and legs pulled him against her tightly and she bucked up into him, chasing her peak once again.

When she reached it, her mouth opened in a silent scream, her nails raking up and down his back. The rippling of her spasming walls triggered his own release and his body jerked with its intensity.

Collapsing on top of her, he fought to catch his breath. “That was…”

“I know,” she panted.

*****

He started to move, but she wrapped her arms around him to keep him close. Nuzzling his nose into the crook of her neck, he licked at the salty sweat he found there. She sighed and he could hear the contentment it contained.

“I love you,” she whispered.

“Mmm, love you, too.”

They lay quietly for several minutes, simply enjoying the way their bodies fit together. Finally, Emma broke the silence.

“You’re screwed, you know. In more ways than one.”

He laughed. “What do you mean, Love?”

“Well, it’s gonna be very difficult for you to top this date. It’s all downhill from here.”

He pushed up to his elbows to look down at her grinning face. “Is that so?”

“Mmhmm.”

“Maybe next time I’ll give you three orgasms. That would be better, yeah?”

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” she teased, her eyes sparkling with mischief.

“Oh, I’ll be able to keep it, my love. Just wait and see.”

Her fingers moved to sift through his hair. “I look forward to it.”

*********

They awoke slowly the next morning, both tired from their pleasurable activities, which they repeated in the middle of the night. “G’morning,” Emma yawned, pressing her naked body against him.

“Good morning, Love,” Killian replied, his body reacting to her closeness. He dipped his head and began leaving small kisses behind her ear.

“Wh-what time is it?” she asked, tilting her head so he had more access.

“Does it matter?”

“Yeah, because I…fuck, that feels good.”

His chuckle rumbled in her ear. “You what?”

“I’m meeting Ruby for lunch at eleven.”

He reached over her to grab his phone off the nightstand. “It’s nine forty-five.”

“Shit. I better get in the shower. She’ll kick my ass if I’m late.”

“This ass?” he asked, his hands moving to squeeze it.

“You’re not helping,” she reprimanded, but was unable to keep a straight face.

“How about if I help you take a shower?” he asked, his eyebrows doing that flirtatious thing she loved. “You won’t turn that offer down a second time, will you?”

She threw back the covers and sat on the edge of the mattress, running her hands through her sex-mussed hair. He scooted closer to press kisses to the base of her spine. When she stood up, he could see the love bites he left on her the night before. It gave him an odd thrill of satisfaction, knowing he marked her as his.

“You didn’t give me an answer,” he reminded her.

Emma walked through the doorway as if she hadn’t heard him, then leaned back in and purred, “I didn’t say no.”

He was out of bed in record time.

*********

Killian entered his apartment with a dreamy smile on his face. Saying goodbye to Emma hadn’t been easy, especially after their highly enjoyable time together in the shower. Before leaving, she invited him to come over after she got home from work that evening. That left him with several hours to finish adding narration to the YouTube episode. After doing that and viewing it critically one more time, it would be ready to post the next day.

He had been working in his office for twenty minutes when he felt a familiar sensation. Turning his chair around, he saw Liam’s spirit hovering in the doorway. “Hello, little brother.”

Killian was so relieved to see him, he didn’t even object to the moniker. “Where have you been? I don’t think you ever went this long between visits before.”

“You seem to be away from your apartment a lot these days.”

“Aye, well,” Killian said, scratching behind his ear. “I was helping Emma. We were finally able to make Neal’s ghost move on.”

“How did you manage to do that?”

“I took your advice and used true love’s kiss.”

“Ah, that’s good to hear. Did he go to Heaven or…?”

“No. He was dragged away by Hell beasts.”

“It’s eternal damnation for him then, poor bastard, and eternity is an awfully long time.”

“Yes it is, but he made his choices. Now he has to pay the price,” Killian said. “But I don’t want to talk about him anymore, Liam. It’s good to see you.”

“Good to see you, too. You look…different. Happier. Wait a minute, did you say you used true love’s kiss? Does that mean what I think it means?”

“It does. Even before we admitted our feelings of love to each other, the kiss worked.”

“She loves you, too,” Liam said matter-of-factly.

“She does. We went on our first date last night.”

“How did it go?”

Killian could feel the heat creeping into his face and knew the tips of his ears were probably bright red. “We had a great time! Afterwards, she, uh, she asked me to spend the night with her.”

Liam’s reaction wasn’t what Killian expected. He thought his brother would tease and embarass him. Instead, Liam gave him a slight smile that seemed a bit sad. “You’re finally with the woman you love,” he said simply.

Killian stood up and moved toward his brother’s apparition. He knew Liam wasn’t corporeal so he wouldn’t be able to touch him, but at that moment, he couldn’t bear to have any distance between them.

“I’m sorry, Liam.”

“Sorry for what, Killy?”

“For wanting to hang onto you. You could have been at rest years ago, if not for me.”

Even as translucent as he was, Killian could see Liam’s eyes soften. “If I wanted to move on, I would have, but I wanted to be with you as much as you wanted me to stay. I wouldn’t have been at peace knowing that I was leaving you alone. I love you, little brother.”

“I love you, too,” Killian said, tears filling his eyes. “Thank you for being here for me all my life. I hope I’ll make you proud.”

“I have no doubt you will. You always have,” Liam said, his voice beginning to fade rapidly. “Live a long life with Emma and be happy, Killian. Mum and I will be waiting for you on the other side. Goodbye.”

“Goodbye, Liam. Rest in peace.”

Liam raised his hand in a final greeting, giving Killian one last smile. Then his apparition drifted upward until it disappeared through the ceiling.

Killian stood staring at the spot for a long time, tears trickling down his cheeks. In the last week, he had watched two spirits move on, headed to very different destinations. He was beyond grateful that Liam would be in a place of golden light and eternal joy.

*********

When Killian entered Emma’s apartment that evening, she took one look at him and said, “Liam moved on, didn’t he?”

His head dropped. “Aye. He came to tell me goodbye this afternoon.”

She immediately wrapped her arms around him, rubbing soothing circles on his back with one hand, while the other softly sifted through his hair.

They didn’t make love that night. Emma realized he needed her more emotionally than physically, so they went to bed and she held him in her arms, comforting him until they both fell asleep. Although she hated how much he was hurting, she was pleased to have a chance to reciprocate all the support and help he provided while she was being haunted.

The next evening, they watched the episode he had posted on YouTube that day. Emma was amazed at the professionalism, and appreciative of how careful they were to conceal her identity. He skirted the issue of being able to enter her dreams by saying the subject had ‘an intensely emotional reaction’ that broke her out of her trance-like state.

The couple spent nearly every available minute of the next two weeks in each other’s company, but eventually, real life intervened in their happy little bubble. Killian and Will spent a week in Montgomery, Alabama, investigating a symphony hall that was reportedly being haunted by a sad flutist who wished to be reunited with the trumpet player she loved.

Both men facetimed their ladies for hours each night they were gone, unashamed to admit how much they missed the woman they loved.

When they returned, Emma peppered Killian with questions about the investigation. “Did you get any answers using the flux response device? What was the highest spike you got on the EMF meter and infrared thermometer? Were there any unexplained light anomalies? What did you collect on the digital voice recorder?”

“Hold on,” he laughed, looping his arms around her waist to tug her against him. “I thought you weren’t interested in all the paranormal stuff. Since when do you know all of the technical terms and the correct names of the instruments?”

“Since I started watching my ghost hunter boyfriend’s YouTube channel.”

“You did?”

“Well, I missed you like crazy and watching it made me feel closer to you. Seeing you do your thing was a real turn-on for me,” she grinned slyly.

“It was, huh?” he asked, nuzzling into her neck. “Tell me, Love - what else turns you on?”

“What you’re doing right now,” she gasped, as he nibbled on her earlobe.

“How about this?” he asked, squeezing her ass.

“You know how much I love that.”

He did indeed know. During their many lovemaking sessions, he discovered that she adored having him pay special attention to her backside. Nipping, licking and sucking marks into it during foreplay never failed to make her writhe and moan.

“Do you know what’s a turn-on for me?” he breathed into her ear.

“Hmm?”

“You using terms like ‘EMF meter’ and ‘digital voice recorder’.”

“Oh, really? What about infrared thermometer?” She leaned back to look into his lust-filled eyes. “Or flux…” She licked a stripe up one side of his neck. “Response…” A lick up the other side. “Device.” She pushed the collar of his shirt aside and sucked a mark under his collarbone.

He growled and hoisted her up into his arms. She giggled and wrapped her legs around him, continuing to find skin to suck and lick as he carried her to the bedroom. Dropping her onto the bed, he hovered over her, smiling down at her gorgeous, beaming face.

“I missed you, Swan,” he said tenderly, then bent to kiss her, trying to pour all of his longing and love into it.

*****

Despite being apart for over a week, they took their time reaquainting themselves with each other’s body. Killian slid Emma’s shirt up, kissing every inch of skin revealed. After he tossed it on the floor, he sucked on each of her nipples through the lacy fabric of her bra. She reached around to unhook it, slipping it off so he could lavish attention on her breasts. While he did that, she unbuttoned his shirt, her fingers uncoordinated in their eagerness.

Once his shirt was yanked free, she undid his belt buckle and slid it out of the loops. His attention was still on her breasts when she managed to work her hand inside his jeans to grasp his cock. He hissed in surprise and pleasure, quickly reaching down to undo the button and zipper to give her easier access.

His eyes closed and his head fell back as she squeezed and stroked, bringing him to full erection. “Emma,” he moaned.

She pushed him back slightly and sat up, shoving his jeans and underwear over his hips. Then her mouth was taking him in, her hands grasping his ass to give her leverage. His hands moved to her hair, lightly pressing on her head to encourage her endeavors.

The sounds she was making as she swirled her tongue over the head, licked up the shaft and sucked him into her mouth had him nearly coming on the spot. When she took him in deeper and swallowed around him, he gently but firmly pulled her off. “Please stop, Love.”

“You don’t like it?” she asked, looking up at him through her lashes.

“It feels incredible, but if you keep going, I’m not going to last, and I want to be inside you when I come.”

She smiled, kissed his tip, then helped him finish removing his clothes.

“My turn,” he said. “Lie back, Love.”

She eagerly did as she was told, her feet still on the floor. He slid her yoga pants and panties off, then knelt on the floor, pushing her knees apart and settling between them. Kissing up the inside of her thighs, he moved slowly toward her heat. The scent of her arousal enveloped him and he inhaled deeply. Her legs trembled around him as he spread her open and dragged his tongue through her folds.

“So bloody intoxicating,” he praised. He licked another stripe, then began rapidly flicking his tongue over her clit, while his fingers pressed inside her. She bucked and moaned, her fingers tangling into his hair, tugging at it.

Two fingers, then three thrust in and out of her, staying away from the spot that made her see stars. His eyes scanned up her body to see her fondling her own breasts, then further up to see the intense pleasure in her features. With his next thrust, he hit that spot and she screamed, a gush of arousal coating his fingers as they continued to stroke her through her orgasm.

He withdrew his fingers and lay down beside her, waiting for her to open her eyes. As she did, he held his fingers to her lips. “Taste yourself, Love. See how delicious you are.”

With her eyes fixed on his, she tentatively licked his finger, then sucked all three digits into her mouth. When they were clean, he pulled them free and kissed her, tasting her essence on her tongue.

“Fuck, that was hot,” she breathed.

“Mmhmm. Love tasting you like that.”

They moved to the center of the bed with Emma on top, straddling his hips. She began sliding her slick cunt up and down his shaft, his hands on her ass controlling her movements. Every once in a while, he would pinch or lightly slap her cheeks, causing her to throw her head back in pleasure.

When he felt like he would burst if he didn’t get inside her soon, he murmured, “Ready, Love?”

In answer, she lifted up then took him in, sliding down until he completely filled her. Placing her hands on his chest, she leaned back, closing her eyes and moaning, “Fuuuck.”

KIllian bit his lip, wanting to take her hard and fast, but also wanting to draw out the pleasure. “Ride me, Emma,” he pleaded.

She began sliding up and down, pulling almost completely off of him, then sinking back down. He drew his knees up behind her and started thrusting up into her, gripping her hips tightly. Soon, she was coming hard around him, shouting out her pleasure.

Before she had a chance to come down from her high, he flipped their positions. Placing her legs over his shoulders, he pumped into her frantically, the bed rocking with every thrust. Her cries of ecstasy mingled with his grunts and words of encouragement, and they quickly reached their climax simultaneously.

He rolled them again, pulling her boneless, sated body over his own. Breaths labored, hearts racing, they lay molded together until finally coming back to their senses.

*****

Emma raised her head and looked into his face, a lazy smile on her lips. “Welcome home.”

He reached up to tuck some wayward strands of hair behind her ear. “If that’s the welcome I get after being gone a few days, maybe I should go away more often.”

“Don’t you dare,” she warned. “I miss you too much when you’re gone.”

“Aye, Love. I miss you, too. I’ll just have to figure out a way to take you with me. Do you think you would fit in my suitcase?”

She giggled. “Only if it’s your carry-on so I get to stay with you.”

“I’ll see if that can be arranged. If so, I’m sure Belle will be tucked into Will’s.”

“Well, at least I would have company while you two are off doing your ghost hunting thing.”

Killian chuckled. “Now that you know so much about it, you could join us.”

He expected her to laugh, but instead, she pushed up to look at him, a serious look on her face. “While I was watching your episodes, I started thinking about something. Remember how I told you I would like to be a counselor for foster kids who are about to age out of the system?” At his nod of affirmation, she continued, “Well, a lot of the people you help really struggle with how to handle being haunted. I wonder if it would help for me to talk to them, since I’ve been through the same thing myself? I mean, I know Liam’s ghost was with you for a long time, but he wasn’t threatening like a lot of the spirits haunting those people. Neal was, so I know how it feels.”

“I think that’s a brilliant idea, Swan! You’re right - many of our clients really struggle with how to handle what’s going on and how to tell people about it. Having someone like you to talk to would be very helpful. Would you be able to take time away from your job though?”

“I have plenty of vacation time saved,” she explained. After a moment, she added, “I’ve been thinking seriously about looking into those counseling courses. If I decide to sign up for them, between those and work, I wouldn’t have much time to spend with you.”

“I don’t like the sound of that.”

“Neither do I,” she laughed. “That’s another reason I’d like to travel with you.”

“I would be more than happy to have you along as often as possible.”

She leaned in to kiss him. “What do you know? I’m actually optimistic about the way my life is going right now. And I have you to thank for it.”

“I’m glad I’ve been able to help, but I’m not responsible for all of it. You’re a strong, smart, absolutely brilliant woman, Emma Swan, and you don’t give yourself enough credit.”

“Maybe not, but that’s why I have you around - to remind me once in a while.”

He tilted his head and cocked an eyebrow. “Is that the only reason you keep me around?”

“Well,” she teased, wiggling her body to shift his softened length within her, “maybe not the only reason!”

*********

ONE YEAR LATER

“I thought we were gonna have to leave without ya,” Will said playfully, as he, Killian and Emma sat back in their Uber on the way to the airport. “Thought that family was goin’ to adopt ya!”

“Aye, they really did love you, Swan,” Killian threw in. “I don’t blame them. The way you helped their daughter overcome her fears was bloody brilliant.”

“I just used my own experience. It was very similar to hers, after all,” Emma said, sliding down to rest her head on the back of the seat. “It was pretty draining, though, remembering all the shit Neal put me through.”

Killian reached over to take her hand, intertwining their fingers. “I know it was difficult, but you moved past it and so will she.”

Emma had joined them on their ghost hunting trips half a dozen times since first proposing the idea to Killian. All of the people with whom she shared her experience appreciated her input and advice.

She was in the midst of finishing her second semester of online counseling courses while continuing to work at the hotel. Killian gave up his lease when it came due three months ago and moved in with her. Now they were roommates instead of neighbors and couldn’t be happier about it.

Belle and Will were also living together. She joined them on their trips from time to time, usually staying at the hotel to edit while they were on site.

The flight home from Tucson seemed to take forever. When they finally reached their apartment, it was after one-thirty in the morning and all they wanted to do was collapse into bed.

The next morning, Emma awoke and realized she was alone, which was very unusual. Even when Killian woke up before she did, he stayed in bed with her.

Groaning, she pushed herself up to sit on the edge of the bed and noticed a note on the nightstand. Unfolding it, she read: Emma, I had some errands to run. I made coffee and those cinnamon rolls from a can you love so much. Have some breakfast, take a shower and relax. I’ll be home in a couple of hours. I love you.

She sighed. As much as she craved a shower and cinnamon rolls, she craved her lover even more. Waking up without him was not getting her day off to a good start.

Over two hours later, she was sitting on the couch, her stomach full, her body and hair clean, dressed in her most comfortable clothes, but still missing Killian. She sent him a couple of texts which he answered with one or two words, making her wonder even more about what was important enough to take him away from her for so long. She heard him and Will discussing how they were going to take two days off before going over what they collected from their trip, so she knew he probably wasn’t at the office they now rented.

She was just getting ready to send him another text when she finally heard his key in the door. She stood up and started moving towards it, questions on the tip of her tongue, when a large bouquet of red roses was thrust through the opening.

“Killian, what…”

“Good morning, Love,” he said, entering the apartment, closing the door and handing her the roses.

“These are beautiful, but it’s afternoon.” She took the bouquet, noticing his other hand was still behind his back. “Where have you been? Besides the flower shop, obviously.”

“Didn’t you get my note? I had errands to run.”

“Yes, I know, but…”

“I’m sorry I was gone longer than expected, but it took a while for me to find exactly what I wanted.”

“What were you looking for?”

He dropped to one knee and pulled his hand out from behind his back. “The perfect ring for the perfect woman.”

Emma gasped and her legs nearly gave out as she saw him open the black velvet jeweler’s box, revealing the most beautiful and exquisite diamond solitaire engagement ring.

“Emma, I truly believe I fell in love with you the moment I met you, but I had to be patient until the time was right. I never dreamed that my ability to sense paranormal activity would lead to me winning your heart. I will be forever grateful that it did. I want to spend the rest of my life loving you more and more with each passing day. Will you do me the honor of marrying me?”

Emma slowly set the roses on the coffee table, then stared at him with wide eyes for several seconds. He began to fidget when she didn’t answer him right away. When she finally spoke, she could see her words surprised him. “You…you know your flux thingy?”

He frowned. “You mean the flux response device?”

“Yeah.”

“What about it?” he asked, his hand holding the ring starting to drop a bit.

She knelt down in front of him at eye level. “Well, if you had it turned on when you asked that question, the light would be green right now.”

He let out a relieved laugh, removed the ring from the box and slipped it onto her trembling finger. Then she moved into his waiting arms, murmuring, “I love you so much, Killian.”

“I love you, too, Emma. For all eternity.”

*********

Thank you so much for coming along on this supernatural ride! Please be sure to check out all the stories and art work for this final CSSNS event!

Tagging:

@qualitycoffeethings @grimmswan @cs-rylie @wyntereyez @kmomof4

@hookedmom @ultraluckycatnd @paradiselady19 @xarandomdreamx @motherkatereloyshipper

@lfh1226-linda @pawshapedheart @vampcoffeegyrl23 @tiganasummertree @bluewildcatfanatic

@eleveneitherway @elfiola @kday426 @julieenchanted-swans @gingerchangeling

@andiirivera @djlbg @jonesfandomfanatic @snowbellewells @anmylica

@booksteaandtoomuchtv @cocohook38 @ilovemesomekillianjones @zaharadessert @lyssapup27

@undercaffinatednightmare @winterbaby89 @jennjenn615 @xsajx @jackieorioncat

@teamhook @soniccat @jarienn972 @softkilly @kymbersmith-90

@apiratewhopines @hollyethecurious @laianely @resident-of-storybrooke @exhaustedpirate

@caught-in-the-filter @stahlop @veryverynotgoodwrites @darkshadow7 @fleurdepetite

@whimsicallyenchantedrose @earanemith @superchocovian @idristardis @captainswan-kellie

@beckettj @cssns @killihan-jones

#cssns24 #ghosted #complete story #jrob64 #art by krystal #manips by kit #captain swan supernatural summer #csff #paranormal investigators #youtube #cs modern au #neighbors to lovers #cs smut

36 notes · View notes

horanghaejamjam · 1 year ago

Text

Jigsaw - {CS}

↪ Summary: You are the lead detective in an investigation surrounding one of the most infamous killers the city has ever seen. Unfortunately for you, Jigsaw knows you're onto him and has played you like a game at every turn, threatening the case and your status. Your determination to catch him finally gets you a lead, only for you to find yourself tangled in a special trap that he designed just for you. Let the game begin.

↪ Pairings: Jigsaw Killer Choi San x Female Detective Reader

↪ Rating: M 18+

↪ Genre: Non-idol/Slasher/Horror movie au/ Suggestive / Fluff/Friends to enemies to lovers

↪ Word Count: 5.7k

↪ Warnings/Contents: References to classic horror movies, mainly Saw, Silence of the Lambs, and Scream. Mentions of death/murder/being shot (not detailed). Seonghwa and Mingi both make cameos in this story with a few other members being mentioned. Swearing and implied smut (MDNI). San being a teasing little shit, makeout sessions, fondling over clothes.

↪ Side Notes: To the wonderful @pinkywritings hi darling I was your assigned Ghost Writer for the @atinyhalloweenproject. This is my first time writing for San and I had a lot of fun with it so I hope you enjoy it! Sorry it is so late I wanted to have it out by Halloween but due to the sudden weather change we haven't had power. I tried to make it longer to make up for that so hopefully it doesn't feel rushed and was worth the wait!

I honestly may do a part two to this or an expansion later on because I love the idea of Jigsaw San but we'll see.

↪ Click here to see my other Ateez stories

↪ Click here for other kpop masterlists

↪ Click here to join my fic taglist

“Police officials are seeking any leads in identifying the man known only to the public as the Jigsaw killer. He is believed to be linked in multiple disappearances and murders that have taken place around Seoul for the past three months. The victims were all found in various handmade traps and had a puzzle piece drawn somewhere visible on their body. At this time investigators have no leads and are asking the public for any knowledge they may have on this public threat.”

The reporter's voice faded to nothing as the volume on the TV was lowered to zero. You groaned softly to yourself as you tossed the remote to the side, running your hands through your hair as you sat forward on your couch. It had been just over a month since you were assigned the Jigsaw murder case, the last detective backing out after the man in question threatened to target his family. The case was quickly transferred over to you, one of the best detectives in your field, but it was very quickly starting to test your patience.

Whoever this Jigsaw was, he was a clever man. He left no trace, no evidence, nothing that would allow you to track him down. You went through surveillance, interviewed the family and friends of the victims, tried breaking down his traps for any clues, but any lead always led you right back to square one. You had tried to be patient, hoping that eventually he would slip up and give you something, but it was starting to sound like wishful thinking. Even worse, he knew who you were and started calling you out directly. You would find notes addressed to you, pictures, voice messages, all calling you out and taunting you. It was like he was playing some cruel game with you and you had no choice but to play along or risk losing everything. You couldn’t even walk to work anymore without some reporter chasing you down demanding an explanation or any evidence you had in the case. It came to a point where you only went to the office when called, and the rest of your work you did from home.

Various evidence pictures and case files were thrown across your coffee table, a few rough notes scribbled in between. You had been looking at the same files for the past couple of hours, dissecting every last word to see if you had missed any connections. Your last victim had been found 72 hours ago, and you knew you only had a day at most before the next one. There were a few things you had discovered about Jigsaw, and the main one was that he worked on a schedule. Once someone was reported missing, it would be three days before their body turned up and the cycle would start again. Whoever this man was, he clearly enjoyed his patterns, and that is what you found yourself looking for, any pattern you may have missed.

“Working from home again I see?” you practically jumped out of your skin as you heard the deep voice of your roommate behind you, turning around to see his tall frame leaning over the couch.

“For Fucks sake Mingi you almost gave me a heart attack!” you whined, reaching up to lightly smack at him, “what are you doing here anyways I thought you weren’t coming home tonight.” You and Mingi had been friends for as long as you could remember, having met back in high school and staying together through college and your time at the police academy. He was like a brother to you at this point and you trusted him so you didn’t mind if he saw your work, even if he technically wasn’t supposed to. Mingi always found your work to be fascinating and would bug you randomly about cases, which only grew more when you started investigating Jigsaw, though you assumed it was just because you got to bring your work home now. Just as you predicted, he made his way to the other side of the couch and took a seat next to you, picking up one of the crime scene photos to get a better look.

“I was going to stay at Yunhos tonight but something came up and he had to cancel,” Mingi explained, running his thumb over the picture he was holding, “ouch this looks like it would have been painful, what is it?”

“That’s one of Jigsaw's latest traps,” you answered, snatching the photo away from him, “I’m looking through it to see if I can find any missing clues.”

“Have you found anything?”

“Sadly no, he’s very good at covering his tracks. It’s been a month and we still don’t have any leads on this guy, it’s like he’s a ghost or something.” Mingi hummed softly as he continued to look through all the pictures, careful not to mess them up knowing you would yell at him if he did.

“Now I’m no expert but, are you sure you’re only looking for one person?” he asked, catching you off guard.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean all these crime scenes you’ve shown me have been pretty big and this says it only took three days, seems like a lot of work for one person if you ask me.” Mingi explained, “and that’s why your patterns wouldn’t line up like you want them to.” You blinked up at him dumbly for a moment as you processed his words, looking back down at the file you had basically memorized by this point. You didn’t want to admit it, but Mingi had a point.

“You know that’s actually not a bad idea,” you muttered.

“I can be helpful sometimes you know,” he bragged with a laugh, earning himself a punch to the shoulder. He didn’t have time to retaliate though as you were packing up all of your things and rushing towards the door, “Wait where are you going?”

“I need to check on something, don’t wait up for me!” you called back, pulling on your coat and running out the door as he called after you. In your rush you hadn’t realized that you dropped part of your case file on your way out, nor did you notice Mingi pulling out his phone to call someone as he closed the door to your apartment.

ღ ღ ღ ღ ღ

You made it to the crime scene in no time, an abandoned warehouse located just on the edge of the city. You parked your car a bit away and pulled out a flashlight as you made your way inside, ducking under the caution tape and pulling your jacket closer to yourself as you looked around. The clean up crew had gotten most of the scene cleaned by now, but the trap itself was still there. A weirdly broken mess of chains and blades that you wouldn’t have been able to put back together if you wanted to, making you wonder how Jigsaw even came up with the idea in the first place. You shook the thought out of your head and made your way to one of the blades, leaning down to inspect it carefully. It was sharp with a curve to it, but almost messy in design as if it was handmade. To test that theory you took a look at another one and noticed the same thing except this one was thicker and less curved despite being set up the same way. The chains themselves were also a bit sloppy when you looked at them closely, almost as if they had been done in a rush. It wasn’t as clean as Jigsaw's normal work, and now Mingis suggestion that you were dealing with more than one culprit seemed more plausible.

You took your phone out to snap a picture just as the door to the warehouse opened, a new light pouring in and a familiar voice calling your name.

“Over here!” you called back, flashing your light in his direction so he could see you. Quick footsteps made their way towards you before a familiar figure came into view. Park Seonghwa, a senior detective that had transferred over to your department a little over a year ago and assigned as your partner. You had been against the idea at first since your original partner had been killed only a few weeks prior during an investigation gone wrong. The chief had insisted it would be for the best though since you needed the help and Seonghwas cool and more collected nature would balance you out nicely which would prove to be true. Your impulsiveness had driven the older detective crazy a few times, but for the most part the two of you got along well and you could even consider him a friend. He was wearing a long black coat and matching gloves and his hair was long and falling into his face rather than slicked up like normal, probably because he had been at home resting when you called him.

“Would you care to explain why you called me out here in the middle of the night when I haven’t heard from you in the last 48 hours?” Seonghwa questioned, unable to hide the annoyance in his tone.

“I’ll make it up to you but I figured this couldn’t wait,” you muttered, going back to inspect the chain again, “I’m trying to prove a theory about something.”

“That theory being?”

“What if Jigsaw isn't working alone?” you challenged, “what if it’s more than one person, that would explain why nothing lines up.” Seonghwas eyes widened a bit and you could have sworn you heard him mutter something under his breath, “what did you say?”

“Oh nothing,” he brushed you off, “what made you so convinced of this new theory? Did you find something?” You froze for a second, not wanting to expose yourself for letting a member of the general public view the case file.

“Just a hunch,” you lied, “but I mean look at the way this trap was built, it's messy compared to the others, almost as if it was made by someone else.”

“Or maybe Jigsaw just ran out of time and rushed on it,” he argued.

“Can you just humor me for five seconds Seonghwa,” you groaned, “maybe I’m wrong yes but isn’t it at least worth looking into?” Seonghwa rolled his eyes but gave in, walking to the other side of the trap to get a better look. You were too distracted by your own work to pay much attention to him, meticulously looking through every detail of the trap despite not actually knowing what you were looking for. Your instinct was telling you that there was something there you were overlooking, something that was hiding in plain sight, you just had to figure out what that was.

“Hey Y/N,” Seonghwa called out after a few minutes, “I think I found something.” Your head shot up and you quickly dusted yourself off before making your way over. Seonghwa was standing in the corner of the warehouse holding what looked to be a tape recorder. “I found it tucked away over here, may have gotten knocked around during the investigation,” he explained.

“Does it say anything?” you asked, taking the recorder from his hands and pressing the play button. There was only static for a moment before a robotic voice spoke up, like someone was speaking through a voice changer. Despite that, you couldn’t help but feel like the voice seemed familiar to you, but it was hard to tell through the editing.

“Hello Detective Y/L/N,” the tape addressed you, sending a chill through your body, “these past few weeks you have been running around in circles trying to discover who I am. You have been closer to the truth than you realize but you always end up blindsided by your work and, as a result, you overlook the answer that is right in front of you. I have enjoyed silently watching you up until this point but now it is getting quite boring so why don’t we make this a bit more fun? Do you like games, detective? I hope you do because I want to play a game with you. I have left a riddle for you, the answer to which will tell you all you need to know about who I am and what I do. You have 48 hours to find the riddle and tell me the answer or you will find yourself and those closest to you in a very undesirable situation. The timer starts the second this recording ends, let’s hope you are as clever as everyone says you are. Let the game begin.”

You felt your blood run cold as the tape came to an end, barely registering Seonghwas hand on your shoulder as you tried to process everything you just heard. Seonghwa tried talking to you but you ignored him, pushing his hand off and rushing back to your car, your partner not far behind you.

“Where are you going? We should report this to the office first!” he called after you.

“What good is reporting it going to do? You heard him Hwa I have 48 hours to figure out who this guy is or we’re all screwed, I can’t waste time.”

“So what you’re going to rush into something and get yourself killed?” he argued.

“Better than doing nothing and getting everyone else killed,” you snapped back, “now if you’ll excuse me, I need to find this riddle he’s talking about.” Seonghwa called after you again but by this point you had gotten in your car and were already making your way back to your apartment. Part of you felt like going home was a bad idea, but you also couldn’t help but feel like something was pulling you to go there. The same feeling of familiarity that you got hearing the tape returned, making you feel more and more uneasy as you pulled into your apartment complex. Like you knew who Jigsaw was and yet the image of his face was blurred any time you tried to imagine him.

Mingi didn’t seem to be home when you got back, his shoes were gone and the light was off. You couldn’t focus on that though, as your attention was drawn to the stack of papers placed neatly on your coffee table. You carefully walked over and looked through the pile, recognizing pictures from all the different crime scenes you had investigated so far, each one marked with red ink.

‘Y/N, doesn’t this random pattern seem a bit too random?’

‘This is quite close to home don’t you think?’

‘The truth has been in front of you the whole time.’

‘Why do I do what I do?’

‘Did you miss me?’

You ran your hand through your hair as you continued looking through the pictures, realizing that the riddle was basically going to send you on a scavenger hunt. It would take forever for you to go back through each crime scene and look back through everything to find out what he was talking about. Even worse, it was pretty late and you could feel exhaustion slowly taking over you, slouching over the coffee table and eventually laying against it as you fell asleep trying to decipher the riddle.

You were jolted awake by the sound of your phone vibrating, groaning softly as you sat up and reached into your pocket for the device. You half expected it to be a call from Mingi or Seonghwa, but instead you were greeted with the same robotic voice from the night before. Only this time, you were able to hear his actual voice a bit more and it was one you swore you had heard before.

“Good morning Sleeping Beauty, I hope my riddle didn’t keep you up all night,” the voice immediately woke you up, straightening your posture as you looked around.

“Who is this?” you asked.

“Aww I’m almost offended you don’t remember me, we go way back you know,” the voice responded, “I’ve missed you Y/N, and even if you don’t remember me now I know you miss me too.” You paused for a moment at his words before realizing now was not the time to worry about that.

“Why are you doing this?”

“That. my dear detective is for you to find out, you always did enjoy the thrill of a good challenge didn’t you? I figured you would have solved my puzzle by now but since I believe in giving people a fair chance I’ll give you another clue. One of those puzzle pieces doesn’t quite belong, once you find the answer I will be waiting for you in the place we last met, don’t keep me waiting Doll.” With that the call ended, causing you to groan in frustration and toss your phone to the side.

“I’ve had about enough of these damn games,” you huffed, rubbing your hands over your eyes. You looked through the pictures again before one in particular caught your eye. It wasn’t one of the Jigsaw crime scenes, but instead it was a picture of an older house, one that you recognized from your last murder investigation with your old partner, San. The memories slowly came back to you and that’s when it finally clicked for you, the puzzle and the reason the voice sounded so familiar to you. That was impossible though, San was dead, you had been at the hospital with him when the doctors told you there was nothing they could do. There was no way that San was still alive, and yet you would recognize his voice anywhere. Shaking your head, you grabbed your phone and stood up, calling Seonghwa and telling him to meet you at the house in question as you left your apartment and got in your car. The whole ride there you tried ignoring the feeling of dread that came over you, hoping that your intuition was wrong.

ღ ღ ღ ღ ღ

Seonghwa was already at the house before you got there, leaning against the wall with a blank expression. “I take it you found the answer to your riddle?” he asked as you walked past him, leading him inside.

“As much as I hope I am wrong I think I did,” you confessed, “and if I’m right the clue we are looking for should be here somewhere.” Seonghwa stood still in the middle of the room as you frantically looked around, digging through his pocket and following your movements with his eyes.

“This isn’t one of the crime scenes,” he pointed out, “what exactly are we looking for?”

“Jigsaw said to find him at the place we last met and this place was the only one pictured that wasn’t one of the crime scenes,” you explained. Seonghwa hummed softly at your answer, but you ignored him as you continued looking around.

“Why here then, what’s so special about this place?” you froze for a moment at the question, an action that didn’t go unnoticed.

“This was the last place I investigated with my first partner,” you answered, “he was shot during the investigation and I thought he was dead but I’m starting to think I was wrong.”

“You think it’s him,” Seonghwa stated rather than asked, to which you nodded.

“I don’t know why he would do such a thing, but it all lines up.” Seonghwa sighed and glanced down at his watch before making his way towards you.

“I’m surprised you know, you solved the riddle faster than we thought you would, we’re a bit ahead of schedule.” His words made your blood run cold, freezing as your head turned to look at him.

“What did you just say?”

“I’m sorry about this Y/N,” Seonghwa apologized, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a syringe, “just know I don’t make the rules, I’m just the delivery guy.” Before you could react to his words he had grabbed you and injected you with what you assumed was some kind of anesthesia, your body going limp in his hold almost immediately and your vision going black. The last thing you remember hearing was his voice and footsteps approaching before you completely lost consciousness.

When you returned to consciousness the first thing that you noticed was that you couldn’t move. Your arms and legs were handcuffed to a chair that also appeared to be bolted to the floor so you couldn’t tip it over. Tugging at your restraints, you glanced around to find that you were in some sort of workshop, various trap parts and gadgets tossed around multiple workbenches. At the front of the room were what appeared to be security monitors, each watching different parts of the city that you could just barely make out.

“I have to hand it to you Y/N,” a voice said from behind you, “the last detective didn’t make it nearly as far.” The sound of footsteps echoed through the room before a figure appeared in your vision, wearing a full body red and black hood. Even though his face was covered by the hood, you could feel the presence of your former partner.

“How, I thought you were dead,” you whispered, not sure what to feel at the moment. In any other circumstance you would be over the moon to know he was alive, but how were you supposed to feel knowing he was the serial killer you had been anxiously tracking down. Shock, betrayal, anger, sadness, confusion, all of these emotions swirled through your brain like an endless whirlpool, pulling you in deeper and nearly bringing tears to your eyes.

“Everyone did,” San replied, turning away from you to face one of his work benches, “the doctors said it was a miracle, that no one thought I would make it through the night let alone make a full recovery.” You could hear him messing with something, but couldn’t see what it was, struggling to look past his shoulder as he continued talking, “I tried to find you after you know? I thought you were the only one left that cared about me, and yet even you managed to turn your back on me.”

“I always cared about you,” you argued, “that’s why I’m trying to understand why San, why did you do this?” It was at this point that he finally turned to face you, pulling the hood back so you could see him properly. He looked almost the same as you remembered, but there was a cold gaze in his eyes that almost made him feel like a stranger. This wasn’t the warm hearted and cheerful person you used to consider a friend, he was a killer. Despite this, however, you couldn’t help yourself from falling for his familiarity, almost as if you could convince yourself the old San was still in there, somewhere.

“You never realize just how valuable life is until you are inches away from death,” he explained, “the adrenaline and the fight to survive, it almost feels like you are being reborn. The more I thought about it, the more I realized how corrupt the world we live in truly is, because no one really knows how to appreciate the life they are given until it is nearly taken from them. You may not understand it now but trust me my methods will help make the world a better place.”

“You’re killing people because you want them to appreciate life?” you questioned, wondering if he was actually being serious. There was no way a person's mind could be that twisted, right?

“You think I’m a killer?” San asked, not needing a verbal response since your glare was enough confirmation, “that’s where you’re wrong you know. I have not killed anyone, all of my games are survivable as long as the player has the will to fight for it. Those who failed the games basically killed themselves.” You wanted to argue that putting people in these death traps still made him a killer but he cut you off, “Seven people have won so far, seven people who had that will to live and had the chance to be reborn. They understand what it truly means to be alive and now they help me spread my message. You may not understand me now, but I really do hope that you will be the next.”

“So what, am I the next person that gets to be put in one of your death traps then?” you groaned, tugging at your restraints. San pouted a bit but shook his head.

“Your game began the minute you took the case from Detective Kim,” he explained, “you and I always seemed to have an understanding so I had hoped you would pick up on my clues and join without a fight, but you were far too stubborn to listen. Eventually I had to cut my losses so I had my apprentices plant fake evidence to finally get you here, it was the only way.” Your heart dropped a bit at the word apprentices, your mind immediately going back to Seonghwa and how he was the one who brought you here.

“So you’re telling me the whole time,” you trailed off.

“Seonghwa was working for me, yes, Mingi as well, they both survived my games and agreed to help with the cause and when you took over my case I knew I could use them to guide you in the right direction,” San explained. He took a moment to glance at a clock on the wall before sighing and making his way over to you. San rested his hands on the arms of the chair and used them to prop himself up so he was leaning over you, “As much as I have enjoyed our little chat I’m afraid we do not have much time. I really do like you Y/N so I will give you a choice. Join me and together we can help change the world for the better.”

“And if I refuse?” you challenged.

“Well then I guess we’ll have to play a game,” he hummed, leaning away from you, “The second I walk out of this room it will lock and a timer will start. Behind you are two doors, each with a different combination, one door will lead you to the exit, and the other will lead you to me. If you choose to leave then you will be free but you will lose your chance to catch me. If you choose to come after me, then you have a chance to learn the truth at the risk of your freedom. The combinations are hidden in this room and you will have exactly one hour to find them and leave through the door of your choosing, and trust me you don’t want to know what will happen if you run out of time.” San chuckled softly before pulling away and walking behind you, “This is your last chance to accept my offer Y/N, I would hate to lose you like this.” He waited for a moment but when you didn’t respond he sighed, “Very well, let the game begin.” You felt him place something into your hand, which you quickly realized was a key, before the door slammed shut and San was gone.

ღ ღ ღ ღ ღ

It didn’t take you long to unlock yourself, taking a second to rub your wrists as you stood up and made your way cautiously around the room. You did your best to stay calm and not look at the clock as you examined the doors and then looked around for the combinations, which you quickly realized were hidden on his tools. The question was, do you free yourself and turn your back on the case, or do you risk it all and try to go after San. The rational part of your brain was screaming at you to just get out of there and not look back, and yet you quickly found yourself moving on autopilot. Before you could really process what you were doing, you had entered the code for the door labeled “Truth” and ran through it, stepping into a dark hallway and letting the door lock behind you.

You took a moment to compose yourself before heading forward, placing your hands against the walls to help feel your way through the space. All the doors were locked until you came to one at the very end that was cracked open, revealing what looked to be a makeshift office space, with nothing but a desk and filing cabinet in the room. You poked your head through first, looking around for any sign of life before slowly stepping inside and making your way to the desk, only to gasp as you felt another body pin you to it.

“I knew you would come after me,” San whispered, spinning you around so that you were facing him. Your body was pressed between his and the desk, his arms caging you on either side as your eyes locked.

“I can’t let you get away with this,” you argued, trying to wiggle away from him but San was stronger so he held you in place.

“Come on Doll, you and I both know that’s not why you came after me,” he teased, “maybe it was at first but if that was the case now you would be fighting me harder.” He was right, even if he was stronger you knew you could at least hold your own enough to get him away or subdue him long enough to call for help. Yet you couldn’t bring yourself to actually fight him off, struggling against him enough to save your pride but not enough to actually push him off. “So tell me,” San continued, “why did you really come after me, was it because you were curious about my work? Or, was it because deep down you missed me?” Honestly, you weren’t even sure if you knew the answer, your body having reacted before your mind could catch up.

“This isn’t right,” you argued, reaching your hands up to push at his shoulders.

“And yet here we are,” he teased, backing up enough to wrap his arms around you and pull you closer to him. Your bodies pressed together and your arms instinctually made their way around his neck which made him chuckle. “I always knew you were special, you understood me in a way that no one else ever did. Stay with me, nothing will be able to come between us.” San leaned down until your lips were centimeters apart, his breath tickling your lips with every word. You tried not to give into him, knowing that this was wrong, but you also couldn’t deny the thrill that ran through you just from being near him. You had always cared for San when you two were partners, hell there was even a time where you could argue that you did have a crush on him. That was back then however, when he was the sweet and easy going detective that decorated his desk with mini plushies and would whine if you forgot to get him a pastry on your morning coffee runs. This version of San wasn’t like that, even if the allure was still there, he was cold, twisted, and a killer.

“I can’t do this,” you argued, “you’re not the man I once cared about.” You tried to turn your head away from him, but he gripped your chin to force you to look at him.

“Yes I am, behind all of this it is still me and I can prove that to you,” he whispered, “just let me show you.” When you shook your head again he huffed, loosening his grip for a moment before it tightened again, “Fine then, how about another game?”

“I already won your stupid game though!” you challenged.

“Yet you still haven’t learned,” he fought back, “the least you can do is give me a chance to convince you. If you don’t give in then I will go with you to the station and turn myself in, but if I win then you quit being a detective for good and you stay with me.” You gave him a questioning look, at this point more than positive that he had gone insane. However, if playing his dumb games meant putting an end to Jigsaw, then you were more than willing to oblige.

“Alright fine, deal,” you reluctantly agreed. You only had a moment to register Sans smirk before he was pulling you against him again and connecting your lips. One hand stayed pressed against your back to keep you against him, while the other tangled itself in your hair, tugging slightly to get a reaction out of you. The kiss wasn’t rough or forced like you had expected, instead it was gentle and passionate, like he wanted to take his time with you. His lips were surprisingly soft against yours, and you began to slowly melt against his movements. You kissed him back and allowed him to have more control, whining softly against his lips when he tugged a bit harder at your hair. Your own hands trailed down his body, tracing his shoulders and chest for a few moments before daring to go a bit lower. San groaned as he felt you palm him over his robe, tightening his grip on your hair and deepening the kiss as his own hand reached down to grab at your thighs and your ass.

All your resolve melted away at his touch and you found yourself giving into him completely, relishing in the way he invaded your senses. All rationality had left completely, replaced with an unusual desire as San explored your body. As desperate as he was, his touches remained soft and left you craving more whenever he pulled his hand away. San walked you back until you reached the desk, lifting you up enough to sit you on top of it and slotting himself between your thighs as he finally pulled away. You only had a second to catch your breath before you were pushed back slightly and pinned down by your hands. San hovered above you with a knowing smirk, taking a moment to enjoy your flustered expression before leaning down to whisper directly in your ear.

“Looks like I won. Game Over!”

Ateez taglist: N/A

Please see my pinned post to be added to the taglist.

#sandsofirenet #atinyhalloweenproject #san x reader #choi san #ateez x reader #ateez #ateez fanfic #ateez fluff #ateez smut #san fluff #san smut #kpop #kpop x reader #kpop fanfiction #horror au #slasher au #au #ateez au

411 notes · View notes

shady-swan-jones · 3 months ago

Text

August Rec List!

So, it's August after April, right? RIGHT?

Today is Author Appreciation day so that ties in nicely, thank you @4getfulimaginator2022. Show your appreciation in the comments, it's mandatory. I have no way to enforce this but come on, spread the love!

She's Perfect But You're Mine (3/3) by me

Killian has a girlfriend. Emma handles it with the utmost maturity and grace. Or not.

Dark Swan Story by isaballerina89

What if Emma is pregnant as Dark Swan? Based in season 5 captain swan love story fanfic. It is different from the show.

What if... (Season 4) by Kml19

What if Captain Hook turned into the Dark One to get revenge on Rumplestiltskin? What if he only met the heroes in Neverland?

I can’t love you in the dark (oceans apart) by weareforeverstarlaced

Emma had long resigned her role as princess and Killian did the same, having left piracy. But now, as the mist covers their cliff side cottage, Emma and Killian say their final goodbyes when Rumplestiltskin steals the former pirates heart. And all they could do is wait it out until Rumplestiltskin’s torment was done and it’s crushed. Not knowing when it would happen. However, when morning comes and Killian is gone, Emma has one final idea to bring him back.

Ties That Bind (6/20) by Anonymous

When Killian Jones returns home after years away, it's not for a warm reunion—he’s there to confront his adoptive father, the powerful and rich politician Mr. Gold. Desperate to free Milah from his clutches, Killian finds himself ensnared in one of Gold’s infamous deals. In exchange for Milah’s freedom, Killian must carry out a dangerous mission that puts him on a collision course with Emma Swan, a sharp and determined agent for a secretive government force.

Into the Parallel by CSColifer

Emma and Killian are Travelers with and ability to travel through time and across parallel realms. A chance meeting will change their lives forever.

Cann I Be Your Werewolf? by @belovedcreation

After a particularly nasty encounter with a criminal, bounty hunter Emma Swan's friend convinces her to adopt a guard dog from the shelter. Little does she know that the massive dog she brings home is really the werewolf Killian Jones, who's laying low in wolf form to hide from danger.

Heart Bound by @4getfulimaginator2022

CS historical AU (mid-19th century), real world setting, teacher!Emma and artist!Killian. After years of private tutoring, Emma goes to teach in a village by the sea in a desperate bid to escape her heartbreak and the outside world. She thinks that she'll always be lonely and out of place, but the local lighthouse keeper, a fellow recluse and the town outcast, makes her see that she is right where she belongs.

Animal Instincts by @hookswench

Killian Jones noticed the moment Emma Nolan walked into the tavern. She was innocent... and she was trouble. As a lone wolf, he wanted no part of her pack politics. But when rival Neal Cassidy attacks, Killian can't just stand by. One quick escape later, and Killian finds himself alone with temptation. And Emma isn't one to back down from what she wants.

The Secret Romance by CaptainSwan02

Emma Swan and Killian Jones have been hiding their relationship for a while now, not wanting anyone to find out. The two have navigated treacherous waters and clandestine meetings, all to keep their love hidden from prying eyes. But as their feelings deepen and the challenges they face grow, the strain of their secret weighs heavily on them.

haunted by the ghost of you by @exhaustedpirate

Killian is cursed - cursed to lose Emma over and over again. He is doomed to live, to lose his love forever until he can break it.

For All Life and For All Time by @snowbellewells

Having lost her dearest friend and with her own life on the line, Emma Swan joins a noble band to face an ancient evil. Three of them stand by her in honor of the one they loved and lost. The other might be the first man she could love. He might love her as well - even more than life itself. Time will tell... if they both survive the fight against their immortal enemy.

Pan Says... (13/13) by @hollythecurious

After waking up in a strange room with a naked stranger, Emma and Killian must endure the twisted game their kidnapper insists they play in order to gain provisions and avoid punishments.

Flight 815 (3/?) by @honey77bun

Emma moved into a new, incomprehensible world for her, in 1986. What to do? Unclear. And in this chapter, she'll have to find the strength to figure out what the hell is going on.

Too Well Tangled (12/21) by @myfearless-love

Killian Jones, the enigmatic Marquess of Hookstone, has more than earned his sinister sobriquet, the "Prince of Darkness." His past, a stormy mosaic of rejection and rebellion, has forged a man both feared and revered. Yet, the indomitable Miss Nolan proves an unexpectedly formidable opponent for his infamous charm.

Dracula in Storybrooke (6/?) by @grimmswan

“You don’t seem to be a vampire like the ones Dracula made.” Emma said softly, tracing her fingertips along Killian’s jaw. They were laying in bed. Holding one another. Gazing at each other lovingly.

Yet another villain had tried to tear them apart. And had failed.

Not Broken At All (17/?) by @donteattheappleshook

A season 1 Neverland AU. Emma is still trying to adjust to her new life as Sheriff of Storybrooke and mom to Henry, who still believes everyone in town is a fairytale creature. When she finds a badly beaten, one handed man while patrolling, she’s convinced he’s crazy. But when Henry is suddenly taken out the window of a house everyone believes is haunted, the madman in the hospital might be her only hope of getting her son back. Whether he likes it or not.

I’ll Wait a Lifetime or Two by @hookedonapirate

At forty, Emma Swan is living her best life. She's happily single and owns a thriving art gallery with her best friend Elsa. And of course, there's the love of her life, her teenage son, Henry. Since the divorce three years ago, her carefully curated life has been quiet, peaceful, ordinary. So why does the one guy she ends up falling for have to be the rockstar her son has a poster of on his bedroom wall, whose life is nothing short of extraordinary?

Independence Day by @whimsicallyenchantedrose

With the Black Fairy defeated and the final battle won, Storybrooke is enjoying it's happily ever after and trying to make new memories. Emma has some exciting news for Killian.

Timeless (4/?) by @killiansprincss

Season 3 divergence - When Zelenas time portal works, Henry wakes up alone in Storybrooke and must travel to the Enchanted Forest to get his family back. Only once he gets there he quickly realises its not like the one in his book, theres no Evil Queen and his mother Emma wasn't put through a wardrobe, theres even a poster inviting the entire kingdom to her engagement ball, to Hook. What will happen once Henry gets them to break this new curse and they get their memories back?

@caught-in-the-filter @allons-y-to-hogwarts-713 @the-darkdaughter-blog @teamhook @justanother-unluckysoul @karlyfr13s @snowbellewells @xarandomdreamx @klynn-stormz @omninerdgirl @facesiousbutton82 @finmnsoh56 @followbatb @killianxswan @booksteaandtoomuchtv @exhaustedpirate @anmylica @hollyethecurious @winterbaby89 @undercaffinatednightmare @resident-of-storybrooke @tiganasummertree @stahlords @darkshadow7 @fleurdepetite @captainswan-kellie @motherkatereloyshipper @soniccakes @jonesfandomfanatic @zaharadessert @bluewildcatfanatic @once-upon-a-happy-end @ultraluckycatnd @spartanguard

#cs fic rec #captain swan #cs ff #cs au #cs modern au #cs fic #ouat ff #ouat fic #ouat fanfic

58 notes · View notes

snowbellewells · 4 months ago

Text

Fandom Birthday Rec List for @jrob64

Happy Birthday, dear Joni! Happy Birthday to You!!!

Okay, when I set out to make this list of my favorites of your works, I had a couple in mind right off the top of my head, and thought "This is a no-brainer! It'll be easy!" You would think I'd have known better after the massive list I created when Krystal asked for our favorite fics overall a couple years ago and I ended up making a Sweet 16 style bracket to even narrow mine down. Needless to say, I ended up with a solid dozen stories on my paper, instead of the five or six I needed, and discovered a few hidden gems from way back before I knew you that I hadn't even read!! However, my very, VERY favorite has never wavered and is still exactly the same - you'll see! ;)

Anyway, I am so glad I found your wonderful writings, have gotten to know you in person, text with you, travel with you, and become genuinely good friends. Your are a blessing in my life, and I hope this gift brings a bit of a smile to your face as I try to celebrate the joy you've shared with us all in creating further adventures for our pirate and princess. Happy Birthday!!!

**Top 6 Favorite @jrob64 Fics (in descending order)**

#6 - "One Thrill Ride Leads to Another" (my own birthday fic! ;p )

This five part (six, with the epilogue) story is pure fun and chemistry and sweetness overload. I adore it more than I can really say, and am beyond flattered that a handsome sight and chance comment of mine helped to birth the original idea. And no, it isn't even just because this one include an alive and happy Graham as supporting character and a hilariously hot secondary Red Huntsman plot line -- though it certainly doesn't hurt!! ;) My rambling can't really do this one justice, so if anyone reading this has missed it, I beg of you: Check it out for yourself! It's a perfect summer treat!

#5 - "Silly Songs With Killian" (Modern AU one shot - adorable!)

Okay, I realize that I am using a valuable spot on this list for a fluffy little one shot, but it's just that much fun and has that much heartwarming power. I dare you to get the image of Killian playing VeggieTales on the guitar for a wildly enthusiastic audience of one small boy who is madly excited by the effort out of your head! You won't be able to - it's gonna stick with you and make you smile every time it floats back in!! If you've had a bad day and need a pick me up, this is your fic right here!

#4 - "Taking on Mrs. Jones" (hilariously hot silver fox one shot)

This is another more comic/lighthearted one shot, but I just can't resist it. In fact, I re-read it in making certain of my list, and I love it all the more. This one features a slightly older, professor Killian (one of my serious weaknesses) and a married version of CS. Plus, when he gets an overly flirtatious new co-worker who makes him uncomfortable - Emma comes perfectly to the defense of her man and teaches that girl a lesson.

#3 - "Ghosted" (a WIP supernatural modern AU MC for @cssns24)

This story is still in progress, but it has very quickly jumped the list to become one of Joni's best, best offerings (in my humble opinion)! I love the unusual and intriguing plot and can't wait to see how it will turn out. The inclusion of Will and Belle as secondary characters (and a secondary love story) is wonderful👩🏻‍🍳 *chef's kiss!* And a ghostly version of Liam absolutely tugs on my heart. Definitely check this one out if you haven't yet.

#2 - "Always in my Heart" (5 Part Modern AU, so feelsy and angsty and deep)

This one moved me to tears in the process, way more than once. I loved the long lost friends reunited aspect of this story, right from the start. I loved the sense of adopted family Emma has with David and MM, and most especially Ruth. (I always loved David's mom in canon, and the chance to see a lot more of her in this fic, and to see what this version of her means to Emma was priceless, even if heart wrenching too.)

#1 - "Sowing Seeds of Trust" (and its extra chapter "Marco's Legacy")

This story was the first one of yours I discovered, Joni, and I was completely captured! It was wrapped around my heart from the very first chapter. I loved the vulnerability and need, but also strength and resilience, in this version of Emma. I loved Killian's support, understanding and love in how he reached out to her. I love the friendships with David, MM, Ruby, and of course MARCO!! (He steals the whole show here, honestly!) The faith and restoration and perfect "happy beginning" after trials in this story are original, unique, and unforgettable. It's always going to be my favorite, I think, as it lead me to your writing to begin with, and it touched me deeply.

*Honorable mentions - if anyone is curious - also not to be missed:

"Snowstorm Confessions"

"Lonely No More"

"Faultline"/"Seismic Waves" (Liam x Elsa)

"Where Her Heart Belongs"/"Her Heart's Home"

"For the Sake of Henry"

Hope you enjoy your little list - and an absolutely wonderful day!!! Very Best Birthday Wishes to You!!!

#fandom birthday rec list #birthday fave fics #happy birthday @jrob64 #fave cs fics list #top six @jrob64 fics #such a talented shipmate ⚓️💕⚓️

8 notes · View notes

whimsicallyenchantedrose · 1 year ago

Text

Christmas Reruns 2023 Day 21: Deck the Halls...or Maybe the Neighbor

Merry Christmas if you celebrate it and happy holidays if you don’t! One of the things I love about Christmas is watching reruns of all the old classic Christmas movies–Christmas is a big time for nostalgia. A few years ago, I decided to incorporate that tradition into my fandom life and post my CS holiday reruns. So here you go! Enough holiday (mostly) fluff to get you to New Year’s Day. (With a new story posting on Christmas Day.)

Rating: G

Word Count: 2253

Other chapters: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32

Notes: This story was written for my “Christmas with Captain Swan” collection in 2020.

CS Genre: Enemies to Lovers AU

She was going to kill him. She was going to drive a stake of holly through his heart or strangle him with a strand of Christmas lights or…well, some other holiday themed method of homicide.

Emma worked hard all day chasing down the scum of the earth and hauling their worthless asses back to jail where they belonged. Was it really too much to ask that she have a little peace and quiet downtime to relax once she got home.

According to the idiot who lived in the apartment directly above hers, apparently so. Every damn day since Thanksgiving he’d blared his Christmas music loud enough to wake the ghost of Christmas past. Sometimes he even enthusiastically belted along with it. (She had to admit his voice wasn’t half bad, but that was entirely beside the point.)

Emma hissed as she dabbed at the cut beside her eye where tonight’s skip had clocked her. She’d got him in the end; Emma Swan always got her man, but now that the adrenaline of the chase was over, her cuts and bruises and sore muscles were screaming at her.

And the guy in the apartment above had just started singing “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” at the top of his lungs.

Emma growled, tossing the bloody cotton ball into her bathroom trash and getting to her feet. Enough was enough. This stopped now. He could take his merry little Christmas and shove it up his south pole.

Two minutes later, she stood before his apartment. Pounding on the door felt extremely satisfying if she did say so herself.

The music suddenly stopped, and a moment later the door opened, and for the first time Emma got a glimpse of the man who’d been the bane of her existence for the past two weeks.

Her jaw dropped. He was drop dead gorgeous, melt-an-entire-population-of-snowmen hot.

“Well hello, there, Love,” he said with an appreciative grin-and in an accent that had her toes curling in her boots. “How can I help you?”

Emma’s stomach swooped and her heart stuttered and then started racing. She blinked and the spell was broken. She wasn’t some teenager who drooled over hot guys. Especially hot guys that she’d been seriously contemplating murdering five minutes ago.

“If you don’t stop with the Christmas crap, I’m going to punch your stupid, festive face,” she gritted out.

His eyebrows raised. “Pardon?”

“Your music!” she said. “Every freaking day, everytime I get home you’re blaring the Christmas music, and it got old about five minutes after you started. I don’t think it’s too much to ask that I have a little peace and quiet in my own home.”

He huffed a breath. “Darling, I had no idea anyone was even in the building in the middle of the afternoon. Did it ever occur to you to come to me and ask me to turn down my music?”

She had to admit he had a point there. Maybe yelling at him and threatening bodily harm wasn’t the best opening salvo, but it had been a long day, and she was in pain, and she wasn’t in the mood to be reasonable.

“Look, just turn it down,” she said, crossing her arms and glaring at him.

“Your wish is my command,” he said with biting sarcasm, sketching a mock bow. “Now is there anything else you wish to yell at me about or may I get back to my tasks at hand?”

“Nope. That’s all,” she said.

“Good,” he said and then tacked on a biting “merry Christmas” before shutting the door in her face.

The next morning, Emma was rather embarrassed about her interaction with Hot Christmas Guy upstairs, as she’d been calling him in her mind. She’d had a frustrating day–the skip she’d gone after had left his wife and kids just before Christmas, taking every penny of their Christmas fund.

It hit too close to home for a girl who had grown up with no family, with no one. Hard to get into the warm and fuzzy Christmas spirit when no one gave a crap about you.

She’d been too harsh with Hot Christmas Guy, but at least the results were in her favor. He’d been as good as his word, and if he’d continued playing his Christmas music, he’d done it at a low enough volume that she didn’t even hear it.

Emma had only just begun to think she should go upstairs and apologize, when suddenly there was a knock at her door.

She opened the door to find the man himself, standing there holding a large plate of cookies. Her stomach not only swooped this time; it did cartwheels. The guy looked even better in the bright light of morning with his slightly disheveled black hair, his reddish scruff, his blue button down that highlighted his even bluer eyes and his black leather jacket.

“I’m afraid we came to rather a bad start, yesterday,” he said. “Perhaps we might start again, Aye? My name is Killian Jones, and I’d like to offer you these Christmas cookies as a token of my apology for the excessive volume of my music.”

Emma took a step back and gestured for him to enter her apartment. “Hey, I’m Emma Swan, and no apology is necessary. In fact, I kind of think I owe you an apology. I shouldn’t have just come out swinging like that.”

He smiled at her, the fine lines around his (beautiful) eyes crinkling with the gesture. “Apology accepted Love. I’ll leave you to your morning.”

He turned to leave, but suddenly, Emma didn’t want him to go. “Killian wait!” she said.

Obediently he stopped, eyebrows raised in question.

“Would you like to stay and help me eat these cookies?”

He shot her a skeptical look. “Dessert at nine in the morning?”

She shrugged. “Can’t be much more unhealthy than my normal blueberry PopTart.”

Killian laughed then, taking a step back inside. “Do you at least have milk to wash them down with?”

“Of course.”

Killian ended up staying for two hours, and it amazed Emma how quickly they fell into conversation. It was like they were old friends catching up rather than relative strangers. Emma learned that Killian was a novelist. His music helped him with the creative process, jump started his creativity as it were.

The conversation had then turned to the upcoming holiday.

“Swan, do you not celebrate Christmas?” he’d asked, looking around her apartment.

She shrugged. “I mean, I guess I do. I’m not like opposed to Christmas or anything. Why?”

“I can’t help but notice you have no tree, no decorations of any kind, and your opposition to the music of the season is well established,” he said.

Emma looked around her neat but rather sterile apartment and shrugged. “I don’t know, I guess I just didn’t see the point of going to all that trouble. I mean, it’s not like I’m going to have any presents under the tree or anyone to share the holiday with.”

She had expected him to look at her with pity at her admission of just how alone she was, but instead, the look on his face was knowing, understanding. “The holidays are difficult when you’re alone, aren’t they?”

That surprised her. Was he speaking from personal experience?

“Aye love,” he said, answering her unasked question, “I suspect we have more in common than you might have supposed. Ever since my brother passed a decade ago, I’ve been on my own. The holidays always bring with them a special kind of melancholy.”

“But…” she began, “but you play Christmas music. From the glimpse I got of your apartment yesterday, you have all the decorations and trappings. Doesn’t that make the loneliness worse?”

He shook his head. “It helps me to remember the good memories, and there are always good memories if you dig deep enough.”

The conversation stuck with her long after she and Killian had said goodbye and gone their separate ways. Maybe…maybe he was right. Maybe if she let a little Christmas cheer into her life, it would help, even in a small part, to soothe the pain of a lifetime of loneliness.

The next morning, bright and early, there was a knock on Emma’s door. This time she smiled as she went to the door, knowing instinctively that she’d find Killian on the other side.

What she wasn’t expecting was the large, beautiful, fragrant pine tree he was holding in front of him.

“What’s this?” she asked, opening the door wider so that he could awkwardly maneuver himself and the tree inside.

“This, Swan,” he said with a teasing grin, “is called a Christmas tree. Traditionally people set them up in their houses this time of year and decorate them with lights and colorful baubles.”

She grinned, rolling her eyes at him and playfully swatting his shoulder. “I know what it is, smart ass. I’m wondering why you brought it here.”

He propped the tree against the door, and then reached up to scratch at the spot behind his ear. “I got to thinking after our conversation yesterday. I wanted to bring you some of the Christmas joy that has helped me through the season for years. I hope I’ve not overstepped by bringing this.”

Emma smiled gently, stepping up to place a hand on his arm. “This is really sweet, Killian,” she said. “Thanks.”

“It was my pleasure,” he said, stepping outside to gather the boxes of lights, ornaments and tinsel he had waiting for him. “If you’ve the time and inclination, I thought perhaps we could decorate your apartment together.”

She took one of the boxes from him and set it on her living room floor. “As it turns out, I have the day off, and decorating a tree sounds like the perfect way to pass the time. If you play your cards right, I might even let you play some Christmas music while we work.”

They’d spent the entire day together, first decorating her tree, then splitting a pizza from the place down the street, talking, laughing, and genuinely enjoying each other’s company.

The next day he was back, and the day after that she went to his apartment. Barely a day went by that they didn’t see each other. Each day brought a new holiday themed activity.

For the first time she could remember, Emma felt the magic of Christmas. For the first time she woke up looking forward to what the day might bring–and it was all due to Killian Jones. It should scare her how comfortable she felt with him. It should scare her how much she was coming to look forward to their time together, to their daily phone calls and text conversations.

But somehow it didn’t. She could read people; it’s what made her so good at her job. And Killian? She read him loud and clear. He was the real deal. She could trust him.

And so it was that when the idea occurred to her she didn’t let herself think too hard, merely acted.

“So I was thinking,” she said, turning toward him on the couch where they sat together watching Christmas movies on Christmas eve.

“Dangerous prospect, love,” he said with a teasing grin. She smacked his shoulder.

“I think that we should spend Christmas together,” she said.

This shouldn’t be that big of a deal–after all, they’d spent the last two weeks together–but somehow it was. Somehow spending Christmas together felt huge. Like this-could-be-the-start-of-something-life-changing huge.

Killian’s eyes widened. He clearly understood how momentous this question really was. After a moment, his look of surprise softened into a gentle smile, and he reached up and cupped her cheek. “Emma, I’d like nothing better than to spend Christmas with you.”

The relief, the joy that came over her at his answer overwhelmed her, and so she did the only thing that seemed to make sense in the moment. She leaned forward and kissed him.

On Christmas, they made plans to spend New Years together, and on New Years, they made plans for Valentine’s Day.

And on the following Christmas, Killian got down on one knee and asked her to make plans with him for the rest of their lives.

It seemed only fitting that for their wedding several months later, they play Christmas music. After all, without the sounds of the season, the beautiful, perfect life they’d built for themselves may never have begun.

NEXT CHAPTER->

#christmas reruns 2023 #cs fanfiction #captain swan christmas ff #my fanfiction #deck the halls...or maybe the neighbor

5 notes · View notes

cs-rylie · 2 years ago

Text

My Fic List

A virtual bookshelf of my Captain Swan fics! Links are for ao3. You will find: Finished Works Unfinished Words Coming Soon

Some of these pics are.. bad. But I’ve grown in my art attempts, so I keep them to remind myself.. no matter where we start, we always have room to grow.

Finished Works:

Murphy’s Law - 28k words - 8 chapters Emma dreams about the first 6 seasons of OUAT, and then wakes up to the real world. Except now, weird shit keeps happening.

Alternate Timeline - 143k words - 15 chapters AKA Captain Swan Kitchen Sink. Enchanted forest, no curse. This was basically a practice document. Test myself, see what I was capable of writing. There are some moments I am so very proud of.. and some that are cringe.

Shipping Wars - 1620 words - OS Rewrite of Emma arriving in SB in a modern AU. No EF, no magick, no curse, yet canon events stay pretty similar. I meant to continue this, but I can’t bring myself to write Emma with anyone other than Killian, so it’s staying as is. (Belongs in Graveyard WIPS, last on the list.)

Time after Time - 1230 words - OS Another OS that I meant to turn into something bigger. This one is about 9/11 and nods to the real “man with the red bandana”. Never Forget. (Belongs in Graveyard WIPS, last on the list.)

Regina’s Revenge - 32k words - 8 chapters (part one) A story about Regina dealing with Cora’s death, and what she could do to break Emma in revenge against Snow. Emma breaking is part two, and is in progress.

Collision - 367 words - OS Me attempting to write sad emotions, SF breakup. CS ideas on the back burner. (extra chapters belong in Graveyard WIPS, last on the list.)

Pre-Wedding Scene - 569 words - OS Just a little snippet of Emma and Killian not meeting before their wedding. This led me to write Irish Betrothal.

Heat & Ice - 6k words - OS No curse AU, Emma finds herself in a frozen pickle, while Hook is struggling through the worst heatwave of his life. Opposites collide.

NYE One Shot - 1500 words - OS Just a little meet-cute.

Unexpected Miracles - 558 words - OS Teeny-Tiny OS to help grieve a lost friend.

Unfinished Works: (less details until these are complete)

Irish Betrothal Emma realizes a few things about her life, and runs. Far, far away. It’s only by chance that the timing, and circumstances, lead her to a small town in Ireland, where Killian is figuring out his own life during a festival.. of love.. Where they still support strangers getting betrothed and married off like it’s 1825. Because.. why not?

Extras - Irish Betrothal Bonus content for IB.

Chaos (the unplanned pregnancy one) A one night stand. A coma. And two people who feel drawn to each other. What could possibly go wrong?

Connect the Prompts The CS story YOU, the reader, directs. Chapter one was a whim from a conversation, and the rest is reader guided. (And this is so. much. fun. to write!)

Virginity for Sale At 17, Emma decides she’ll sell her virginity as soon as she’s legal..

Lost Memory Amnesia, witness protection, the fickle memory.. Emma doesn't even know her real name yet.

Smutcapades Um. The smutty one.. for practice purposes lol (prompts and criticism are welcome)

Graveyard WIPS I blame Muse for this. So, whenever I find a scrapped WIP, I'll post here.. because I have saves everywhere, and I can never bring myself to fully delete..

Coming soon to ao3:

Threads of Destiny - Coming Aug. 3 Hurt/Comfort for Jrob64 So this starts with a bang and it just keeps going. Jrob64 gave me a bingo card of pain that I used to make a rough plot..

The Journal - Coming Aug. 10 My CSSNS ghost story fic for 2023! It all begins with a book lost to time A story unfinished, dying to be told

S1Cursed!Killian fic Now I have to decide if I’m going ahead with the chapter in Graveyard (that got a lot more love than I was expecting), or the story idea that put it in the Graveyard. Or both?

18 notes · View notes

tallsc · 2 years ago

Text

My AvA AU

I've put a lot of thought into various headcanons/au stuff for the stick figures, and decided that I should probably give a cohesive basis for you all to read ^-^

Btw, just like with Control Switch, feel free to ask my versions of the AvA characters questions and I'll respond with a sketch! I've seen other people do this and I've done it with CS already and it sounds really fun.

Headcanon list is below

Most characters have some form of jewelry representing another stick. The Color Gang each have something matching another one of the color gang, Dark and Chosen have each other, Purple and Mango have each other though only after the end of season 3, and the ghosts unfortunately have nothing cause they can't touch stuff :(

DB and Orchid are the oldest, Mango, Dark, and Chosen are all young adults, CG + Purple are all older teenagers, and Gold and Vic are kids. Idk exact ages especially cause I'm not sure how that converts to stick age.

I don't ship any stick (well other than DB and Orchid who were married but that didn't go well) but I don't mind other people doing it, just not for me. ^-^ Plus a ton of them are related in my au so uh definitely for me-

Sticks also don't have any real gender, they don't mind being called whatever cause there's no biological differences. I tend to just use they/them for everyone tho.

Mango is Gold's big sibling who also fills a caretaker role. Ik that isn't the actual canon, but I don't want Mango to be that old, and when watching it the first time they really seemed like siblings to me.

The three ghosts found each other at some point (which I've been writing a few stories on, not quite done either though) so they're friends now.

Ghosts can only be visible in the area they're connected to, generally the area they died in, so Vic is the only visible one most of the time so translates for the other two. Though all ghosts can mess with electric signals so the other two can technically communicate that way.

Dark survived being exploded and is a little more willing to listen to Chosen at this point, so they're both trying to figure themselves out. There at least haven't been any major disasters since then.

Most sticks call Orange Orange (and so do I) because, since all their friends are named after colors, Orange is what they're used to. Their real name is still the Second Coming, and that's what Dark and Chosen tend to call them, but most of the time they just go by Orange.

Purple doesn't sing very often but Green does plenty, it's almost part of how they speak at this point.

I can't remember any more important ones off the top of my head but hope that (plus all the art and stories I've made for these guys already) helps you get a sense of how I see them ^-^

#alan becker #animator vs animation #animation vs minecraft #all the sticks i don't want to list them #headcanons #aftermath au

15 notes · View notes

kazoosandfannypacks · 2 months ago

Note

hey girl heyyy 👻 for the oc asks

👻 ghost: can you tease some wip ideas that have been haunting you/something you want to write in the future?

As far as fanfics go, I never finished the genderbent Captain Swan Tangled AU. I also have two different Cygnet Scholar fics in the works (Superhero AU and Enchanted Forest AU) and both the CS and BATP storylines of the OUaT Romeo and Juliet and Boybands AU. I also started writing a Fendra Ducktales finale missing moment fic that I never finished and still really want to, and I have a few Milo Murphy's Law fics I wish I could finish too.

Also, a pipe dream of mine is to help make cartoons. I would love to make an animated OUaT next gen spinoff, and to get to help write/storyboard a third season of Milo Murphy's Law.

While I'm at it, I have a few children's book ideas, too. One is about a group of little girls who go on imaginary adventures in their backyards. Another is a story I wrote about a kazoo playing elf, which I adore and wish I could publish someday.

I also wanna publish a book of poetry 😂

Someone else asked me this as well, so I shared some ideas for some of my original content on that one!

october writblr ask game

#kazzy answers asks #kazzy's kazootuals #kazzy writes #tumblr sister #thanks for the ask!

1 note · View note

hollyethecurious · 5 years ago

Text

CS AU: Ghost in the Void

Summary: Emma needs to sell her house, and move on. The ghost that resides there doesn't want her to leave, and therefore sabotages all of the home showings. Emma is not happy with said ghost... who insists he isn't actually a ghost at all.

A/N: This fic was inspired by this post. I just can’t seem to pass up the chance to write ghost!Killian. Much love to @kmomof4 and @winterbaby89 for giving it the once over!

Rated: GA / ~2800 words / Also on ao3 and ff.net / buy me a coffee

~/~

“Okay, I’m off,” Emma announced, plucking her keys from the basket she kept them in on the entry table. “The realtor said she’s got some showings lined up for later today, so be sure and make yourself scarce.”

“Aye, Swan,” Killian’s voice answered from somewhere in the back of the house. “I will do. Have a good day, love.”

~/~

“Killian Jones!” Emma bellowed. The front door slammed so hard behind her it rattled the windows. “Get your ass out here!”

“Have you ever noticed, Swan,” Killian said as he materialized off to her left, “that it is only ever my arse’s presence you request?”

“Don’t,” she growled, determined to not be charmed by his insufferable smirk and coyly raised brow. “I am in no mood for your antics right now.”

She stormed past him towards her office to deposit her things with his voice chasing after her. “What has you so vexed, darling?”

Emma rounded on him, arms crossed tightly over her chest as she glowered at him. “Guess.”

He wouldn’t look at her, but instead focused his attention on fiddling with the rings on his right, and only, hand. “No offers on the house as of yet, I take it?”

“No, you idiot,” she snapped. Though he’d never admit to it, Emma knew she’d made him flinch with the tone in her voice. “Why would anyone put an offer on a house where the lights flicker and scratching sounds echo from the walls all through the showing? At best, they think the place is a money pit that needs all new electrical and an exterminator, at worst, they realize. It. Is Haunted!”

Killian sheepishly scratched at the back of his neck before pointing out, “Haunted is not entirely correct.”

“Don’t start,” Emma exasperated. Her arms fell back to her sides, and it was now her turn to avoid his gaze. “You know I can’t move in with Walsh until I get this place sold, so would you please explain to me why you keep sabotaging the showings?”

“You know why,” Killian replied in a low murmur.

“Killian.” Emma let go a heavy sigh and took a step forward, now close enough to him to touch… if such a thing were possible. “We’ve been through this. You’re dead. What sort of future is there for two people when one of them is a ghost?”

“Aye, we have been through this,” he shot back, irritation and pleading warring within his blue irises, which had always stood out so strongly despite his transparent nature. “Yet you still refuse to believe the truth. I have told you time and again, Swan. I. Am. Not. Dead. I am trapped betwee-”

“Between realms. Cursed to exist in the void that connects two realities, because some witch got her broom in a twist when you rebuffed her advances,” she interjected, parroting back the story he’d spun to her numerous times.

“Exactly… Though, I do not believe I ever mentioned a broom.”

“Whatever.” She waved off his teasing remark, knowing he’d only said it to get a rise out of her. “The point is, even if what you say is true, there is nothing either of us can do to un…” Her face scrunched in the way it usually did when she had to say these impossible and ridiculous things, “curse you.”

“Maybe not I, but you can, Swan,” Killian insisted, not for the first time. “Stop denying your gift. I have seen the power inside you. Not all of the levitating trinkets and flickering lights are my doing, you know?”

Emma’s heart clenched at the way he was looking at her. Like she was something extraordinary. Someone exceptional. But she wasn’t. As much as she wished she could be the thing he needed to escape the prison he’d resided in for decades, she knew she wasn’t. She was just… Emma. A poor little lost girl, who no one had ever wanted.

No one, except a centuries old pirate captain who haunted her home, but insisted he was not a ghost.

“Look,” she began softly. The emotion building in the back of her throat made it difficult to apply any sort volume to her words. “I’m sorry you’re not able to move on, or… whatever, but I have to.” Tears began to sting her eyes, causing her to blink past the blurriness. A blurriness that did not hide the stricken look now taking up residence on Killian’s face. “I can’t… I can’t stay here, pining after a man I can’t even touch. A man who can’t step foot outside this house and live a life by my side.”

Killian reached up, as if on instinct, to wipe away the tear that had escaped her lashes, but only proved her point when his fingers failed to make contact, leaving only a cool sensation upon her cheek.

“I may not love Walsh,” she continued, brushing away the tear herself. “But I do care for him, and at least he’s real.”

“No,” Killian protested in quiet defiance. “He’s safe, and comfortable, and easy.” His eyes bore into hers with an intensity that made her shiver. “I think the real reason you refuse to admit to your powers is you’re afraid. Afraid of staying and building a future here, a happy one… with me.”

“There is no future here.” Her words seem to defeat the last bit of resistance within him. Solemn acceptance, tinted with a hue of sorrow, colored his eyes almost making it impossible for her to utter her next words. “I’m sorry Killian, but I have to move on. I can’t stay here. You have to let me go.”

“As you wish,” he exhaled before dissolving into thin air.

~/~

“Did you hear me, Emma?” Regina, Emma’s real estate agent, said over the phone. “She’s offering the full asking price, in cash, but wants a quick closing.”

Emma still couldn’t respond. An all cash offer, no contingencies, and a closing date of one week. It was everything Emma could have ever dreamed of. So why was she hesitant to accept?

She knew why.

Killian.

The ghost of a man she loved more than she thought it possible to love another person. The ghost of a man who loved her too, and almost had her convinced that he wasn’t dead, but merely cursed, and that her magic could free him.

But there was no such thing as magic, or true love, or other realms with vindictive witches, and Emma had to face facts. Killian had concocted the story in order to cope with his death and inability, for whatever reason, to enter the after life. He didn’t need her nonexistence magic to save him, he needed to go into the light.

If she was no longer there to serve as an excuse for him to stick around, the only person to see and hear him since he’d been tethered to the house (according to him), then maybe he finally would move on. Maybe if she left, he’d be free.

“Tell her, I accept.”

~/~

Emma entered the title company office with a heavy heart. Killian hadn’t manifested himself to her since their argument over a week ago, before the woman who’d bought her house had taken a tour of the place and made her offer. Prone to fits of brooding, she’d expected him to avoid her for a few days, but never imagined he’d abdandon her altogether. There had been no final pleadings, no annoying advice or admonishing statements about the way she packed her things, no for old time’s sake evenings spent together, not even a goodbye.

“Emma!” Regina called out from the other side of the lobby. Emma made her way over to where Regina was talking with another woman. “They’re almost ready for you,” Regina told her when she reached them. “I’m going to go see if there’s anything I can do to speed this up, but wanted to introduce you to the woman buying your house.” She gestured to the woman beside her. “This is Eloise Gardener. Eloise, meet Emma Swan.”

“A pleasure,” Eloise said, extending her hand as Regina excused herself.

“Um… yeah. Nice to meet you.”

Emma shook the woman’s hand and a raw feeling of something primal, almost instinctual, swept through her. The woman’s eyes widened briefly then narrowed in an assessing gaze as she released Emma’s hand.

“All that power and you never freed him?”

“Excuse me?”

“You had to have been able to see him,” Eloise surmised. “Most gifted witches are able to see into the void between worlds, so you must have seen him in all that time you lived in the house.”

Emma’s skin began to prickle, the fine hairs covering her body stood on end and her throat went dry.

“Be able to see who?”

“Why… Captain Jones, of course.”

A pulse of pure possessive rage erupted within Emma’s chest at the way the woman practically purred Killian’s name.

“How do you know about Killian?”

A simpering smirk toyed at the edges of Eloise’s mouth. “I’m the one who trapped him between realms,” she confessed quietly. “It took me longer than planned to make my way to this world and locate the place he’d become tethered to, but as fortune would have it, once I did, I found the place for sale with him still safely imprisoned. Now tell me. Why didn’t you use your magic to free him?”

Emma balked at the woman’s words even as her brain frantically tried to register all she was saying. “Um… because I don’t have magic?”

“Oh, but you do,” Eloise oiled. “I felt it quivering beneath your skin when we shook hands. Even now, I can see it humming through your aura. Didn’t you know?”

Emma opened and closed her mouth a few times, failing to give utterance to the thoughts swarming her mind.

Eloise hummed. “Interesting. You’ve yet to fully unlock your powers,” she mused. “It usually takes an extreme emotional event, but I sense you tend to bury those deep down rather than release them.”

Shaking her head to rid herself of the chaos, Emma focused her attention back on the woman before her. “Thanks for your concern, but my emotional well being is none of your business.”

“I suppose that’s true,” Eloise replied, seemingly unaffected by Emma’s snark. “Once our business here is concluded we needn’t concern ourselves with one another ever again.”

The reminder of why they were there hit Emma with a tumultuous force of alarm. “What are you going to do to him?”

“Don’t worry about our dear captain,” she soothed facetiously. “I plan to free him from the void.”

“And then?” Emma demanded, knowing full well the woman wouldn’t have crossed realms to free Killian out of the goodness of her heart.

“Then,” Eloise smiled a wicked smile, “I will bind him to me, making him mine forever.”

“No. You won’t,” Emma clipped sharply. “I won’t let that happen.”

Eloise gave her a bored sigh. “You had your chance with him, and now that I’ve restrained him from being able to manifest you won’t be able to open the portal to free him.”

Emma’s heart felt as though it had simultaneously dropped and soared. He hadn’t abandoned her. Eloise must have cast some sort of spell when she’d come to the house for the showing, one that kept him from reaching out.

“You won’t get away with this,” Emma hissed. “I’ll find a way to stop you.”

Regina’s heels clacked down the hallway, forcing the two women to back away from each other.

“We’re all set,” she announced. “Emma, if you’ll follow me?”

“No.”

“What?”

“I’m sorry, Regina,” Emma said, already making her way towards the exit. “I’ve changed my mind. No sale.”

She rushed out of the office with her agent’s bewildered protests following behind her. She had to get home. She had to get to Killian and find a way to free him before Eloise did.

She just wished she had some idea as to how.

~/~

Emma burst through her front door shouting Killian’s name. Of course, there was no answer. No evidence that anyone else was in the house until she rounded the corner to the living room and stopped short in her tracks.

“How… How did you get here so-”

“Teleportation spell,” Eloise explained haughtily as she finished laying out objects in a specific pattern on the hardwood floor. “You should definitely work on unlocking those powers.”

Before Emma could respond Eloise began to murmur some sort of incantation and a round doorway of spinning fire flared to life in the middle of the room. Through the sparks, Emma could make out Killian’s solid form, standing frozen within the void.

“Emma!” he cried out desperately. “I didn’t leave you, love. I would never leave-”

“I know,” she assured him. “It’s okay, Killian. I know it was Eloise’s doing. Come through the portal and we’ll deal with her together.”

“I can’t,” he told her. “I can’t bloody well move!”

“That’s because I added a little something to the spell,” Eloise informed them as she made her way to stand before the portal. “The only way to escape the void is to bind yourself to the person who pulls you free. Binding spells only work if both parties agree.” She reached her hand out towards him. “So, take my hand, or spend the rest of eternity in the void.”

“No,” Killian spat. “My Emma will find a way to free me.”

“Not if she’s dead, she won’t.”

Eloise flicked her wrist and a vine appeared, wrapping itself around Emma’s neck and squeezing it tightly. Emma clawed at it, but it was impervious to anything she did.

“No!” Killian shouted. “Eloise, stop! Don’t do this!”

“Take my hand, and I’ll let her live,” Eloise vowed. “The portal won’t stay open for much longer, captain. If it closes before you step through, my vine will snap her neck.”

Emma could see Killian’s jaw tighten. His hand balled into a fist and he cast an apologetic look her way.

“Killian, no,” Emma croaked. “Don’t do it. Don’t give in to her.”

“I’m sorry, Swan,” Killian forlorned. “I won’t let her hurt you. Not if it is within my power to stop her.”

Panic forced its way up from the pit of Emma’s stomach as she watched Killian reach out to take Eloise’s hand. Without thought, Emma pulled her hands away from the vine around her neck and cast them out in front of her.

“No!”

A blast of white light expelled itself from her hands and hit Eloise before she could grasp onto Killian’s hand. The woman flew across the room, hitting the far wall with a loud thud before slumping to the ground in a heap. A gasping breath forced its way into Emma’s lungs as the vine withdrew its hold, and she stumbled towards the portal that was now shrinking.

“Killian! Give me your hand!” Emma reached out for him, but was met with a conflicted forget-me-not gaze.

“I can’t, Swan. If I do, we’ll be bound together for all of eternity.”

Emma gave him a reassuring smile, and declared, “We already are.”

The air whooshed out of his lungs before he matched her smile and grabbed ahold of her hand. With a firm tug, Emma freed him from his paralyzed state and he stumbled through the portal, right into Emma’s arms. They had only a moment to enjoy one another’s embrace before a shriek sounded from behind.

“Swan, watch out!” Killian pulled them away from the portal and out of Eloise’s path as she charged towards them. Their feet tangled together, landing them on the floor where they watched as Eloise fell through the portal just before it closed on her scream.

“Is she… Is she gone?” Emma asked, sitting up and staring at the space the woman disappeared into.

“Aye,” Killian confirmed. “Trapped in her own prison. Forever.”

“Good.”

Emma cast her eyes on Killian and marveled. He was here. In the flesh. Lightly, she cupped his cheek and relished the feel of his stubble against her palm and they way his eyes fluttered shut at her touch. She leaned forward and pressed her lips to his, savoring the way he tasted, the way his tongue moved with hers, and the sounds he made when she nipped softly at his bottom lip.

“Does this mean,” Killian inquired softly, opening his eyes to gaze at her when they paused for air, “that you won’t be selling the house and moving in with Walsh?”

Emma giggled and swept his dark bangs away from his forehead. “I’m not going anywhere,” she promised. “But if that witch ever shows up as a ghost from the void… we’re moving.”

“Couldn’t agree more, love.”

Tagging the Curious Crew:

@kmomof4 @sals86 @jennjenn615 @darkcolinodonorgasm @artistic-writer @courtorderedcake @winterbaby89 @snowbellewells @heavenlyjoycastle @sunshine2632 @stahlop @resident-of-storybrooke @kday426 @cocohook38 @unworried-corsair @aprilqueen84 @tiganasummertree @therooksshiningknight @angellifedeath @ilovemesomekillianjones @ultraluckycatnd @wyntereyez @ultimiflos @superchocovian

#cs ff #csff #cs fic #cs au #captain swan #ghost!killian #cursed!killian #killian jones #emma swan #eloise gardener #gothel #haunted house #ghost story #ghost in the void #words by hollye

208 notes · View notes

searchingwardrobes · 5 years ago

Text

Hope is the Thing With Feathers: 5/5

Finally, I have finished a WIP! Whoop, whoop! I apologize for the long wait for this chapter. This fic stalled for me, and every time I wrote anything for it, I ended up deleting it. Thank you to my co-creator @hollyethecurious for saving this chapter. The idea of them binding their souls together was her idea, as well as Henry’s place in breaking the curse. If not for her, I might still be staring at a blank word doc! Krystal, I hope you enjoy the ending to your fic!

Summary: Emma and her son Henry move to the tiny, quirky town of Hopeful, Maine for a fresh start. Emma isn’t expecting her son to get obsessed with a haunted castle or for her to get involved with the mysterious, handsome man who lives in the cabin behind it. Emma soon finds that both the castle and the man have secrets she could never have imagined. For @kmomof4 for her birthday.

Amazing banner created by @hollyethecurious

Rating: M

Trigger warnings: positive portrayal of past Millian

Words: About 5,000 in this chapter

Also on Ao3

Tagging: @snowbellewells @whimsicallyenchantedrose @kday426 @winterbaby89 @teamhook @bethacaciakay @jennjenn615 @tiganasummertree @thislassishooked @artistic-writer @snidgetsafan @delirious-latenight-laughs @xhookswenchx @shireness-says @gingerchangeling @nikkiemms @revanmeetra87

Chapter Five: Never Stops at All

There were a lot of ways Emma could have handled the bomb that Belle dropped on her in the library. She could have stayed and had a woman to woman chat about feelings. Nope, scratch that, it had never been Emma’s style. She could have gone to the loft for a hope speech and a cup of cocoa from Mary Margaret. Hell, Emma wouldn’t even have had to tell her anything and Mary Margaret would have offered some sort of motherly comfort. But school wasn’t out yet, which meant MM was still at Hopeful Elementary with her third grade class.

People in mature relationships probably would have gone to their significant other and had a meaningful conversation. Emma had been drawn to Killian’s side, that much was true, but the minute he opened the door, every word she had rehearsed in her drive there flew out of her head.

Instead, she had grabbed him and kissed him like her life depended on it. Every time he pulled back and tried to speak, she had silenced him with her lips against his. Killian had willingly gone where she led him, which was straight to his bed.

Again, probably not the best way to deal with her rampant feelings.

Now she lay in his arms, both of them sated and relaxed. Well, he was relaxed anyway, sighing against her hair. Did he know that ending his curse would allow him to move on? Did he even care about leaving her? Emma swallowed against the lump in her throat. The urge to run, to flee welled up inside of her.

Then she remembered his words on the hilltop and at Milah’s grave. She turned in his embrace, running her fingers along his jawline, tracing the scar on his cheek. He smiled tenderly at her.

She licked her lips. “What do you think will happen if we find a way to break your curse?”

Killian shrugged, tugging her closer to trail kisses down the column of her neck. “I’m hoping,” he mumbled against her skin, “to be able to take you and Henry sailing. Maybe even see this Disney World everyone goes on about.”

He chuckled against her collarbone, and Emma dug her fingers into his hair. She let out a long, sad breath. So Belle hadn’t told him, either.

“Killian,” she began, but got stuck on his name.

He pulled back from the distraction of her body to gaze into her eyes. He tucked her hair behind her ear, his face lined with concern. “Love, what is it? Something’s bothering you, I can tell.”

Emma closed her eyes, pressing her forehead against his. She then wriggled closer until they were pressed against one another, slipping her arms beneath his and grasping his upper back. She turned her head to press her lips against his shoulder blade. It was easier to get the words out when she wasn’t looking him in the eye.

“All my life, I’ve been running, leaving everyone before they can leave me. Until you.” Emma swallowed down the tears that threatened to spill down her cheeks. “Killian . . . I can’t lose you.”

He pulled back to cup her face in his hands. “I’m not going anywhere, Emma.”

“Killian, think about it. You’re not supposed to still be alive. If we break the curse . . . “

She trailed off, biting on her lower lip. His face went slack as realization washed over him. Wordlessly, he pulled her close again and just held her, running his fingers through her hair. She clung to him as if she could keep him with her through force of will alone. But she couldn’t be that selfish, could she? If she truly cared about him, she wouldn’t want this kind of existence for him.

“Emma,” he whispered against her hair, “I will gladly stay cursed for the rest of eternity in exchange for spending just one lifetime with you.”

She let him kiss her, let him make love to her again, knowing it was his way of sealing his declaration. Apparently, she was that selfish.

*************************************************************

Gold Manor was ready for the inaugural ghost tour on Halloween night. Tickets were being sold online and at all the local businesses. Granny’s Diner was catering the refreshments that would be served in the garden after the tour. The only thing left to do was prep the actors and rehearse for the actual tour.

Emma knew this. She also knew that Killian had reluctantly agreed to Belle’s insane idea that he play . . . himself. Of course, no one but the three of them knew he was the Killian Jones. To everyone else, it was just a happy coincidence. Jones, after all, was a common last name.

Yet, despite knowing Killian’s role in the ghost tour, she was not in the least bit prepared for the sight that met her three days before Halloween. She froze in the doorway of the manor and almost spilled her coffee.

“How do I look, Swan?” he asked, grasping the lapels of the almost floor length, black leather duster he wore. Emma struggled not to let her jaw drop as she searched for words. Beneath the duster, he wore a red leather vest over a honest-to-God black pirate shirt. It was buttoned even less than his shirts normally were, and his charm necklace resting against his exposed chest complemented the look. Then there were the leather pants - skin tight and leaving little to the imagination.

“Um . . . “ Speak, Emma! But all she could do was blink.

A grin spread slowly across his face, the bastard. He sauntered towards her, his head cocked to the side. He was wearing eyeliner too, which shouldn’t have been hot . . . only it was.

“Dashing, right? Devastatingly handsome?”

His teasing tone shook her out of her stupor, and she laughed as she set her coffee cup down on a nearby table. She ran her hands up his vest and grasped the lapels of his coat in a tight grip.

“It’s a good look on you, pirate.”

Belle cleared her throat, and Emma jumped back, her face flaming. She hadn’t even realized they weren’t alone. Next to Belle stood an auburn haired woman with a measuring tape around her neck. Her hair was pulled back in slim braids at the crown, the rest spilling down her back. A pair of horn-rimmed glasses perched on her nose. She grinned broadly at Emma’s assessment.

“Mission accomplished then.”

“Emma, this is Aurora. She’s the costume designer at the community theater,” Belle explained.

“Hopeful has community theater?” Emma asked incredulously, stepping out of Killian’s embrace.

“Not much of one,” Aurora chuckled as she put her sewing equipment away, “which is why I commute every day for my nine to five with the Portland Ballet.”

“Well, you are one of the best,” Belle assured her friend with a parting hug.

“Be careful when you take that off, Mr. Jones,” Aurora admonished as she headed out the door.

“I could help you with that,” Emma whispered in his ear, thrilling when it made his neck turn red.

“Emma, I’m glad you’re here,” Belle said, gathering up an armful of books, “there’s something I wanted to talk to both of you about.”

“I um, feel a little silly having a meeting in this get-up,” Killian said, reaching up to scratch behind his ear. “I think I’ll head upstairs and change.”

Emma watched him go with intense appreciation, humming under her breath until he was out of sight.

“I heard that,” Belle laughed.

Emma shrugged as she turned to her new friend, not in the least bit embarrassed. “What can I say? He looks good in tight leather.”

“You love him, don’t you?” Belle whispered, her smile turning soft.

Emma bit her lower lip as she looked down at her hands clasped in front of her. It sounded crazy; they hadn’t known each other long. Yet from the moment they had first met, there had been a connection between them. Belle took her long silence as an answer.

“That’s why you got so upset when I explained breaking his curse,” she said softly, “you don’t want to lose him.”

All Emma could do was nod her head, her lips pressed together so she wouldn’t cry. Belle simply lowered her head, running a hand over one of the books she had brought.

“I think I may have found a way for the two of you to be together.”

Emma gasped and hurried to stand at Belle’s side. “You have?”

“This spell,” she explained, running her hand over the yellowed pages, “binds two souls together. They literally become one after it is cast. The only catch is that you have to be soulmates or it won’t work.”

Emma swallowed nervously. “It’s worth a shot though, right? I mean, is there any danger if we try and we’re not soulmates?”

“Not the binding, no, but the second part of the plan would be. You see, if Killian shares your soul, he may be able to stay here after the curse breaks.”

“But if we aren’t soulmates, it wouldn’t work?”

“It may not work at all,” Belle admitted, “but it should. In theory.”

“But like I said,” Emma argued, “it’s worth a shot.”

“Emma,” Belle said slowly, “what I mean is, you could both die.”

Emma felt the blood drain from her face as the words sunk in, and she shut her eyes tightly. She thought of Killian, how safe she felt in his arms, how right. She thought about his curse, how he’d lived a long, lonely existence for centuries. She knew, deep in her heart, what she had to do.

She opened her eyes and told Belle firmly, “Like I said, I have to try.”

“No.”

The two women startled at the deep voice coming from the foot of the stairs. They hadn’t noticed Killian descending as they talked.

“Killian!” Emma exclaimed upon seeing him.

“No,” he said again, shaking his head, “I won’t let you.”

Emma rushed across the room to him, taking his hands in hers. “But if there’s a chance to break your curse -”

“I won’t let you, Emma. I won’t risk the life of the woman I love. Neither will I risk leaving Henry an orphan.”

Emma’s heart sank as she slowly released his hands. What kind of mother was she?

“Henry,” she breathed. She hung her head in defeat. Killian was right.

********************************************************************

“Okay, kid, what’ll it be for movie night this week? Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade? Thor: Ragnarok? Or Return of the Jedi? The theme of course is conclusions of trilogies . . . “ Emma trailed off as she regarded her son’s pensive expression. “What? You didn’t expect me to throw in Captain America: Civil War did you? Because you know how I feel about that. It’s an Avengers movie, I don’t care what the MCU says.”

She poked Henry in the shoulder, then waved a Twizzler rope in front of his face. “Kid? Earth to Henry?”

“When are you going to tell me the truth?”

Emma’s eyes widened at her son’s angry expression. “The truth about what?”

“About Killian?”

Emma blinked. “Okay, I didn’t know you wanted the details, but . . . well, I love him, and -”

“Ew! I’m not talking about that!”

Emma shook her head. “Then I’m confused.”

“What is he? A ghost? What?”

Emma’s jaw dropped at his questions. “I . . . I . . . don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Please,” Henry scoffed with a roll of his eyes, “I’m not stupid. He can’t leave the manor grounds, he talks like it’s the 17th century, and he knows a strange amount of stuff about Hopeful hundreds of years ago. And his name is even Killian Jones?”

“Henry, you can’t be serious -”

“Then there was this today in history class.” Henry shoved his schoolbook on Maine State History into Emma’s lap, and there on the open page was the same drawing of Killian that Belle had in her stack of research on Gold Manor. A box next to the picture told the story of the witch trial of Milah Gold and the legend of pirate captain Killian Jones. According to Henry’s textbook, most scholars believed the existence of the pirate to be a myth.

“What the hell!” Emma muttered, pulling the book closer. “I can’t believe this!”

“What, Mom?”

“This idiot scholar at The University of Maine says that the romantic imagery surrounding the supposed pirate in conjunction with Milah Gold’s possible madness leads one to believe that he was a figment of the woman’s imagination!” Emma shoved the book away in disgust. “Have you ever heard anything so sexist in your life? Assuming Milah made Killian up because she was crazy. Is it so hard to believe that a woman back then would want anything other than marriage to a wealthy man? Did they ever consider that it was her husband who had lost his mind, not her? Of all the pigheaded things -”

“Mom!”

Emma startled at her son’s voice, and sheepishly bit her lip to stop the flow of words. Henry arched his brows at her.

“So he is Killian Jones, the centuries old cursed pirate.”

He leaned back against the couch with a smug expression. Emma couldn’t help smiling and shaking her head.

“Only you would so easily believe it.”

“The evidence is pretty clear, Mom.” He sat up then, bouncing eagerly. “So how do we break his curse?”

“We don’t, unfortunately,” Emma told him sadly, “not without . . . losing him. He’s supposed to be dead by now, kid.”

“But there has to be a way! You said you love him, didn’t you? Can’t true love break curses and stuff?”

“This isn’t a fairy tale, Henry.”

Her son narrowed his eyes and studied her face, and Emma squirmed beneath his perceptive gaze.

“There is a way!”

Emma shook her head. “No, it’s too dangerous.”

“You just have to believe!”

“Henry,” Emma told him gently, cupping his face, “not if it means leaving you alone.”

He shook his head stubbornly. “Whatever it is, it will work, Mom! I’ve never seen you so happy. We both like it here. We have David and Mary Margaret, and we both have friends.”

“And great onion rings,” Emma teased.

Henry laughed, “Yeah, Granny’s is pretty awesome.”

Emma pulled him against her and kissed the top of his head. “You’re right, Hopeful’s been pretty great, and Killian is partly why.”

“Don’t you wish he could be here for movie night?”

“Yeah,” Emma sighed, “I do.”

“Do you love him for real? Like, a lot?”

“More than any one in the world, besides you, kid.”

“Then it will work, Mom, you just have to believe!”

It was crazy, but something in Henry’s expression steeled her resolve. She picked up the phone and dialed Belle’s number.

“Belle, what do I have to do for this soul binding thing?”

************************************************************************

Emma clutched her purse tightly as she stood on Killian’s porch. Inside she had tucked what Belle said she needed to perform the soul binding. There was just one tiny little detail bothering her.

She was doing it without Killian’s permission.

Emma knew she was playing with fire, knew he might see it as a betrayal. After all, his will being taken from him was the crux of his misery. But ironically, Emma going against his will was the very thing that might give him his agency back. Besides, his concerns were all for and Henry anyway.

This was the twisted logic she had come up with to ease her conscious, at any rate.

She was afraid he would see right through her the minute he opened the door, but he simply greeted her with a beaming smile. He had a kitchen towel tossed over one shoulder, and he eagerly pulled her into the cabin, the delicious smells of whatever he was cooking filling the space. As they talked easily over the meal, Emma’s guilt abated. (The wine they were imbibing helped too.)

As the sun slipped below the horizon, Emma informed him with a sultry smile that Henry was staying the night with David and Mary Margaret. It would be the first time she had stayed with him all night, and he smiled like an eager school boy. That smile, so trusting, so devoted, made the guilt come back, pricking at her resolve. Then he was making love to her in that intense way of his, and the desire to have him with her always, in every sense of the word, made her more sure than ever of what she must do.

Emma waited until Killian’s breaths evened out, then she got up and opened the curtains partway, just enough so that the moonlight fell over his form. He shifted in his sleep, and Emma held her breath. She released it, and tiptoed to retrieve the needle from her purse. She crawled slowly back into bed and tucked herself into Killian’s side.

She took a deep breath before using the needle to prick the tip of her left finger. A dot of dark red blood welled up. Trembling, she took her finger and made the shape of a cross over the left side of Killian’s chest where his heart resided. There was barely enough blood to make the mark; most of it was soaked up by his chest hair. Hopefully, he wouldn’t even notice come morning.

She pressed her hand to the spot, closed her eyes, and whispered, “Anams ceangal a dheanamh.”

To be honest, Emma didn’t expect anything to happen. She had fully anticipated feeling slightly foolish as she wondered if it worked. The last thing she had ever imagined was the pulse of energy surging from Killian’s chest, up her arm, and through her entire body. It sent her tumbling backwards off the bed, and when she scrambled to her knees, Killian was sitting up, breathing hard, eyes wide, his hand to his chest.

“Emma?” he asked in a frantic voice.

“Killian,” she said slowly, “I had to -”

“What did you do?”

She flinched at the higher pitch of his voice. He rose from the bed slowly, looking slightly disoriented as he rubbed at his chest. His demeanor was more frightened than angry, and his voice held a hint of betrayal. She would rather he be angry. The moonlight spilled over his naked body as he came closer to her, and she wasn’t sure if it was the spell or just him, but he looked like some sort of Greek god, both ethereal and strong. When an almost overwhelming desire to make love to him again surged through her, she was positive it was the spell.

His chest heaved as he searched her with a lust-filled gaze. It seemed the spell was affecting him, too. He pressed his eyes shut and asked her again, jaw clenching, “What did you do?”

She stepped into his embrace, pressing her cheek to his chest.

“I think you know.”

His arms came around to hold her tight as if he could fight it no longer.

“I told you not to.”

“I never listen.”

His answer was a searing kiss. They were both left panting when he pulled away, and he pressed his forehead to hers.

“I feel . . .”

“Something’s different ,isn’t it?” she finished his thought.

“Aye, it is. I love you, Emma.”

For the first time in over ten years, those words didn’t scare her. Instead, a comforting warmth spread through her body.

“I love you too.”

**********************************************************************

They made love again after the spell worked, in a frantic, almost desperate way. They had fallen asleep, still entangled in each other’s arms. Emma feared when morning came, but she woke to a blissful Killian, happy that she was still there in his arms. They flirted and teased one another, laughing and smiling between light, morning-breath kisses. In short, they avoided the elephant in the room in favor of being ridiculously in love.

When Emma met up with Belle at the library later that day as planned, she dropped her purse on the circulation desk with a loud thud. She met the librarian’s gaze with a single-minded fire in her eyes.

“It worked. What’s next?”

*******************************************************************

Emma was a bundle of nervous energy. The Halloween event at the manor was in full swing. The cones and rope and ended up working just fine for parking, as well as the dozen or so volunteers in orange vests directing traffic. People were processed in the main room of the house where Killian and his construction crew had put up a reception desk. Next to it was a display of brochures on other historical spots in Maine. Belle was working the desk with Henry’s help, checking tickets and giving each visitor a time to return for their tour. While they waited, guests mingled in the garden, enjoying the refreshments. Many were in costume. Some fit the theme, dressed as pirates or 17th century maidens, but there were also people dressed as Thor, or vampires, or students from Hogwarts.

The actors leading the tours were doing a fantastic job as well as the “ghosts” chatting with visitors in the various rooms: a man playing Robert Gold at the balcony from which he flung himself to his death, a woman playing Milah sitting at her vanity in her chambers combing her hair, and of course Killian pacing the long hallway. He was honestly having a good time startling people with a dramatic spin of his leather coat, and Emma chuckled every time she heard screams from upstairs. He had felt a little uneasy over the actress playing Milah, but other than that, he was taking the whole crazy thing in stride and even having fun with it.

“It’s been centuries, love,” he had assured her multiple times. He also appreciated that the representation of Milah was more accurate, stating that she was falsely accused of witchcraft with no hint of the ridiculous claim that she was mad.

Yet none of that was the cause of Emma’s nerves. She was three heartbeats from a panic attack because of what she and Belle had planned for after the event. Killian didn’t know a thing about it, but it had to be done tonight, on the anniversary of when his curse was originally cast. Belle had everything they needed squirreled away in the closet beneath the stairs. Emma kept glancing that way, despite her being pulled in a thousand different directions, and every time her heart beat sped up.

“Well, Ms. Swan,” Mayor Regina Mills said, stepping into her line of sight seemingly from out of nowhere, “I must say I was skeptical that you could pull this off, but this just might become a Halloween tradition in Hopeful.”

Emma wet her dry lips and forced a smile. “Thank you, Ms. Mills.”

“And tell that man you hired - a Mr. Jones, was it? - to come see me on Monday. I may have a permanent position for him.”

I hope he can. Emma thought to herself. Outwardly, she simply gave the mayor a nod. “I’ll pass that along.”

*********************************************************************

Emma cursed the ancient floor boards as she wrestled the ancient cauldron into place in the middle of the parlor. She righted herself after tripping over a warped board, ignoring the strain of the muscles in her arms as she heaved the cast iron kettle over the burning wood in the fireplace.

Emma swore as Belle crushed ingredients with a mortar and pestle. There wasn’t much time. It was almost midnight.

Belle handed one ingredient after another to Henry, who rushed to toss it into the bubbling cauldron as Emma stirred. Her hands shook as she heard Killian’s boots stride across the floor above.

“He’s going to kill me,” Emma muttered as she caught her son’s gaze.

The sound of Killian’s boots were closer now, descending the stairs. Not that it mattered if he was angry. They had to try. As if reading her mind, Henry grasped her hand.

“This will work, Mom.”

Belle hurried over, the last ingredient crushed at the bottom of the small mortar. The two women shared a nervous look, then Belle shook the white powder into Emma’s palm. Just as Emma lifted her fist above the potion simmering in the pot, the sound of Killian’s boots stilled and his voice filled the room.

“Emma?”

She stopped abruptly as his eyes took in the room; the fragile yellowed book open on the coffee table, the ingredients scattered across the buffet table, and the mortar and pestle in Belle’s hand.

“Killian,” Emma explained slowly, “we found this spell, and we had to try . . .”

“Emma, no!” Killian cried as she dropped the crushed white swan feathers into the cauldron.

Emma took a deep breath and spoke the incantation: “Swan in woman’s form, injustice to right, the enslaved to free.”

A pulse of bright light suddenly pulsed from the cauldron, knocking all four people in the room off their feet. Emma moaned, grasping her pounding head in her hands. There was a ringing in her ears, and she could barely make out Killian’s face hovering worriedly over her.

Well, we’re not dead.

It was her last thought before she passed out.

Six Months Later . . .

The last remnants of the harsh Maine winter blew on the April breeze. The front porch of the cabin Killian had made his home for centuries was lightly framed with purple from the lilac trees that grew nearby. Emma was leaning against his old tan pickup, admiring the picturesque scene. Her smile grew as Killian and Henry came out of the front door with boxes in their hands.

“These are the last two, love,” Killian told her.

“Really?” she asked in surprise as she took the box from Henry’s hand and set it in the truck.

“Well,” Killian said with a shrug, “possessions aren’t of much value when you have no one to share them with.”

Emma grinned as she wrapped her arms around his waist. “You’re so wise, oh ancient one.”

Henry snorted a laugh as Killian feigned offense. Then Henry was gagging instead when Emma went up on her tiptoes to kiss the pout off Killian’s face.

“I’ll be in the truck,” the boy announced with a wrinkled nose.

“I thought he liked me,” Killian frowned.

“He does,” Emma chuckled, “it’s just - to a kid, grown ups kissing is disgusting.”

“Ah, I see. Unfortunately, now that we are wed and all three of us are sharing a home, he’s going to have to get used to it.”

Emma laughed as Killian placed exaggerated smooches all over her face.

“Speaking of home,” Henry shouted through the back window, “can you stop being gross so we can go ?”

They both laughed, but despite Henry’s request, Emma pressed her cheek to Killian’s collarbone and gazed at the little cabin. Her hand rested against his chest, her wedding ring catching the light of the spring sun.

“I’m glad we broke your curse, but is it wrong if I don’t want to give up this place?”

Killian held her close and kissed the top of her head. “We don’t have to, love. As groundskeeper of Gold Manor, I’ll be converting it into my office, remember.”

Emma smirked up at him. “But it won’t have a bed.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but I bet it’s not appropriate for my innocent ears!” Henry called out again from the truck.

Killian’s head tilted back, and a joyful and carefree laugh burst out of him. “Okay then, Joneses, lets get home.”

Emma had to admit as they pulled up in front of their new blue Victorian with its wraparound porch and view of the sea, that home was a pretty incredible place. She was glad she was too busy back in the fall to see a realtor.

********************************************************************

“What’s the surprise, love?”

Emma laughed as Killian almost tripped over a tombstone.

“Bloody hell, woman, if you’re going to blindfold me, then you better get me safely to my destination!”

Emma brushed a kiss to his cheek. “Sorry. We’re here though.” She removed the blindfold and gestured to the tombstone in front of them. Killian just stood there, slack-jawed, his eyes blinking.

The tombstone was the same one that had been erected centuries ago. Better for historical integrity, Belle had explained. Yet the marker erected behind it, tall and on top of a pretty black, wrought-iron post, was brand new.

“It’s officially on the historic registry,” Emma told him softly, biting her lower lip. “Do you like it?”

He blinked and cleared his throat before managing to read it aloud.

Milah Gold

Born 1661

Hanged for accusations of witchcraft in 1693

Like many of her day, Milah’s only crime was

defying the societal expectations of women.

Her life and death reminds us that we should

never stop fighting for justice and equal rights.

“Milah would be happy, right?” Emma asked nervously.

“Actually,” Killian replied turning to pull her into his arms, “this marker wouldn’t have mattered to her. She would be happy because you’ve broken me free of that curse and given me a reason to live again.”

He lowered his head to kiss her, and Emma wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. As their kiss intensified, she dug her fingers into the hair at his nape, humming when he pulled away.

“So,” she said, her forehead still pressed to his, “ready to live just one lifetime? Or do you have regrets?”

“Never. One lifetime with you, becoming old and gray together, is all I could have ever dreamed of.”

#cs ff #captain swan #cs au #cs ghost story #sort of #curses #soulmates #true love #for kmomof4 #on her birthday

70 notes · View notes

kmomof4 · 6 years ago

Text

So I finally got to read my hard copy of...

And I had to come and express my TOTAL SCREAMING MELTDOWN CONNIPTIONS!!! 🎶Favorite fic of Hollye’s, favorite fic of Hollye’s, favorite fic of Hollye’s🎶 besides Dark Hook, of course... so now I’m gonna reblog this MAGNIFICENT fic pts1&2, and the outtake, The Key to a Good Ghost Story, so that y’all can come and flail with me over this PERFECTION!!!!

#captain swan #killian jones #emma swan #cs ff #cs au #the legend of captain killian jones #words by hollye #key to a good ghost story #favorite fic #besides dark hook #just so were clear #art by artistic writer #cs fic

80 notes · View notes

downeystarkjr · 6 years ago

Text

ALREADY GONE - Captain Swan AU - CHAPTER 9

Emma Swan was never one to believe in ghosts or in any superstitions of the kind. However, her beliefs are soon to be tested when she moves into the beautiful yet mysterious Jewel Cottage. The manor known to be the home haunted by Captain Killian Jones.

The story can also be read on AO3 here

(This is one of the two stories I was working on for the Captain Swan Big Bang 2017 - it’s still a WIP but I have quite a few chapters complete that I really wanted to share)

(PS. Thank you to @ab-normality for your priceless help in being my beta for this story so far!)

Other chapters found here: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Chapter 9

“Buckley sure does love his walks doesn’t he?” Emma laughed, laughing more when the adorable canine barked as if in agreement to her words. “And he’s playful too, aren’t you a bundle of energy little fella?” she asked the dog sweetly, showing Buckley the ball she bought him from town when she was exploring Storybrooke with Ruby before her best friend had to leave.

The dog grew all the more excited and panted happily in anticipation. He watched Emma’s hand moving in front of him as she held onto the ball, waiting for her to throw it. “Go and get it buddy!” she encouraged and finally threw the ball and without a moment’s hesitation, Buckley ran over to chase after the ball.

“Aye and he’s loyal too” Killian nodded and glanced over to watch Emma interact with his pet dog as they walked down the field behind Jewel Cottage. It made the ghost smile to see how loving Emma was with Buckley and how the canine reciprocated Emma’s kindness by giving her his trust. “I don’t think I told you this before love, but I found Buckley when he was a stray puppy trying to seek shelter in the middle of a snow fall. I couldn’t allow him to freeze to his death and he’s been living with me ever since,” he admitted and chuckled when Buckley returned to them, placing the ball by Emma’s feet as his way of telling her that he wanted Emma to throw it again.

Emma was touched to hear Killian open up to her about how he came to meet Buckley. There was something she loved about how the Captain raised the dog alone despite being a spirit. He may be smug and flirtatious but with how kind Killian was with his beloved canine companion, Emma suspected there was more to his character than he was letting on.

Though Emma didn’t pick up on it, Killian was warming to having Emma around. He glanced round to Emma while she paid attention to a rather excited Buckley as he walked a small distance ahead of them. Since the departure of his friend James Barrie, Killian didn’t like having another human keeping him company on his strolls, that was until he crossed paths with Emma.

“She just had to be another author, what are the chances?”

Killian thought to himself with a silent chuckle, giving another glance towards the new inhabitant of his home. With anyone else who dared to show any interest in moving into his home, he would have been sickened at the thought of them joining him. Especially not down the route the three of them were walking down that afternoon.

“Something funny Killian?” Emma asked and quirked an eyebrow when she noticed the apparition chuckling. Her tone wasn’t intimidating but curious.

“No Swan, I’m just enjoying the company,” Killian assured, sincerely giving Emma a compliment before looking ahead again. He found himself quite glad that he accepted the American in his home. The ghost usually despised the company of other people, however with Emma, Killian couldn’t deny that he didn’t feel so lonely now that she was around. In fact, due to what he knew about Emma, the Captain felt it his responsibility to look out for her. “Heed caution here love, the terrain turns rough when we divert from the path,” Killian advised. “I wouldn’t want you to get hurt.”

Emma had not expected Killian to give her such a compliment and was unable to stop the faint blush appearing on her cheeks. “The feeling’s mutual Captain,” she smiled and nodded in acknowledgement to her new friend’s advice, oblivious as to the reason why Killian was so concerned about her safety. “I hope you don’t mind me asking, where are we going? Or are we headed to nowhere in particular and just enjoying the lovely warm spring afternoon?” she questioned.

Emma didn’t have any qualms against having no destination in mind for their walk, it gave her a chance to take in just how beautiful the fields near her home truly were. What made it all the more perfect was that she could still hear the distant sound of the ocean. Emma could imagine herself working on her writing out there in the peaceful countryside. There was nothing like this back in America, it was wonderful.

“Actually Swan, I was intending on paying a visit to an area nearby, we’re almost there,” Killian corrected calmly, keeping an eye on his companion to make sure she didn’t trip over the stones on the bumpy surface. “I’ve never brought anyone here before, but I trust you,” he revealed, whistling to Buckley to distract the dog from chasing after a butterfly that had caught his attention.

“Oh..?” Emma was surprised by how welcoming Killian was after being so adamant to keep humans away. He had told her glimpses of his life such as his wife, his friendship with the author of Peter Pan and now here he was taking Emma somewhere that held some personal importance for the ghost. “Well then lead the way… but thank you Killian, you didn’t have to let me join you today and I appreciate it,” she smiled, wanting Killian to know she was grateful for allowing her to move in instead of trying everything he could to rid her from Jewel Cottage. She never should have made such a rash judgement of Killian the night they shared their first conversation. He was kinder than he initially seemed.

“Aye,” Killian replied simply and stayed quiet for a few moments until they arrived their destination. Buckley stopping by the Captain’s feet with a sad whine that was comforted when Killian petted his head gently. “It’s alright my boy, don’t worry,” Killian assured and checked that Emma was alright too, encouraging her to sit down on the grass. He didn’t want her to be exhausted from the trek in her condition.

“Killian I’m fine, I don’t need to rest, really,” Emma insisted, passing Killian’s offer as being his attempt to prove to her that he was a gentleman. “So what is this place?” she asked, slowly beginning to develop some idea where they were when she noticed the small group of similar looking stones dug into the ground.

“Wait..” Emma uttered, her green gaze watching over Killian as he moved over to crouch in front of one of the stones. One of the graves. The grave of his late wife. She stepped closer, staying quiet to avoid upsetting Killian further when she noticed the mournful look in his eyes.

“It’s alright to talk about it Swan, they have been dead longer than I’ve been a ghost,” Killian spoke out to break the silence. “These fields are part of the Jones Estate, my grandparents, my parents, my brother and my Milah are all buried here.”

Emma felt a pang in her heart towards Killian when he said that, understanding the reason why that area was so meaningful to him. She couldn’t help but feel like she was intruding despite Killian having agreed to let her join him on the walk. This was a personal moment for him.

“You must find it difficult being here…instead of having them around..” Emma mused with sympathy for the Captain. It would be heart-breaking for her to be in Killian’s situation, to be a ghost without family and having only the graves as a reminder of the loved ones he lost long ago. Emma did often wonder why Killian was a ghost while none of his family had the chance to be an apparition. What was keeping him here? Surely, the answer had to be more than just his worry for his beloved Jewel Cottage. How was she going to get him to open up to him when Killian insisted his death was purely accidental?

“Actually love, this helps me feel closer to them, even before I died I would come down here to visit my family,” Killian corrected, seeing Emma glance over to the grave beside his late wife’s. “Anya was my mother, she was the sweetest woman I knew. You would have liked her, she had a love for reading and wrote a few short stories of her own, alas they never got published but the stories she came up with provided my brother and I with entertainment as children,” he chuckled. Killian recalled how his mother tried to get some of her writing published but to no success. Which sadly was quite common for female writers while Killian was growing up. “I must have inherited my adoration of the ocean from her. It was being so close to the ocean that made my mother love this town so much.”

“I have to agree with your mom, Storybrooke is the perfect place to live,” Emma smiled. She honestly couldn’t wait to start work at the school, it would give her the chance to get to know more of the people in town. Although, she was also looking forward to getting to know Killian more, she was intrigued by his past and wished she could help him. It was clear how he still dearly missed his family.

“Aye? Do you think so? I suppose you’re right, there is a certain air about this town,” Killian nodded with a heavy sigh but shook his head to drag himself out of his thoughts where he was recalling the happier times with his wife.

“Yeah, despite the presence of modern technology, being here is like taking a trip back in time,” Emma replied, making sure that Buckley wasn’t roaming too far from them.

“Oh you should have seen Storybrooke in my time. It was glorious,” Killian pointed out. “As much as I enjoyed my time out at sea, I always did love being welcomed back home after spending months out on the ocean.”

Emma didn’t think that Killian ever spoke about his time at sea. She was reminded that he was indeed a Captain of the Royal Navy. He must have seen a lot of the world during the voyages he captained. Emma wondered what Killian did experience out on the high seas, what sort of ship he sailed and what the ventures were like. She knew the Navy of the modern day was considerably different to how it was back when Killian was still alive. How did his Navy career end? Was it because of losing his left hand? Did he lose his hand as part of an incident while being in the Navy?

The American was going to reply before noticing that Killian’s attention had returned to the gravestones before him. Emma saw the mournful look in his ocean blue eyes, Killian really was a man who had lost everyone he loved and cared for, Jewel Cottage was all he had left. However, again the same question entered her thoughts, what was keeping Killian here? Why was he being stopped from moving on?

Judging by the dates written on the graves, Emma could guess who was Killian’s brother and who were his parents. There were also a few graves that caught her eye, mainly because the dates meant those buried beneath the headstones must have died as infants or children. Were they perhaps the children of Liam? The older Jones sibling? Emma didn’t think they were Killian’s children. Never did he mention them or give any indication that he was a father, although Emma knew Killian had been a married man.

To avoid offending Killian by disturbing him during such a deeply personal moment by Milah’s grave, Emma stood up, slowly stepping away to give him some privacy. “What are you doing there Buckley? Huh? Buddy?” Emma asked Buckley sweetly, moving over to him when she heard the canine whining as he lay on a patch of ground in front of a stone that had been overgrown with plants and moss. It was clear that it was another grave, though less cared for than the others.

Carefully, Emma knelt down and moved some of the foliage from the headstone to see what was engraved on it. If she turned round as she did so, Emma would have noticed Killian realising her interest in the grave. The ghost stood up in silence, walking over to Emma but kept a distance between them. There was a reason why he didn’t care for that grave, Killian didn’t like the reminder of it.

When she managed to clear enough of the plants, Emma traced her fingers across the name written on the stone. Captain Killian Jones.

Emma was at a loss for words, she shouldn’t have been so surprised but with the presence of Killian still remaining, it didn’t really occur to her that of course Killian would have had a grave. Why was it so unkempt? Emma was confused and intended to question the apparition about his grave but grew startled to see Killian towering over her, causing her to jump with a hand against her chest. There was something eerie about the way he had just crept up behind her and looking at her instead of at his own grave.

“I’m sorry Killian I…I didn’t mean to pry, Buckley was whining and I wanted-…” she began to apologise before the Captain raised a hand in reassurance.

“You weren’t to know love,” Killian shook his head and stepped away from the grave, not wanting to be near where his body was buried. “But I’d appreciate it if you could now leave my grave well alone,” he insisted, not wanting to converse about his body’s resting place.

However, Emma had other ideas. “You’ve kept the graves of your family in such a good condition, but not yours..”

“Is there a point to that rather odd observation?”

“Killian why?” Emma asked, still insistent that Killian talk to him instead of trying to avoid the issues that bothered him. “It’s as if you’re trying to hide the fact your grave even exists,” she stated with furrowed eyebrows.

“Why would I want to acknowledge it Swan?” Killian countered, reluctantly opening up due to Emma’s persistence. “A grave is supposed to be where someone is bloody well laid to rest. However, unlike the rest of my family, I’m still here. Being a ghost isn’t exactly restful.” He knew what was keeping him from moving on but there was nothing he could do about it.

Emma’s expression held an emotion of sympathy for Killian and gently bit her lip in thought. “Tell me what happened,” she requested kindly, looking up into Killian’s eyes. Emma wasn’t an idiot, she knew the ghost lied to her about the cause of his death. “It wasn’t the gas heater that claimed your life was it…? Killian please, let me try to help you.”

It was at her words that caused Killian’s own words to be choked up in his throat. He took a moment to compose himself and fight off the threatening tears before they fell. “My death was far more violent than I originally implied. I intended on bringing an evil man to justice, risking my life in the process,” he explained, a tinge of anger in his tone. “It didn’t turn out the way I hoped and in the end, I paid the price while he and his descendants continued to get away with their crimes.”

“Is that why you’re still here after all these years?” Emma asked. She had no idea who was responsible for Killian’s death or that the ‘evil’ man’s family were still connected to the town of Storybrooke. “Because you have unfinished business here that you can’t resolve? What can I do to help you?”

“Why love? Am I such dreary company that you want the manor to yourself?” Killian chuckled to hide his unease. He was unsure if he actually wanted to move on if given the chance, the Captain had grown quite used to living as a ghost. And now he had met Emma. For the first time in quite a few too many years, Killian was enjoying the presence of another person. He liked having Emma around and wanted to get to know her. But Killian was a ghost, how could he expect the woman to become close with him.

“Killian come on,” Emma sighed, trying to show Killian that she really wanted to help in any way she could.

The Captain did doubt if he would be willing to move on. However, if he did accept Emma’s offer, perhaps his heart could be put at ease knowing justice was done. It was about time those who wronged him and so many other innocent souls paid for their misdeeds.

“Swan there might be a way, for you to help me,” Killian finally replied with an answer Emma was hoping for. It couldn’t have been a coincidence that Emma was a writer. No one else could have helped him since other people were either too naïve to welcome the thought that ghosts were real or too afraid of the ghost that haunted Jewel Cottage. “You’re an author are you not, love? One that lives in a haunted manor that everyone does their best to avoid,” the Captain began, gaining Emma’s curiosity. “I provided you with the perfect inspiration for your next writing endeavour. Me.”

“You want me to write a story inspired by you?” Emma asked feeling a little confused. How was that going to help with Killian’s unfinished business?

That where Killian had more knowledge on the matter. He was aware of the impact the written word could have, especially one written in truth. “On the contrary my lady, I was hoping you’d write a story about me,” he corrected. “My memoirs to be exact.”

Tagging a few users who might like the story. I’d love to know what you think! @yayimallamaagain @phiralovesloki @lenfaz @flipperbrain @cocohook38@hollyethecurious @winterbaby89 @xhookswenchx @teamhook @resident-of-storybrooke @fairytalesandtimetravel @aye-captn @wellhellotragic @sambethe @goldengirlschildhood @sherlockianwhovian @captainswanbigbang @themilahskillybear @the-corsair-and-her-quill

8 notes · View notes

snowbellewells · 2 years ago

Text

Happy Birthday @hollyethecurious!!! ~*~

I’m sorry this is so late in the day, but I hope your birthday has been a wonderful one @hollyethecurious - full of all the fun, celebration and love you deserve! Your writing has brought SO MUCH joy over the years, and I wanted to celebrate some of my favorites of your works. As I looked back over them though, I had a hard time narrowing them down, there were so many that have been so good, so varied, and each one has taken us on a different adventure with our pirate and princess! You’ve been so much fun to get to know in fandom, and I can’t thank you enough for sharing your writing with all of us!!!

Without further rambling, here’s a Birthday Top Ten List of Hollye’s Fics! :)

#10) Mix of One Shots: “Huzzah!” // “Teacher’s Lounge” // “Welcome to the Show” // “Yippee Ki Yay” // “Ghost in the Void” // “A FINE Friendsmas” // “Ballet (Mis)Steps” I love every single one of these so much! I just really couldn’t leave any of them off the list. Some are funny, some are hot and steamy, and some just lovely and heartfelt, and all of them are unforgettable. If you’ve missed any of these along the way, treat yourself and check them out.

#9) “Some Legends are Best Kept as Legends” This fic was originally written for the @cssns and has such an eerie bit of the spooky supernatural and a lovely hint of history mixed in as well. Maybe it’s the literature teacher in me, but I loved how Holly worked “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” in there too. This is a really intriguing take on CS and you won’t be able to put it down!

#8) “A Different Kind of Fun” This version of Killian as a musician is absolutely irresistible. This is the only unfinished WIP on this list, but you can still enjoy this playful band modern AU as is. I’ve never been able to get it out of my head - it just feels like such a natural iteration of both Emma and Killian, and their friends, and you won’t be able to read without getting into it too.

#7) “A Toast to What If” I was lucky enough to get to serve as a beta for this story, and I would get so excited for each new bit I got to look over. This story just got better and better with every addition. I love the movie that inspired this one for the @captainswanmoviemarathon, but seeing it with Emma, Killian and the rest of the OuaT gang in the roles made it all the more lovely. The setting, the plot, and all of this one will draw you in and you won’t want to stop reading until you reach the end. <3

#6) “Avowed” This one is a short little story built of interconnected prompt drabbles, but I have always had a soft spot for it. I love the setup, the action and drama it kicked off with, then the twists and turns its plot took along the way. It’s another AU version of Emma and Killian Hollye has created that I can’t get out of my head, and it’s an exciting adventure to read along.

#5) “Varcolac: A Hybrid Tale” This MC is from the inaugural summer of the @cssns event, and it is still one of my favorites from that collection. I’m a sucker for anything werewolf related, but this has its own unique twist on that supernatural genre. I loved how Emma and Killian first met here and how they banded together to face danger. The drama and action get intense in this one and I loved every second! I really can’t say enough great things about this one, and if you’ve missed it, you have to check it out now!!!

#4) “We Make Our Own Fate” This AU MC is extra lovely because it mixes a lot of less common elements into a CS fic - we get to enjoy Killian with his sweet little Alice, some lesser used enemies along with a few of the usual baddies, and a take on Colin’s movie What Still Remains, and yet it still makes use of the relationships and characters we love from OuaT. I looked forward to every new chapter as this was being written, and it is still one of my very favorites!

#3) “Conviction” This fic gave us such an affecting alternate version of Emma’s character. You couldn’t help but have your heart go out to her - just like this story’s Killian did. This one also has a bit of a historical element to it (those seem to be some of my favorites of Hollye’s works) and I love that Liam and Graham, Ruby, Granny, Belle and Will all have parts in this too, which only adds the the enjoyment of it for me (some of my favorite supporting characters who don’t always get to be present). You’re not going to be able to put this one down!

#2) “Hope is the Thing With Feathers” This story is a collaboration fic Hollye wrote some years ago, but it has never lost any of its beauty and it is hard to top. I don’t even know how many times I’ve re-read it. I love the sweet way Killian rescues a young Henry new to Storybrooke, and how in turn Henry and his mother bring life back to this version of Killian too. I love how Smee (sort of) and Belle both make important cameos in this - they’re perfect! The bittersweetness and bits of melancholy in this one make the wonderful way the ending works out all the more amazing and unforgettable.

#1) “What Lies Beneath the Mask” I wouldn’t be surprised if Hollye is shaking her head and laughing at my predictability right now, because there was no way any other story but this one was going to be my Number One pick. This was the first story of Hollye’s I read, and it has never been anything but my undisputed favorite. The angst, the whump, the love story, the mystery, and the suspense -- all of it is top notch! I even have a print book version of this one! I read it so much that it was an absolutely necessary investment!! There’s a bit of Hunchback of Notre Dame, and a bit of Man in the Iron Mask in this, but it is 100 percent a CS masterpiece and celebrates all the things Hollye does so brilliantly in her writing. Just talking about it makes me want to get it out and read it again. If you’ve never read this, you HAVE to - as soon as possible!

** And that concludes my list! Once again, I hope you’ve had the very best of birthdays @hollyethecurious !!! ***

#fandom birthday #birthday fic favorites list #hollyethecurious fic rec list #happy birthday @hollyethecurious #cs fic list

39 notes · View notes

writeyourownlifestory · 7 years ago

Photo

CS Halloweek: Oct 31st - Spirits and Traditions

Falling in Love with Moonlight

Being the new kid in town is hard. Living in a house that is haunted by a long-dead princess is even harder. Killian Jones just wants to take life one step at a time, even if those steps are followed by someone only he can see.

AO3 LINK

#OUAT #once upon a time fanfic #cs fanfic #CS AU #CS Halloweek #Captain Swan #Captain Swan AU #Halloween #CS Halloween #Ghost story #ghost #undead #Emma Swan #Killian Jones #Lieutenant Duckling #Modern Lieutenant Duckling

59 notes · View notes

sotangledupinit · 2 years ago

Text

free fallin’

annnnd here’s my second fic for @cssns! it’s a rework of a fic i did for cs halloweek 2021 so i hope you like my changes and are ready for another multi-chapter fic! :D

---

SUMMARY: On a dark and stormy Halloween night 27 years ago, five people stepped onto an elevator. They never stepped off. Now 28, Emma Swan and her son Henry work together to discover what caused her parents and the other inhabitants to suddenly disappear. //rewrite of previous work, expanded to a multi-chapter.

RATING: T for teen, though there’s some graphic descriptions of horror elements in the first chapter.

WORD COUNT: 7084 words

TAGS: Tower of Terror AU, Captain Swan, CSSNS 22

AO3

AUTHOR’S NOTE: hi! some of this may seem familiar to you if you read my original story for CS Halloweek 2021, but i've changed some things, added stuff, and reworked it better to be a multi-chapter fic. so yay! based on the theme park attraction Tower of Terror at Walt Disney World as well as the 1997 film starring Kirsten Dunst of the same name (and inspired by the same attraction).

***

“Are you absolutely certain you’re okay with this?” David asks one more time. He stands besides Mary Margaret, each of them slowly shrugging their coats on as their eyes stare at their daughter as if memorizing her every feature.

“Yes, we can always bring Emma with us so you can enjoy the party too!” Mary Margaret agrees, hands reaching out towards her baby girl.

Granny Lucas shakes her head, adjusting the baby on her hip. A single woman since her early twenties, Granny’s exteriors are rough and stern. She’s had to put up with more malarky than is right but it molded her to be fierce and stand her ground. Once she glares in their direction, David and Mary Margaret know they’ve lost their fight. “Absolutely not,” she says. “When was the last time the two of you had a date night? Emma’s just turned one – you two need some time alone. As a couple.”

David sighs, buttoning up his coat. “I have my pager on me. Beep me and I’ll call right away.” He takes Mary Margaret’s red scarf from their coat rack and wraps it around his wife’s neck.

“And I’ll have my cell phone in my purse. I also left the numbers for the hotel and the party on the refrigerator.” She rushes over to Granny and presses a featherlight kiss to her daughter’s forehead, smiling softly. “I love you, Emma.”

She feels David approach behind her and he places one hand on her back and the other cradle’s Emma’s head. “We really don’t mind bringing –”

“Go.” Granny’s exasperation pours through her voice. Her feet bring her to the front door of the apartment the couple lives in. Opening it brings in the chilly October air that hung in the hallway of the building. “I have Emma handled. I did raise three children and a granddaughter all by myself. Emma’s a breeze.” The couple looks at each other, still hesitant as they stand in their threshold. “Regina’s going to be mad if you’re late to her party.”

They kiss their daughter goodbye once more, giving themselves the extra second to cherish the moment, and then thank Granny before leaving.

Regina sighs as she stands at the reception desk of the lobby. The man behind the counter – Liam, his nametag says – is on the phone with the hotel’s house band. The one she booked months in advance for the Halloween party didn’t find it worth their effort to show up. Taking a sip of her champagne, her red lipstick leaves a mark on her glass and she figures she can get a refill once she gets back upstairs, barring no further problems.

Full moons brought out the crazies, and, she surmised, bad luck.

A light drizzle painted the street just beyond the hotel’s front doors, lights from the Hollywood Hills in the distance looking brighter.

When she became mayor of Storybrooke, it was a rundown ghost town just outside of Los Angeles. Half the shops on main street were closed down and the neighborhoods housed more foreclosures than people. She worked hard to make it the perfect picture of suburbia it is today, with a multitude of locally owned stores and restaurants, excellent schools, and safe, well-run neighborhoods.

Election year is next year and she’s already decided not to run. Nearly thirty years as mayor, yet nothing notable in her personal life.

Well, there always is Mary Margaret and her child. The thought makes her snort into her glass and she searches for a napkin to wipe her chin with. How sad is that thought?

Humidity warms the cool October night making the skin on her arms sticky. She pats at herself and waits for the phone call to end.

“Mayor Mills,” the accented man says. Liam’s dark curls are gelled to styled perfection and as cleanly done as his pressed uniform. She knows from her dealings with Brennan Jones – the years of board meetings and permit approvals and plans being run by her desk for the Hollywood Tower Hotel – that he’s grooming his eldest to take over. Brennan has never been the noblest man to sit with, always looking with one eye to seem sincere but glancing away with his other to check no one can see his crossed fingers behind his back. “The house band is already setting up in the Tip Top Club. If you have any other concerns, please let me know.”

He holds his hand out to shake but Regina turns away instead.

She leaves her empty glass at the counter and makes her way to the bathroom to freshen up. Hair tickles her cheeks and she can already tell the humidity is ruining her carefully crafted look. It’s going to be a dreadfully long night.

Liam waits until Mayor Mills exits the lobby before heading back to the staff lounge. He leaves the front desk in the trusted hands of his assistant manager Starkey and goes in search of peace and quiet for five minutes.

Things have been weird at the hotel since just before the party goers arrived. The storm outside is beginning to pick up and he groans as yet another hallway light flickers. The toilets in the upper floors began to flush by themselves and the card readers for the rooms on the front side of the building stopped working, all by six o’clock. Maintenance isn’t the issue, he reasons. He oversees the building’s maintenance and does what he can with what little leash his father gives him. Where all the issues came from is a mystery to him.

Something isn’t right, something… not natural.

His hand grips the knob of the staff lounge only to find it locked. Groaning, he knocks heavily on the door. “Killian!” he practically hollers. “I need you to open up!”

The dark wood door swings open and Killian stands in its threshold, shirt unbuttoned and tie hanging loose around his neck. It’s unfair that his little brother is a hair taller than him. He recalls when Killian used to ask him to reach up for something on the top shelf or looked to him for protection. For their father being around nearly their entire lives, his presence was consistently absent.

“The door wasn’t locked, brother,” Killian says. Liam ignores the lie on his brother’s lips as the younger Jones steps back to allow him in.

“There’s an issue with the band Mayor Mills hired. The house band is filling in but…”

Killian sighs as he realizes where Liam’s train of thought is going. “But Whale is nowhere to be seen and you need me to fill in?”

“You’re wonderful, little brother. Brilliant, truly.”

“Bloody hell, Liam. I’m 30 and I’m taller than you. I’m younger, but most definitely not little.”

“Now, now. Let’s not turn this into a measuring contest,” Liam chastises, though his amusement cracks his stern exterior. “I do appreciate you giving up your night off.”

“Well,” Killian says with a sigh, rebuttoning his shirt, fixing his tie, and heaving up his guitar case from the corner of the room. “Enjoy this while you can because soon I’ll be on the ocean where you can’t pester me to fill in. By the way, I expect overtime for tonight.”

“Regina!” Mary Margaret calls out. They’ve dropped their scarves and coats at the desk, David’s black suit looking straight out of a catalog and perfect for his Bruce Wayne outfit, her dark blue gown swirling around her ankles creating an elegant Snow White look. She prances over to her stepmother like a fairytale princess in the Disney cartoons and Regina only barely manages to hold in her disgust at the display.

“Well it’s about time you showed up,” she says to the couple. Her eyes dart to David and she teases, “Even your brother arrived on time. Clearly he’s the better twin.”

“You invited my brother?” David groans as they walk together to the elevator.

“You can thank your lovely wife,” Regina says. She rolls her eyes when she sees Liam and another hotel worker waiting at the elevators too.

Mary Margaret fidgets next to her husband, apologetic. Ask forgiveness instead of permission. Regina can’t say she disagrees with that line of thinking. “No one should be alone on a holiday. Especially family.”

“It’s Halloween,” Regina deadpans. The ding of the arriving elevator sounds, putting a stop to the conversation. Liam holds his employee back and lets them board first. The employee holds a large guitar case and, glancing at the eyeliner rimming his eyes and the rings on his fingers, she groans. He better not be part of the band.

“Really,” David whispers to his wife as he enters after Regina and Mary Margaret. “You invited James?!”

“He’s your family,” she hisses back, pasting a pleasant smile on her face as a way of greeting the employees. Moments before the elevator doors close, she spots James coming from the back of the lobby and heading towards the stairs, waving in his direction while David grunts. His brother merely smirks and raises his glass, the metal doors starting to slide close. It’s the most perfect look for anyone dressed as Two-Face.

It really is a toss-up, which brother grates on Regina’s nerves more. Only slightly less holier-than-thou than her stepdaughter, David has the whole shtick down. Animal rescue, helps old ladies cross the street, probably picks up garbage from the gutter.

Ugh, he’s so good it makes her sick.

His twin, on the other hand, couldn’t be more opposite. Poor Ruth Nolan would probably be run into an early grave if she was only raising James. The man is a hellion, is known for collecting paramours, and has an angry streak to make anyone flinch.

Despite her earlier jest, she’d prefer to deal with David any day of the week over his brother. James can take his smirk and glass of liquor and go to hell.

Regina only just barely held back a snarl, making sure it’s the last thing James sees before the doors finally slide shut.

“Mayor Mills,” Liam nods, pressing the button for the Tip Top Club. The elevator begins its ascent with a light jerk. He gives her a nervous glance she pointedly ignores. Clearly Brennan Jones put no investment into his hotel’s transportation if the elevators were still as slow and jerky as when the building originally opened, nearly 90 years before his purchase. “This is my younger brother, Killian. He’s incredibly talented and he’ll be the guitarist of our house band tonight.”

Lovely.

Soft sounds of the music playing from a boombox at the party waft through the elevator shaft as their car quickly approaches its final stop. It's some pop hit that she finds more horrible than Mary Margaret’s hope speeches before election night. Nothing like what her father played growing up in Puerto Rico before moving to Storybrooke.

She opens her mouth to question his decision in bringing aboard his brother, a downright unkempt scoundrel by the looks of it and in no form for the classy Halloween party she’s hosting, but right as the elevator is about to reach the Tip Top Club, their car jerks to a stop.

“What’s happening?” Mary Margaret asks. David rests a comforting hand on her back and Liam looks to his brother before turning to face the elevator panel next to the door.

Finger just inches away, a purple electric shock shoots out of the panel and gets Liam. Killian is quick to jerk him back and the second he does, the lights go out.

Darkness envelops them, their breaths caught in their throat as no one says a word. The emergency lights lining the ceiling are useless as they refuse to turn on. It’s only when there’s a flicker, just the smallest bit with a tint of purple to its glow, that the elevator lurches then drops into a free fall.

Screams erupt in the elevator car. Regina sees the couple next to her in each other’s arms and the brothers on the other side clinging to the rails of the car. Her stomach is in her throat and her hair rises as her body falls. The last thing she sees before their elevator crashes is a flash of purple light.

27 years later…

Emma stares at her son, her eyebrow raised and lips pressed into a thin line, waiting for his answer.

Henry only grins back at her, a small gap between his front teeth.

“Your teacher… who I grew up with… assigned you to write a story about the Hollywood Tower Hotel?”

He fidgets in his seat and her eyes narrow. In turn, he becomes stock still with his gaze wide-eyed. He even refuses to breathe. Got him.

“Okay, so Miss French didn’t actually assign me the Hollywood Tower Hotel. I chose it.”

Emma stares at him in disbelief. “…Why?”

Their history with the infamous hotel is well known around the Los Angeles area but most especially in Storybrooke, where nearly all of its inhabitants knew her parents. It’s part of why she ran away from her Uncle James when she was sixteen. And part of why she hesitated greatly when contemplating moving back almost a year ago.

Grandma Ruth had been too distraught by losing her son that she wasn’t fit to take in Emma when she was a baby. Despite Granny’s attempts to take care of her, she wasn’t blood so Uncle James took her in. Though, he was far from a parent. No rules, little guidance, and an absence of fatherly love meant Emma became self-sufficient before she was ten. It hurts now, to look at her son at the same age and know that she was practically living on her own. Uncle James was more a body that took up space in the living room and who signed school papers until she was able to forge his signature convincingly.

School was another thing entirely.

If there is one thing to be guaranteed, it was that when kids saw an easy target, they pounced, eliciting a thrill from goading their full childhoods and families over her head. She’d been called a freak and a loser but the taunts that hurt the most were the ones calling her unlovable and an orphan.

Those ones were true.

At first she tried to combat the bullies by telling her teachers. That gave the incidents more fanfare and opened her up to even more bullying outside school grounds. So in fourth grade, she taught herself how to throw a punch.

The only bullies who bothered her after that were the ones brave enough to say something to her face. Somehow, the whispers that started up behind her back afterwards hurt more.

“We had to pick a moment in history and create a story from it so why not one about our family?” He shrugs his shoulders, leaving Emma dumbfounded. She forgets her son hasn’t been affected the same way she has, that the fated night doesn’t haunt his every quiet moment like it does hers.

The happenings at the Hollywood Tower Hotel on Halloween night 27 years ago have become the stuff of legends. More than one amateur sleuth has traveled far to see the hotel up close and solve the mystery of how the two elevator shafts protruding from the front of the building suddenly disappeared that night, taking five people along with them.

Ghosts, curses, aliens – you name it, every few months someone shows up claiming to know the truth of what happened but none have been proven real. Moving out of Storybrooke didn’t allow her an escape from the shadow that encased her life. She’s been dodging requests from reporters to talk about the event for her entire life. They hunted her down in Storybrooke before she left, when she was still just a kid, and then followed her to Tallehasse and Phoenix and Boston and everywhere in between. Every once and a while, a brother of one of the occupants will pop up and ask for anyone who knows the truth to come forward with information, but it all leads to dead ends.

Honestly, the whole thing feels like an episode straight out of the Twilight Zone.

“Henry,” she begins, mind searching for the right words to say. “I don’t know if this is a good idea…”

Her son gets up from his chair and comes to stand beside hers, face set in determination. “Maybe we can solve this mystery together.”

Let it be known that Emma will do anything for her kid. Even if it means standing outside of the hotel her parents disappeared from so Henry can get a vibe of the place for his writing assignment.

“I know you and Grace have snuck out of her house and come here before,” she says as she leans against the cement fencing that lines the property. A wide wrought iron gate sits at the entrance, kept closed with a rusted chain and lock. The plants around the property are overgrown and she sees weeds popping out from cracks in the cement. She thinks the original owner died some years ago but can’t be certain. If it’s not news about her parents, she looks the other way.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he evades. Standing on the tips of his toes, he tries to see beyond a particularly wild bush at the edge of the driveway just beyond the gate. His brow furrows when he doesn’t find what he expects.

A breeze blows through the trees and down the driveway, leaving Emma with a chill. Her son seems unaffected and a part of her wonders if it’s her mind getting to her.

People who have snuck onto the property or inspected it to solve the mystery swear the hotel is haunted. They share stories of unexplainable events taking place on the deserted property and supernatural occurrences, both of which make Emma snort. Things like ghosts and magic and vampires – ugh, that theory in particular, one where the inhabitants of the elevator became vampires and turned the hotel into their private bat cave, grinds her gears – are not real.

“Do you have everything you need?” she asks, shifting from foot to foot, eyes refusing to look at the hotel any longer.

Henry bites his lip as he looks up at her. “Can you tell me again what happened that night?”

She sighs. It’s not a story she likes repeating, especially since most of it is secondhand information. “Mayor Mills was throwing a Halloween Ball in the Tip Top Club. My parents, Mayor Mills, and two other people boarded an elevator to go to the club. There was a storm, the entire city lost electricity, and when the lights came back on a minute later, the elevator shafts disappeared, leaving no trace of anyone who was inside.”

“You know,” a young voice says behind her. She turns quickly, surprised to see a guy, not much older than 18, behind her with keys in his hands. He has sharp blue eyes and his brown hair is parted down the middle, the ends brushing his ears. A thin frame, his Hollywood Tower Hotel blazer hangs large on him. He gives her a nervous smile, “A lot of people claimed my papa cut corners getting the hotel fixed, that things weren’t working correctly and there were wiring issues. Which, I guess could be true, but that doesn’t explain the elevators disappearing and no debris.”

“You’re the owner’s son,” Emma guesses. She crosses her arms, eyeing him warily.

“I am.” He directs his attention to Henry who is watching the man in awe. “See the scorch marks on the outside of the building there?” His finger points to the front façade, burn marks in two identical vertical lines permanently staining the building. “That’s the only evidence left of that night.”

“Wow,” Henry says. Running back to the gate, his face pushes between the spaces and he fixes his gaze on the marks.

Emma eyes the newcomer, stepping into his eyeline so he can’t see her son. “Unless you’ve got an issue with us standing on the street, we’re good here. I don’t need you to put ideas in my kid’s head.”

The young man looks confused, mouth opening and closing as he tries to figure out what to say. “But you – you emailed me?”

Shaking her head, she immediately responds, “No I didn’t.”

Henry jumps away from the gate with a grin. He stands beside Emma and looks up at the man. “That’s because I did! Liam Jones, right? This is my mom. She’s Emma Nolan.”

Liam nods, his cheeks red, and says, “I actually go by LJ, not Liam.” Emma raises her eyebrow at this. He gestures to the building and shrugs, sighing, “I was born about seven years after that night, named after one of my brothers who disappeared then. But it’s weird, right? I kind of felt like my papa was trying to replace him with me.”

She swallows, nodding her head. “I’m sorry.”

LJ waves off her apologies and approaches the gate, flicking through the keys. “So you wanted a tour?”

“Yes!”

“No!”

Emma and Henry turn to face each other. She glares as much as she can at her son but he has his eyes wide, his hands clasped together, and – crap – he just stuck out the bottom lip.

The chains rattle as LJ removes them from the gate, Henry hot on his heels with every move.

“So you still own the hotel?” he asks him, pointing at the embroidered jacket he wears.

LJ nods. Creaking from lack of use, the gates open to the winding drive up the hill to the front doors of the Hollywood Tower Hotel. Sunlight beams through the breaks in the overgrowth and for a moment, Emma understands all the hype about the place in its heyday. There’s a peace that settles over her shoulders, like she’s in a long-lost private garden, and she takes a deep breath in.

Reality crashes down as LJ starts talking again, leading Henry up the drive with Emma following behind.

“Papa closed it for the investigation to see what happened to my brothers. It took years. Police investigated him and the property for faulty construction issues. Some people thought he demolished the two elevator shafts in order to expand, but there was no debris so that was ruled out. He was so broken up by everything – the disappearance, the investigation – that he vowed the hotel should not be opened again until the mystery of what happened that night is solved or my brothers are found.”

Emma trips on one particular crack in the driveway and the gravel breaks under her foot. “How can you afford to pay taxes and… maintenance?” A quick look around makes her wonder if any maintenance has actually been done, but the front of the hotel appears before her eyes and she gasps softly.

It’s one thing to see the glitz and the glam of a luxury hotel in photos but it’s another to see it in real life. A covered walkway with arches leads up to the front doors, mosaic tile covering the floors of the outside. The chairs on the patio on either side of the doors offer an unobstructed view of the Hollywood Hills with the Hollywood sign looking picturesque. She bets the backside of the hotel offers remarkable views of the Santa Monica Bay.

“Papa made a trust to pay for the upkeep. Plus I’m in school for mechanics and learning some building maintenance as I study. Things are a little dusty, but the lights still work. I can give you a tour,” LJ offers and Emma shakes her head.

“Oh no,” she starts. Her hands go out to grasp Henry by the shoulders before he can move inside and she shakes her head. “We are going to stay right out here.”

Henry eyes her suspiciously. “Why can’t we go in? Are you scared of ghosts?”

Emma represses the shudder that goes through her body at glancing up and seeing the empty lobby in front of her. The thought of being in the same place as her parents last were before they disappeared leaves an unsettling feeling in her stomach.

“I’m not scared,” she says to Henry. “Let’s just walk around the outside, okay? I bet there’s spiders in there.” She only feels a little bit bad when Henry shakes his whole body and sticks by her side, but sometimes she has to do what’s needed.

LJ leads them around the hotel, pointing out little details in the railings or on the tiles. She tunes most of it out, knowing her son is sucking it all up like the curious sponge he is. Instead, her breath is taken by the view of the water from the back porch, drawing her from the group.

The water glistens, far enough away that she can’t hear the waves but the sight still leaves her stunned.

“Awesome, isn’t it?” LJ says with a grin a few moments later. She nods, stepping closer to the railing and lets the sight roll over her shoulders in calming waves. What it must have been like, to be a guest here when everything was grand and to have this room from the hotel room. Incredible.

When she turns around though, LJ is just a few feet behind her but Henry is nowhere to be found.

“Henry?” she calls out. LJ follows suit, both of them looking for her son but he doesn’t appear at her voice. Her heart starts pounding and she wonders if the same thing that caused her parents to disappear so long ago just did the same to her son.

Curtains billowing in the wind catch her eye and Emma frantically makes her way over. The door to the hotel is slightly ajar, the cool breeze sweeping off the porch and into the back seating area leading to a number of hallways. She cautiously steps through, looking behind her to check with LJ, before fully entering.

Dust and cobwebs cover the furniture. Books are strewn on coffee tables, bags and suitcases are still piled on the luggage carts, and flowers long dead remain in the vases. “I thought you did routine maintenance?” she questions with a raised eyebrow, unamused.

LJ’s bashful look is accompanied by a scratch at his jawline. “It’s more wiring and keeping up with the electrical and pipes than cleaning…”

She hums, rolling her eyes and continues calling her son’s name. The front lobby is in much of the same state as the back and she looks for indents in the dust or a sign that something’s been moved. A glass on the reception desk glints from the sunlight beaming through the tall windows above the front doors and she can still make out the dark red lipstick staining the rim.

Glancing behind the check-in desk proves to be a waste with still no sign of Henry and her heart rate ticks up again. A chill is settling in her bones the longer she’s in the lobby and she studiously avoids the elevator shafts in the middle of the floor.

“Mom?” Henry calls out, voice scared and wobbly.

“Henry?!” Emma replies, pushing herself away from the counter and rushing around the corner. She hears music, like a boombox playing in another room, but when she runs through the tall white doors in the hall, she enters an empty ballroom and sees no boombox, no radio, not even a band. She calls her son’s name again but hears no response.

She feels the sensation of a breath along the back of her neck before she hears the voice in her ear.

“Welcome to the Hollywood Tower Hotel,” a deep voice says from behind her. Emma jumps in sudden fright and lets out a quick scream before her fight instincts kick in. In an instant, she reaches for one of the centerpieces on a nearby table, a heavy glass vase filled with flowers that have been long dead. She readies her arm as she turns around but there’s no one behind her when she looks. No door is swinging and no footsteps echo in the space.

The tension that coiled in her back keeps her body rimrod straight and straining. She eyes the empty ballroom and struggles to keep the quick succession of her breaths quiet. Though she desperately wants to call for her son, she worries any sudden noise could send danger in his direction. A chill runs down her arms to her fingertips and she tightens her grip on the vase.

A table cloth just a few paces over flutters in an imaginary wind and Emma feels the presence first. Pivoting, she immediately spots a handsome man standing in the middle of the ballroom, dressed in an impeccable bellhop’s uniform, the deep red complimenting his light skin and dark hair. He smirks at her, not afraid to show his enjoyment in the cat and mouse game he’s started, and he stands up straighter, arms behind his back.

She swallows hard at the image, a far cry from what the man – one of the Jones’ – looked like in photographs, vase still held high, as unease settles in her stomach. A wicked glint enters the man’s eye right as she opens her mouth to question him, but his words bet her to it.

“Checking in?” he asks, the devil on his lips and staining his words, smirk widening as he pulls a butcher’s knife dripping with blood from behind his back.

Holding back a scream, Emma tosses the vase with all her might.

Only for it to land right at his feet.

He clicks his tongue, chastising. “That hurts, love.”

The man, sin draped in red, starts a slow approach towards her and she immediately puts a table between them. Demands for Henry’s whereabouts rest on the tip of her tongue and she steels herself to face the man down when she hears her name echo from the hallway. The man’s brow furrows as his attention is momentarily taken by Henry’s yell and she uses it to her advantage.

With all her might, she pushes the table forward and straight towards the man. She doesn’t wait to see the impact, instead immediately turning on her heel and rushing out the white doors, leaving a cacophony of crashes in her wake.

Emma runs through the hallways, yelling out Henry’s name in quick intervals, her voice frantic and on the verge of becoming hoarse. He calls back to her, more frightened than she’s ever heard before, and she nearly barrels through the wall as she rushes into the kitchen.

“Henry!” she cries in relief, rushing over to hug him and falling to her knees in the process. He stands still in shock as she wraps her arms around him. Relief floods her system and she kisses his cheeks, murmuring how she’s happy she’s found him but that they have to leave. Except he doesn’t move. “Henry?” She pulls away from her embrace and examines his face, pale and sweaty. His breathing is as quick as hers and his eyes seem fixed on a point beyond her shoulder.

Standing up straight and turning to face whatever has her son in a trace, Emma immediately knows why.

Sunshine filters through two windows on the far wall of the kitchen as if putting a spotlight on the long stainless steel rolling table in the middle of the room. A lone figure lays on it, white sheet covering their body with one arm hanging loose. An uneaten apple rests precariously in the figure’s hand, blood dripping from the fruit onto the figure’s fingertips and down to a growing puddle on the floor.

“Let’s get out of here, kid.” Despite speaking in a whisper, it’s as if her words shatter the delicate calm over the room for not a moment passes before the figure sits up straight without effort. Emma and Henry scream in terror, jumping back but unable to tear their eyes from the sight before them despite her efforts to push her kid behind her.

Emma knows that figure.

Dressed in a dark gown with a matching black corset situated on top, the tall collar of the dress nearly reaches the figure’s ears. The vibrant red lipstick, their trademark, makes this figure – this Evil Queen – unmistakeable.

She’s studied the photos of the disappeared enough to recognize Regina Mills when she sees her, be it through photographs or in this… projection of sorts. The last photo of the former mayor of Storybrooke had been by Sydney Glass for the newspaper and it was taken right here, in the kitchens of the Hollywood Tower Hotel.

Emma knows the photo well. It was a posed shot, the mayor’s perfectly poised persona coming through in every shot as if being photographed by Vogue instead of the Storybrooke Mirror. The kitchen photo was of Regina leaning over an apple bite, a sampling on a fork hovering in the air on its way to her mouth. The piece in the newspaper was supposed to be about how Regina made her own desserts for the charity Halloween ball, her famous apple pie chief among them. The perfect kind of writeup for someone preparing to run again.

This Regina feels like a completely different person from the one she imagined through the photos. This one has a wicked grin and a narrowed gaze, portraying the perfect villain for a storybook tale.

Her voice runs like a smooth velvet down their spines as she inquires, “Won’t you stay for a bite?”

The wicked grin transforms into a sickly-sweet smile on her lips and Regina lifts her arm, long fingernails painted a shiny black adorning her blood-stained fingers and brings the dripping apple to her lips. She tilts her head at Emma and Henry who stare at her in shock and takes a large chunk out of it. In an instant, both Regina and the apple sizzle.

The apple rots before their eyes, turning as black as Regina’s nails, melting into her hand and sliding in large wet chucks to the floor. The former mayor is next, her skin drooping, cheek growing flaccid until it drops as low as her chin before falling to the metal table, revealing muscle and bone in its wake. Those too begin to droop and melt like the apple had, the sizzling noise growing louder as more of Regina disappears into a puddle.

Her smile, the sickly-sweet one that turns Emma’s stomach, remains on the mayor’s face despite their screams of terror and despite her body literally melting away before her.

Emma and Henry don’t stay long enough to watch the puddle that was Regina drip to the floor.

Her son’s tiny hand clasped in her own, Emma leads the two of them back to the lobby and the only exit she knows. Their lungs burn with fright and fatigue. They only come to a stop once they reach the lobby, their pants filling the silence as they take in the scene before them.

Leaning as far back in his chair as possible is LJ. Absolute terror colors his features and he shakes his head frantically as a womanly figure dances under an isolated cloud in what looks to be acid rain. The water’s green glow shines through the lobby and when she spins, a few raindrops leave her circle and land on the armrest of LJ’s chair, hissing as it burns through to the ground. He pulls his legs up to his chest to make himself as small as possible.

A second figure approaches LJ, a tall gentleman in a tailored suit and perfectly styled blonde hair. His attention is fixated on LJ and when he reaches a hand towards his own head, Emma turns Henry’s shoulders and presses his face against her stomach in anticipation of what’s to come. She’s glad she followed her gut as the moment Henry’s vision is no longer of the scene in front of her, the gentleman pulls his head from his shoulders dropping his hand to his side as the head in its grip continues talking some nonsense about enjoying their stay.

Emma merely gasps out a shuddered breath, feeling like she barely has any air in her lungs left so she can scream.

Oh no, she thinks, that’s my parents.

“A tad dramatic, isn’t it?” an accented voice drawls behind her. She cautiously turns her head in its direction as she holds Henry tighter in her arms. The man from the ballroom stands by the check-in desk looking bored and not as devious as he’d been a few minutes ago. “I prefer the subtle scare,” he continues, lifting his bloodied knife from beneath the desk. Her eyes widen as her breathing staggers again.

Even if she didn’t study their photos so much growing up, she’d know from the captivating blue eyes that this was LJ’s brother. Killian Jones.

There’s been plenty of information about most of the people in the elevator that night. Regina had been mayor for as long as anyone could remember, her parents were staples in the community for their jobs and their volunteer work, and Liam Jones was the eldest of Brennan Jones’ two sons, poised to take over the hotel once their father retired. He’d met with vendors and local residents to ensure smooth relationships, and he captained the many events the hotel entered. His younger brother Killian was a mystery though.

She had nothing to go off of when it came to him, making him the most terrifying of everything she’s seen tonight.

Liam Jones walks out from one of the employee back rooms decked out in his fully Hollywood Tower Hotel uniform and shakes his head at Killian. “Be honest with the lass, little brother. You’re just mad those two have finally upstaged you.”

The elder of the two plucks the knife from Killian’s lax grip and holds it up for inspection. Emma feels the moment Liam’s eyes peer at her just over the bloodied metal.

He points the knife at her. “This yours?”

Emma doesn’t know if he’s asking after the ownership of the knife or its blood but she’s had enough. Adrenaline is leaving her body at a fast pace and she will not allow her son to be trapped inside this god forsaken place.

It’s been years since she’s picked up Henry in her arms but she does so in an instant with a strength she didn’t know she possessed. His body is wrecked with tremors and he clutches tighty to her shirt, his legs wrapping around her waist without hesitation as he buries his face into her neck. She cradles him to her chest as she rushes back out to the patio, around the hotel, and to the driveway, only glancing back at LJ once to see him scrambling from his seat and rushing after them.

The Hollywood Tower Hotel glooms over them from the sidewalk like a proud enemy declaring victory. It makes her sick.

“What the hell was that?!” Emma yells the moment she regains enough breath to do so. Her side is in stitches and her fingers shake uncontrollably. She can’t help but bend at her waist as she takes in her son. Tears have stopped rolling down Henry’s cheeks, the drying tracks the only sign of his fear, and he stares up at the hotel in deep thought.

He’s going to need so much therapy after this.

“How could you let him go in there?!” she continues, glaring at LJ. He leans back against the cement fencing, sweaty and pale with wide eyes.

“I-I didn’t know it was haunted!”

“It’s your hotel! You do the maintenance!”

“Yeah, I can do it all from the outside!” LJ shrieks. “I’ve never been brave enough to go in before!”

The admittance sits on her chest like a heavy weight. All three of them entered the situation in the dark, no knowledge of what to expect. If Emma knew what horrors laid on the other side of the gate, she would have hauled Henry back to his room immediately.

For the rumors and paranormal investigators that followed her for her entire life, she guesses they weren’t wrong.

So maybe the Hollywood Tower Hotel is haunted. And not by any regular ghosts but by her parents and the others in the elevator.

“We have to go back in and help them!”

She looks away from LJ to stare at her son incredulously. “What are you talking about?!”

Henry seems to be taking things in stride as he presses his face through the gate again, eyes fixated on the hotel. “We have to help the ghosts.”

“I think they’re beyond wanting help, kid,” Emma says. She straightens up slowly and with a wince, the pull in her side from carrying Henry down the hilly drive becoming more prominent. “They literally just scared us out of the building. Or tried to kill us, take your pick.”

A frustrated sigh leaves his lips and Emma already feels her resolve waning. Ghosts are not real. This is not real. None of this can be happening. It all sounded so crazy.

She closes her eyes and pinches her arm long and hard, hoping that when she opens her eyes, she’ll wake in her bed. When she opens her eyes, she’s agitated to see herself still outside the hotel.

“Come on, you heard all the stories about Grandma and Grandpa!” Henry explains. “They wouldn’t act like that! Maybe something bad is keeping them there and they’re trying to stop anyone else from being stuck.”

LJ is still as white as, well, a ghost. He eyes the two of them wearily and shakes his head. “Be my guest,” he says, tossing his arm towards the hotel, “but I am not going back in there.”

“Henry,” Emma starts gently. “We don’t know them. Maybe they were like that and played cruel jokes on people when they were alive.” His lip wobbles at her words and she does her best to steel herself. She doesn’t think she can face her parents again either, not if they’re bitter ghosts who live to frighten the daylights out of anyone they see. “They scared us. I don’t want to help them.”

Henry shakes his head, turning away from Emma to gaze up at the building through the fencing. “Maybe they’re just scared too.”

#captain swan #cssns 2022 #cssns22 #captain swan supernatural summer #my fics #temporarystatus #tower of terror #tower of terror au

46 notes · View notes