#emma swan hcs

[kristoffs-lullaby]

Voy a navegar en tu puerto azul

Quisiera saber de donde vienes tu

Vamos a dejar que el tiempo pare

Ver nuestros recuerdos en los mares

[elisgeorge]

I love the fake personality traits we collectively decided for Emma and Regina but when did we decide that Emma "let me do pull ups every time I see a horizontal bar" Swan is anti-exercise?

[grilledcheeseandguavajelly]

It was her favorite, this routine they’d gotten into. They both walked Henry to the bus. She didn’t know why they hadn’t done it before, hadn’t thought of it before. Why, for so many years of his life it had been a game of give and take, stealing and sneaking and fighting over something that was so easy to share. But they had gotten here. And that’s what Regina loved.

Not the actual walk, although Storybrooke at this time of day was always a bit misty and birds would sing in the trees and the chill in the air never failed to wake her up. But no, what Regina loved most was what this walk meant for all of them.

The ages of struggles, what felt like centuries of arguments— they all led to this moment. And when she walked beside her son, Emma just to the right of him with an easy smile on her face, she was reminded of just how far they had all come. And she really couldn’t be happier.

Until, as they inevitably did, they reached the bus stop, and Henry had to leave. Some days he would turn to her first, and something would flutter in her heart that she wouldn’t be able to do this much longer.

Within the infinite stretch of the curse and everything that tumbled out so quickly after, time with Henry had always moved so relentlessly. And she wasn’t ready to give this up yet. Not when they had just made it work so well.

But she would kiss him goodbye nonetheless, being sure to look him in the eye and show him how much she loved him. Those were good days, the days where he turned to her first.

But her favorite days, those were the days where he chose Emma. Looked at his other mother and smiled as she kissed his forehead. Those were her favorite days, because moments later, he would turn to her. And when she kissed his forehead, she could barely taste mint chapstick lingering.

It was the closest she would ever get, she knew, but it was something. And she would take something. Anything.

She would take the quiet walks back to Main Street before they both went separate ways to their jobs. She would take the days that Emma offered to buy her coffee at Granny’s. She would take the days where they were deep in discussion about whatever issue Storybrooke was having this time, Emma seemingly forgetting that she had a job to get to and following Regina all the way up to her office.

And she would take the awkward days, too. The days where they walked so amicably until Emma’s shoulder accidentally brushed hers, or she tripped on a root or a rock and Regina’s fingers dug into her arm. Those days, Emma always got very quiet, and she would look at her shoes the rest of the way back with a practiced distance between them.

But Regina would take the quiet. She would take the awkward. She would take whatever tiny pieces of this woman she was allowed to, and never complain. And if that was all she got, for the rest of her life? Well then, she would count herself the luckiest woman in the world— in any world. Because having even a piece of Emma Swan was a blessing.

And if she went home some nights, the awkward nights, and cried herself to sleep over everything they could have been— everything she wanted so desperately it hurt— well then. That was her own problem. And she would let it all out in the privacy of her bedroom, wake up the next morning, place crimson armor on her lips, and do it all over again. Because despite everything, dropping Henry at the bus stop was still her favorite part of the day.

[lowkeyfalleninlove]

Emma should’ve had a wedding dress that wasn’t so stiff. And i swear when i saw that dress i created a hc that Emma doesn’t like lace dresses. That dress did NOT fit her. And don’t get me started on her hair, it also felt restrictive for no reason when it’s her WEDDING?! I stand by her wearing a dress that is off the shoulder, with a swan inspired look, and her hair DOWN! (Or a loose, low bun that isn’t so tight and has some strands out.)

And it’s the fact that Killian’s outfit was so in character idk what happened when they planned her dress.

[cc-tinslebee]

descendants parent hc hookling addition 🗣️

ladies and gentlemen, Captain Harriet Hook!

for those ouat fans ;) Harriet’s mother isn’t exactly Emma Swan, but is a lot like her. Hook considers her one of his few true loves in life. She dies in childbirth because we can’t have anything nice on the Isle and Harriet’s gotta practically raise her siblings :(

HARRY 🗣️

okay… so realistically, I think Harry was from a hookup and was kinda just left on Hook’s doorstep. they actually don’t know who his mother is

BUT Harry’s got that manic behaviour that is very AIW! Queen of Hearts. …boy’s got his mama’s mental illness /hj

the underrated baby of the family, CJ Hook 🙏

Lieutenant Helga Katrina Sinclair from Atlantis is CJ’s mother! She and Hook had a bit of a rivals with benefits situation (they cannot stand each other fr 😭), and CJ is also kinda dumped on his doorstep when the whole affair ends

CJ is extremely adventurous by nature, loves swinging in to make a grand entrance, it makes sense to me that both her parents would be adventurers!

the lesson here is that James Hook has a terrible track record with keeping women around 😭 shoutout to Morgie for being a really good uncle and practically raising Harriet

[aretheyqueer]

Is she a lesbian?

disclaimer: this is a hc, not speculating on what the writers intentions were.

tag: @operationmongoosesq

[grilledcheeseandguavajelly]

Well now it’s entirely too long because of all of your car/road trip questions, sooo it may need a rewrite 😂🙈

(Also I don’t think the fandom knows I exist 🙈)

It’s the way I was going to post my “wildest dreams” swanqueen headcanon/fic-thing today to celebrate the 1989 TV release and then completely chickened out 🙈

[crime-wives]

your turn. tell me about your wips 👀

oh lord... where do we begin. let's start with me meddison/grey's anatomy wips.

so you were never a saint, and i loved in shades of wrong. this wip is currently in progress, two chapters on ao3 so far. basically my take on an angsty s2 meddison. they run into each other constantly at joe's bar and are very sad.

hollywood au. my meddison hollywood au in which meredith is unwillingly dragged into the spotlight after finding out her boyfriend is a. married, and b. famous. she gets a guest role on the same tv show as him and his wife. things spiral from there.

dead derek s4 au. basically what the title implies. a 'what if' scenario in which derek died in s4, and meredith and addison connect over shared grief.

tedstina fic. this wip is if after owen cheats on her, cristina shows up, drenched, at teddy's apartment all 'i didn't know where else to go.' there is lots of sad, gay, pining.

now... we move on to my swan queen wips. there are a lot, be prepared.

sad regina mills fic #1. a very angsty wip about regina's relationship with food, set during s1 of ouat. she's not dealing very well with henry hating her, and she turns to one of her coping mechanisms, which may or may not land her in the hospital.

sad regina mills fic #2. set after cora's death, little snippets of regina reflecting on her mother, and childhood. some hurt/comfort, also hurt/no comfort so.

say don't go song fic. regina reflecting on herself and emma in the middle of the night, with the dagger, after emma's sacrifice post s4 finale. (also regina really misses emma and doesn't know what to do with herself.

s6 regina is sad about emma getting married fic. has this been done before, yes. but i want to do it. anyway, buckle up, this one is very sad. our favorite lovable idiots fight, and make up, there are 'i miss you' texts, and lots of lesbian pining.

camelot hurt/comfort au. a little ficlet, (which could spiral into something bigger if i'm not careful,) in which emma seeks comfort from regina on a day when the voices are really loud. there's bed sharing and cuddles, and also hook is thrown into a tree.

the hanahaki au. um well... this is exactly as it sounds. set like 4b-ish. regina starts coughing up flowers one day, and it slowly gets worse until she's almost dead.

there's bed-sharing in this one. after a fight with her parents, emma shows up at regina's place. there are feelings, angst, and surprisingly maybe fluff.

the road-trip fic. uber driver x runaway bride. that's all i'll say.

neverland rewrite. except swanqueen, and mentions of torture. two hurt women heal together and find their son.

there are more... but i'll stop there.

here are some ideas i've had, but haven't written yet:

regina on henry's birthday during the missing year

my hc that regina taught herself how to draw/paint during the first 18 years, and the people she paints as vignettes.

supercorp: lena knows kara is supergirl au, but angsty

my meddison fic after meredith grey almost drowns

oh, my star wars fusion swan queen fic

anyway... i'll end this here before i get too carried away lol (this took forever to type.)

[princess-ibri]

Imagine Snow White meets queen Delighful from 7d (i hc her as snow white mom... Because well she behaves just like snow), oh and also i wonder what happened if disney og Snow White met with Emma Swan, will Emma recognise snow?

I feel like Emma would. She's grown up watching the Disney verison after all. And they already know that other versions of fairytales exist, this would just be one more of them :)

[16-lost-in-a-film-scene]

Goodbye, my love

gif not mine, credits to owner

How do two unconfessed lovers say goodbye when it feels like it is the last time that they'll see each other? ㅤ|ㅤ When pan's curse is about to hit, Emma Swan and her beloved pirate have to say goodbye.

ㅤ Emma Swan x F!reader

Everyone was standing at Storybrooke's limit line, saying their goodbyes to Emma and Henry, who were about to leave and would have their memories erased.

Y/N walked to Emma, ready to say what could be her last words to her. She was about to start talking when Swan got ahead and talked first.

— I will definitely not miss your stupid face. — She said, trying to be sarcastic and take a bit of the seriousness out because it was a lot. Y/N chuckled and shook her head with a smile before answering.

‐ You won't even remember it, blondie. ‐ Y/LN said, with a bit of sadness in her tone, even though she tried to hide it. She smiled lightly to try to lift Emma's spirits.

Y/N could've sworn that she saw tears in Emma's eyes, even when the blonde girl tried to hide them by lowering her head and looking to the floor, so she hugged her. She hugged her like she never had before, like she wanted to express everything she hadn't said before, like she really thought that this was a goodbye and there was no way to fix this one.

‐ So, this is it, I guess? ‐ The Y/HC-haired said, still hugging her while feeling Emma holding her tighter and wiping some tears on her shirt. And to make her feel better, as she is Y/N Y/LN, she had to make some lame joke. - I think this is the part where you're meant to kiss me. ‐ She whispered to Emma's ears only, and she laughed a bit, a sound that even though it was a melody to Y/N's ears, it came out with drops of hidden sadness.

Emma pulled away before answering, not getting too far but at the same time, not too close. Enough distance to confuse the other one.

— Save that one for the next time we see each other, pirate. — She answered in a sarcastic tone, making Y/LN smile for a few seconds, an expression that quickly flew away when she was hit with realization. She took a deep breath.

‐ I thought you would be my happy ending, Emma. ‐ She said before kissing Swan's cheek, smiling at Henry as a 'goodbye' and walking away, leaving the blonde girl without a chance to answer, just touching softly with her fingers the place Y/N had kissed.

[ouatsqincorrect]

Do you have any hc or thoughts for the days between Robin's death and his funeral? Like would Emma try to be with Regina and help her with the things for his fuenral bc she felt so guilty? Or was it Snow? (Idk why but for some reason I can see her doing all that stuff) Would they even talk in these days? Was Henry with Emma or with Regina bc at the fuenral it seems like he stayed with Emma the last days. And most important, what happened right after Robin and Hades died? Who was the first to arrive there after that? David? Emma? I have So many questions 😭

as much as i want to say that emma was the first one to comfort her, i don’t think that’s realistic at the time. emma’s so in her head about everything that’s happened recently. she blames herself for robin’s death and she even says in the last ep of s5 (or maybe the one before the last one, idk) that she was so worried about hook, she wasn’t there for regina about robin. we could call it what it is, which is the character assasination of emma swan. but for the sake of this argument, i think she wanted to comfort regina deep down, but didn’t know how with everything else going on.

david’s the one who first comforts regina. he and snow show up (maybe emma calls them, maybe zelena) and when they walk in, snow just kind of stands in shock. but david goes into dad mode and pulls regina up, hugging her tightly, holding her head in his hands.

snow puts the funeral together so regina doesn’t have to. regina tried to get henry to stay with emma after robin died, but he wouldn’t leave her side.

[ouatsnark]

a sq saying cs' shippers get mad at their ship which is a fun enemies to lovers hc vs cs which is a couple hundred years old man basically having an entire season dedicated for her to stop hitting on her....did we watch the same show?

That is not why we get mad at them.

If they just head cannoned their damn ship and kept our ship out of it or at the least wouldn't LIE about our ship then we'd have no beef.

I mean I would still call Regina and Emma's friendship toxic as hell and I would still say Regina has the most problematic writing on the show...

But this fandom would get along so much better if they'd just stop with the lies.

Regina and Emma are not a FUN enemies to lovers anything. And I am kind of sick of the abuser + victim trope being lumped in with the enemies to lovers to trope. There is a difference! Regina and Emma, if they had been written that way, would've been abuser + victim.

Do they realize that Regina is like in her 60's? Compared to Emma who is in her 30's? Cause that's a significant age gap and Regina wanted to murder Emma as a newborn. So they can take their fake disgust over the CaptainSwan age gap and shove it.

And what is the problem with Killian Jones flirting with Emma Swan when they say Regina trying to murder Emma for a full season is really Regina falling in love with Emma? Like can they just stop?

Yes, Emma was technically caught in a love triangle between two men in season 3. It's a popular trope. But anyone watching Tallahassee knew Killian Jones would be the one left standing.

[grimalkinmessor]

Don't mind me I'm trying to archive my Death Note OCs before I forget to draw them :')

Suraci -

Shinigami

He/It

Completely translucent skin, metal cage for a chest with fire trapped in it, glass orb eyes, wax wings, wax claws, glass teeth. BALD.

Beyond's "dad" as far as Shinigami can be called that

Got fuckin' BODIED by Cinis after he found out that it possessed a human and had sex with the guy's wife, producing a semi-Shinigami kid. He ded.

Stranger: Your parents know you talk like that?

Baby Beyond: They dead. •_•.

Stranger: ...(0-0");

Cinis -

Shinigami King

He/She (Mostly he)

BIG. Completely void black save for his wings, which are made up of bones. Long locs with glass shards throughout, hollow eye sockets, gold fangs, spider legs jutting out of his spine behind his wings, cloven feet. No flesh to his cheeks so you can see all her teeth ✨

He mostly just vibes until someone fucks something up. He's also not always super pressed do anything about it either lol. Deadass she could hear explosions in the distance and just be like "Damn hope that didn't ruin anything important. Anyway." Depending on what fic I'm sticking him in, Cinis either admires Kira from afar, or is out for his life/pride. There's SOME inbetween, but not much. If you noticed I made him bigender to mirror my hc that Light is bigender yes you did.

Vasykl Keehl -

Human

He/Him

Mello's older brother who got separated from him in the system. Spent the rest of his life trying to track his little brother down but being blocked by Wammy's at every turn. Grew up and became a private security guard that still looks for Mello on the side.

Vas is,,,,very tall. Tall and broad—looks kind of like Aiber but a bit softer. He's blond, just like Mello, but his eyes are hazel instead of blue. Daddy's eyeballs. He wears a lot of leather, just like Mello, but he looks more like a biker than a BDSM king. Imagine S1 Emma Swan but male.

Henka -

Human

He/Him

Trans! He's fifteen, one of Kira's faithful brought in by Mikami. Very shy and quiet but also lethally loyal to Light. An acknowledged acolyte and eventual High Priest.

Mice -

Human

They/Them

Fuckin' NUTS. Small, wild brown hair, likes to climb things. Always wearing someone else's jacket. It changes every time you turn around—it's like a superpower. Age ambiguous but anywhere from twelve to fifteen, depending on whether or not they're acting serious at the time. Lotsa freckles and big ole blue-gray eyes.

Small time criminal and petty thief that Kira employs to get him information on the Bigger Fish™ of the underworld. They adore mushrooms and shiny things; they are also homeless and slightly feral. Mice will rob you blind before you can get through saying hello to them. Light becomes very good at dodging sudden sneak attacks because Mice keeps trying to climb him—it's quickly becoming their life goal.

Spider -

Human

She/Her

Somewhere around fifteen-sixteen-seventeen. Black. Dark brown hair that ombres into hot pink at the ends—her bangs cover her eyes and most of the top half of her face; effectively making it very difficult for anyone to find out her true name even with Shinigami eyes. Dresses mostly in leather and fluff, always in black and neon. Scene kids WISH they had her swag.

Big ole cyber nerd. Even better at hacking than Matt. She figures out who Kira is and tracks him down so she can talk to him—she mirrors Misa a bit but her relationship with Light is far closer to Sayu's. She's a (annoying) guiding voice on morals and helps Light track down corrupt government officials on the condition that he, you know, calm the hell down on murdering purse snatchers and pick pocketers. She originally tracked Kira down because he murdered her mom—not that she's particularly sad about it.

"You killed my mom"

"I don't remember that but I'm not going to apologize—"

"Oh no you don't have to, she was a bitch, I wanted to say thanks actually"

No, Mice and Spider do not know the other exists. This is a testament to both of their prowess lmao. Light's definitely not going to tell them because they would band together against him to annoy the absolute shit out of him. Also blackmail. They would totally blackmail him.

[swanqueensalad]

okay top 3 cute sq headcanons that you have right now and top 3 more angsty sq headcanons you have right now?

thank you for this anon!!! i love doing these <33

cute:

emma is actually so dad vibes she falls asleep on the couch every night the minute she, regina and henry start watching netflix. she kicks up such a fuss about what they watch then just straight up passes out. henry always complains and makes fun of her, but regina (though she would never say it) really likes it. it makes her feel very warm and safe and comforted to be snuggled up on emma's chest watching tv, feeling her breath rise and fall, listening to her silly occasional snores. because even asleep, emma never stops holding her. (and then emma wakes up at the end of the episode or the movie and insists she wasn't asleep and saw the whole thing)

every saturday morning, regina mills has a baking session. she is basically a pinterest mom who also is obsessed with organizing and scheduling, and baking is a hobby that benefits everyone, so it becomes part of her routine. emma is gradually learning to help: this means being annoying in the kitchen, eating ingredients, giving regina cuddles and neck kisses when she's trying to do something, and singing along badly to the music on the radio. though regina pretends to be annoyed, she secretly loves it. after henry grew out of helping her, she always baked alone until emma, and rarely got much joy out of it. now it's one of her favourite parts of the week. simple, peaceful, and happy. (and every time she bakes with emma and then they eat some of the freshly cooled goods together, it undoes cora's voice in the back of her head a little bit, every week her questionable relationship with food gets a little bit better)

as much as emma loves storybrooke, she sometimes misses the outside world, and so another tradition that develops is emma taking regina for date days out of town. they'll pick random towns, forests to hike in, and places to visit and take a leisurely drive, stop for food somewhere. for a while emma gets weirdly obsessed with weird thrift/antique stores and finding the dumbest stuff she can (regina and henry, when he hears, both tease her for 'keeping some Mr Gold genes after being the Dark One') and while regina makes fun, she secretly loves leafing through antique books and reading inscriptions left in them. also, whenever they speak to waitresses or shopkeepers on these outings, they have to make up different stories about how they met. every time, emma comes up with a different story and makes it as rambling and silly as possible, and every time regina smiles and shakes her head and sometimes inputs something funny that comes to mind.

angsty:

i've def spoken about this one before, but regina has nightmares very regularly. multiple times a week, about various things from her past (god knows there's enough nightmare fuel). emma is a light sleeper and lifelong insomniac herself for many reasons, and if she is asleep, she wakes up very quickly when she hears the familiar change in regina's breathing, or feels her lashing out with her hands or feet in her sleep. it aches deep in emma's chest every time, knowing there are things that have happened that will always haunt regina like this, knowing there are some things she can't fight off. and she's still learning what to do with those things, how to help her without a sword and fist, but she wakes her as gently as she can and kisses her forehead, strokes her hair and whispers silly things and dumb jokes to her until they're both okay. regina doesn't like to talk about her nightmares or what they contain, and emma doesn't ask. they just hold each other and learn to feel safe.

idk if this is a controversial one, or if my view of them has just changed a little as i've gotten older, but emma and regina are both people that are still struggling big time with their mental health, processing, healing etc and though they love each other and are definitely on a one way path to peace, there's no way this doesn't cause issues sometimes. when regina and emma fight (beyond the everyday quibbling that undoubtedly means i love you), they fight badly. they both say awful stuff they don't mean or believe. they both spiral. (but afterwards, when they've calmed down and the dust has settled, they always find each other with immense apology and understanding. and the good thing is, because they both struggle, they both understand wholeheartedly what the other one went through, why they said those things, and they know unequivocally that they didn't mean them. their fights are not common, but after them they are always extra caring and tender and honest with each other, just to be sure the other knows how much they are loved.)

this is more sad than actually angsty, but it means a lot to me so. i have forgotten if this is actually canon or not, but regina had a version of daniel's tombstone brought over to storybrooke with the curse and it is still very important to her to visit it regularly, bringing his favourite yellow flowers. emma respects her privacy and that it's a very personal thing, but one day when emma asks where she's going and she says there, regina tells her very gently that she's welcome to come if she'd like. and so emma, after making sure it's not overstepping any boundaries, joins. she is quiet and respectful, holds regina's hand and sits with her there. after a while regina turns to her and tells her how much he would have liked her. how similar they are, in some ways. how totally not in others. before they go, when regina has already left, emma pretends to have forgotten something so she can have a quick moment to touch the stone and tell him a quiet thank you, for loving regina and taking care of her before she could.

[thegrantwater]

random ouat headcanons

-david is the only person regina and emma will allow to teach henry swordfighting but then one day regina watches them spar and looks at david, tells him his form is terrible, then disarms him in less than 10 seconds (henry then only wants regina to teach him)

-regina and zelena have sister girl trips to the spa (much like the eq and zelena did that one time) and it consists of them bitching about everyone else for 3 hours

-emma and david get into random competitions with each other all. the. time. whether it be who can fold laundry the fastest or put away the dishes after dinner better or who can lift the heaviest think in the loft, you name it and you can guarantee they've made it a competition with each other

-regina has somehow become the unofficial babysitter for everyone's little children because in all reality, she was the only one with any experience raising a child and it not going horribly. so every few weeks her house becomes a daycare and she watches babies neal, robin, and gideon so that their parents can get some alone time. she absolutely loves it, and occasionally emma and henry will come around to help and they'll order pizza and watch disney movies with a different kid on each of their laps while regina remains baffled by the corporation that is disney

-zelena and emma are actually pretty good friends, they go out drinking every once in a while but it normally ends with some kind of magical mishap

-regina and the charmings have the weirdest but best relationship dynamic because sometimes regina will have to explain the most simple things to them and be annoyed every second but other times they'll just hold her while she cries and be better parents to her than her own ever could have been. emma has walked in on them having tea at the loft and at the mansion more than once, and it freaks her out every time

-hook tried beating snow at darts once when the gang went out drinking one night. it ended with her holding his hook hostage for the next day and a half

-robin is a surprisingly good cook so he tends to be in charge of dinners

-regina only gave snow a key to her house because she was sick of having to replace the locks snow kept breaking to get in (the last straw was when she broke in so she could ask about a recipe she'd stolen during a previous break in)

-snow and robin go out to the forest and practice their archery to decompress

-basically everyone but emma and henry hate using phones, so everyone just tends to show up to wherever the person they want to talk to is at. regina, rumple, and zelena especially tend to just teleport to whoever they want to talk to, which has led to some very uncomfortable encounters in the past

|| let me know if you want to see more of these! and feel free to send in any requests for a particular character if you so please :) ||

[cosette141]

Begin Again | Captain Swan (OUAT fanfic)

Fandom: Once Upon a Time

Pairing: Captain Swan

Words: 4.6k (this chapter), 13k total (so far)

Summary: (s2 "Manhattan" divergence) No one breaks a deal with Rumplestiltskin, and Emma finds herself facing the wrath of the Dark One. What if Neal didn't come back for Emma in NYC, but instead, Hook showed up to kill Rumplestiltskin early? No one has ever saved Emma before, and Hook has never been able to save anyone at all. It's time for them both to tell a different story. Together. CS

Read chp 1 on AO3

Chapter 2: AO3 | tumblr

Chapter 3: AO3 | tumblr

a/n: Rumplestiltskin fans beware - we are killing the Crocodile for good in this one.

CS fans - hurt/comfort and fluff ahead. (And some Emma whump, sorry Emma. She'll thank me later though.)

Thanks to @elise-the-writer and @kmomof4 for motivating me to get this up! Hope it lived up to your expectations! <3

~cosette141

Chapter One

Emma was frozen in the middle of Neal's apartment, holding what she never thought she'd see again.

The dreamcatcher.

"Let's keep it. They're supposed to chase away the nightmares."

"And hang it where? The car?"

"No. Close your eyes and point."

"Tallahassee."

Neal.

Neal.

Emma felt like she couldn't breathe.

Neal was Gold's son?

Neal was Baelfire?

All this time, she'd been in love with Gold's son.

She couldn't even wrap her head around it.

"So, Neal. What's your story?"

"Hm, funny you should say that. Let's just say I left a really messed up situation. And it kinda messed me up."

Baelfire.

He was Baelfire.

"What's your story?"

Emma tried to put both stories together—the one she knew of Neal, and the one she knew of Baelfire. For, she still couldn't quite grasp, they were the same person.

Neal, who would never speak of his messed up childhood, the family he'd once had, the life he'd once lived.

And Baelfire, whom Emma had gleaned from both Henry and Gold, had been abandoned by Gold when he chose power over him. And, evidently, had been running from his father ever since.

"You brought him to me?!"

He left her in prison, alone, for something he did, and he had the audacity to be angry?

With her?

Emma had envisioned seeing Neal again.

Many, many times.

Sometimes she'd imagine it was a mistake, an accident, that he was kidnapped or something had happened to prevent him from coming back to her, and he was spending every waking minute trying to find her.

She'd imagine the moment of seeing him again.

He'd run to her, he'd apologize, over and over and over, crushing her in a hug so tight, the safe embrace she's missed for so long, the one she cried herself to sleep behind prison bars wishing for. Waiting all eleven months of her sentence for her thief, the only one she ever loved, to break her out, to save her, to come back for her like no one ever did before.

And yet, this… reality, of seeing Neal again…

There was no embrace.

There was no apology.

There was no love.

Had there ever been?

He had purposefully left her.

And he was never going to come back.

"I was trying to… help you. To help you get home."

Neal hardly looked at her through those words, but Emma read his eyes clear as day.

It was only half the truth.

He left her out of the fear that if he stayed with her, he would somehow be reunited with his father.

And she, apparently, was not worth such a risk.

"Why do you still wear that keychain I got you?"

Emma had touched it at his inquiry, an old instinct she'd had over all these years. One of fear, uncertainty, and the rare emotion.

Because I loved you.

Because I missed you.

Because it was all I had left of you.

With a thin, age-old thread of anger and pain, Emma wrapped her fingers around the necklace, snapping the chain. And she put it firmly next to her untouched beer, holding his gaze when she gave him the true answer, the deepest reason.

"To remind myself never to trust someone again."

He didn't even ask if she was okay.

She went to jail for him, and he didn't even care?

"I loved you!"

Her eyes had burned at her own words, at her admission.

There was nothing in his.

Had he ever?

The very day she told him she loved him, the one and only time she told anyone in her life she loved them, was the day she was arrested.

She had always wondered if that was simply the moment he realized that he had her right where he wanted her.

But, in the end, no matter how Neal phrased it, if he had loved her at all, he didn't love her enough to stay.

"Find something, dearie?"

Emma jumped a mile in her skin, her eyes tearing from the dreamcatcher in her hands. She blinked a few times, seeing Gold's hawk-like eyes on her.

Emma shook herself. "Nothing. It just looks like a dreamcatcher."

"Well if it's nothing," said Gold slowly, voice laced with suspicion, "then why are you still holding it?"

Emma hesitated, trying to think of a reason. But her mind was too overloaded, too overwhelmed.

Gold's eyes narrowed. "You're lying to me," he hissed.

Something in his voice, in his presence, was suddenly sinister. It was like a change in the air. It was as if he felt somehow… unstable.

Swallowing, because Emma Swan will not be afraid of a non-magical man with a cane, she said, "Just get back to looking, okay?" She hung the dreamcatcher back up.

Like she and Neal had planned to do in a house, in Tallahassee.

Together.

She shook herself again.

"No, no, no," said Gold, taking a step toward her, and Emma felt the hair rise on the back of her neck. "You saw something," he said firmly. "Tell me."

It wasn't a request, and it felt laced with a threat.

Emma swallowed, trying, "You don't know what you're—"

"Tell me!"

Emma flinched. Gold's voice practically shook the apartment. The man was mortal, was normal in this world, and yet he still radiated danger.

He held his glare on her hard gaze, and Emma knew he wasn't going to be fooled. She was going to have to tell him something.

Henry was next to her, watching their conversation attentively. But he was too trusting, too innocent to feel the danger rolling off the man before them, and Emma was suddenly not sure just how safe they were with him.

"Henry, go wait in the bathroom," she said quietly.

"But I can help…"

"Henry, go!" she yelled, voice hard and sharp, and backed with the fear that was creeping up her spine.

Henry hesitantly acquiesced, going into the bathroom and quietly closing the door.

It was silent for a half of a second, but the air felt suffocating. Gold's glare pinned her to the floor.

"There's nothing here, the guy's a ghost." said Emma, swallowing, trying one last time.

"What, you think me a fool?" snapped Gold. "You're holding back. I want to know what and why." The words were ground out between his teeth.

"I'm not holding back!"

"Did he tell you something?" growled Gold, taking another step toward her.

"Gold…" said Emma quietly, feeling that fear in her chest rising.

"Did he tell you something?" roared Gold, and this time Emma practically felt it shake the apartment.

She flinched visibly, words tumbling out, "Nothing! He didn't say anything!"

Something changed in Gold's eyes, a small glint of victory that didn't even look like a human emotion. "But you talked to him," he said, and Emma cursed herself.

"Don't put words in my mouth!" But she's lost, she knew it. She was hiding something from him, information about his son, and now he had proof that she knew something he didn't.

His son, whom he's been searching for, for centuries.

He wasn't buying her flimsy lies, and even harsher, he demanded, "Tell me!" When Emma said nothing, he took another dangerous step toward her. "You tell me," he said slowly, "or I'm gonna make you tell me."

The threat in his words stopped her heart.

All this time, she's been surrounded by people in Storybrooke who were afraid of this man, who would travel far and wide out of their way to avoid��this man—this man who really wasn't a man at all.

But seeing him look like any other person, only having seen him wield small uses of magic, knowing him to be quiet, not deadly…

She almost forgot he was the demon—the Dark One—that scared even Regina.

And here she was, all alone, his glare pinning her to the floor, facing his wrath on her own.

And Emma was suddenly scared.

"You don't have magic here," she reminded him in a whisper, feeling her own panic touch her words, taking the strength from them. She almost wondered if she was telling the words to herself, as if to feel that maybe his threat wasn't as heavy as he made it seem.

But the smile that grew on his face, into an expression that made Emma suddenly realize why Hook referred to him as a crocodile, sent a shiver down her spine. "Oh, I don't need magic," he snarled, his words so sure of that fact, that Emma stumbled back a step, and she suddenly realized how stupid she was to think she could lie to him without repercussions.

"We had a deal!" shouted Gold. "A deal! No one, no one breaks deals with me!"

Gold shoved a shelf to the side, loudly crashing it against the wall, clattering things everywhere.

Emma flinched badly, frozen in fear and shock. She was seeing the monster in him for the first time, his eyes ablaze in something almost inhuman, an evil darkness that shouldn't exist in this world, but somehow still did.

"Mom?"

Henry's tiny voice suddenly spoke.

He had come out of the bathroom, and was staring at her with big, terrified eyes.

"Henry, get out of here," she said quickly. "Run!"

Gold was blocking her from the door, but not Henry.

Henry hesitated, more terror in his eyes. "M-Mom," he whispered.

"Henry, go!" she shouted, just as Gold took a swing at her head with the cane.

-.-.-.-.

Hook didn't have time to balk at the utter chaos of this realm, and this town in particular, New York City.

He was on a bloody mission.

The same desperate mission he's been on for two hundred years, that was finally about to come to a successful, and so long overdue end.

Cora and Regina supplied him with the location of the Crocodile, and pushing through a group of strangely-dressed people who gave him even stranger looks, he smiled grimly to himself as he kicked open the doors to the structure where his prey was.

He'd dipped the very tip of his hook in the concentrated dose of Dreamshade back at the ship, and has been careful not to touch it.

Today, the Crocodile was to die.

And Hook could already taste his victory.

But what he wasn't expecting was to see a child running down the hall toward him, screaming for help.

"Help!" he cried, knocking on nearly every door in the corridor. "Someone, help! Please open up! Help!"

Hook suddenly froze.

That wasn't just any child.

That was Emma's child.

Somehow the name clicked—Henry.

He was suddenly near enough to Hook to notice him, and he looked relieved to see another person. He began, "Sir! I need—" But he froze, recognizing him.

But only for half a second.

"Captain Hook!" he cried. He ran to him, and Hook suddenly realized the boy was crying. "I need you to help me," he choked out.

Hook was shocked the lad dared even speaking to him, knowing his reputation. He had only seen the boy a few times in the town, but being as close to Emma as he was, Hook was sure the boy was told to avoid him at all costs.

"Apologies, lad," said Hook, aiming to move past him, shoving down the strange sense of guilt for ignoring an obviously panicking child. "I'm not the helpful sort."

And his mission was more important than anything.

"But h-he's gonna h-hurt her!"

And something made Hook stop, and ask in a clipped voice, "What?"

"M-Mr. Gold, Rumplestiltskin—he's mad at my mom and she told me to run away but he's throwing things and I think he's gonna h-hurt her," he sobbed, tears streaming down his face.

Hook's chest tightened.

Emma was here?

With the Crocodile?

Why was she bloody—

A horrible feeling filled his chest.

The thought of her hurt, or—or worse sent cold trailing through him.

And the thought of the Crocodile—

He has never wanted to kill Rumplestiltskin more in his life.

"I know you're a v-villain," Henry choked out. "But please, Captain, I don't know what to do and—"

"Take me to them," he barked immediately. "Now!"

Henry looked half-shocked that Hook acquiesced, and nodded fast, turning and running back down the corridor to the stairs.

Hook matched his pace, an age-old sense of fear creeping up his spine.

-.-.-.-.

The cane flew for her head, but Emma ducked just in time, and it swung into the window, shattering it with a growl from Gold. Glass rained down on her, hard enough she felt it cut.

She didn't have the chance to see if Henry listened to her and ran, because the second swing of the cane caught her in the stomach, cracking ribs with one strike, throwing her back against a bookshelf, knocking her to her knees. Books fell on her back, and she coughed, winded, her midsection radiating pain.

"Tell me what you know!" growled Gold. "Where is my son?! Tell me!"

Dammit, this wasn't worth it.

And where was her gun when she needed it?!

"He didn't want to see you!" Emma choked out.

He looked shocked for a moment, at the admission that she did find his son.

Emma took the chance to try to run for the window.

She jumped to her feet and made it three steps before she was grabbed around the waist, and thrown hard against the wall. He shoved the cane roughly against her throat, his inhuman eyes filled with rage. "Tell me where he went!"

"I—" gasped Emma, and damn it, she's stronger than this. She struggled against the cane, wondering how the hell he had so much strength. He pinned her harshly to the wall with his other arm, making the broken bones kill. Swallowing a cry, Emma tried reaching her fingers for the end of the scarf around his neck. If she could just take it off him, his memories would disappear with it.

When he saw her try, another growl burst from him. He shoved her again with the cane, so hard she lost her breath. "Tell me!"

Tears stung her eyes, her voice cracking, because he was fricken terrifying. "I don't—know," she coughed out. "I tried to—to convince him—but he ran—" she gasped.

He growled aloud, cutting her off with another shove of the cane. Emma kicked out desperately, but his hold didn't even loosen. "No one breaks deals with me!" he roared. He yanked back the cane enough to swing it again at her head, this time connecting with her temple. She'd gasped in air only to cry out, pain exploding, and she fell, hitting the ground hard. Something hot trailed down her face, and Emma's chest heaved with an involuntary sob.

Gold swung the cane again, and Emma's voice broke when it struck her shoulder. Emma curled in on herself, not having resorted to such a thing since the foster homes, and something instinctual made her whisper brokenly, "Neal," like a plea, like a wish to suddenly see him appear, having decided to come back for her like he didn't the last time.

But he didn't.

He wouldn't.

Because, just like last time…

Neal has proven to her that she simply wasn't worth saving.

-.-.-.-.

Hook's heart pounded, and it had nothing to do with the three flights of stairs.

He would not watch another woman he cared for—as it was impossible to deny that he did care for Emma Swan—die at the Crocodile's hand.

At anyone's hand.

He would not.

If the bloody imp even touched her…

"In here!" shouted Henry, pointing with a shaking finger to an apartment door that was still creaked open.

And the closer they got, the more they heard the crash of something falling to the ground, and something that chilled Hook to the core.

A voice cried out.

Emma.

Hook wasted no time.

He kicked open the door, letting it slam against the wall, irrationally terrified to see the demon's hand ripping her heart from her chest.

For half a second, he froze.

Emma was on the ground, curled into a tiny ball, her shoulders shaking. Just at first glance he could see she was hurt. There was blood on her face, and some on her clothes. The way she held herself screamed of pain.

Molten rage lit up every nerve in his body.

And the Crocodile was standing over her, cane raised, about to strike her again.

Hook launched himself into the room, making it to Emma half a second before the cane struck her. Hook caught it deftly with his hook, shaking with the effort of holding back the Crocodile's strength. He'd already had the pleasure of being on the receiving end of that damn cane, and the fact that Emma has filled his being with loathing so strong it consumed him.

The Crocodile's eyes widened at the sight of him, and Hook used the momentary shock to shove the demon away from him, from Emma, with enough strength to send the imp staggering back.

Hook stood firmly between the Crocodile and Emma, his heart twisting at the gasping breaths from Emma that were laced with pain.

She was hurt.

He bloody hurt her.

The Crocodile recovered from his shock, and suddenly smiled, and it was something almost mad. "Oh," said the Crocodile, drawling it out. "If it isn't the Captain." His eyes narrowing, he held the cane out, threatening it like a sword, and snarled, "Step aside."

Hook's eyes narrowed to slits, and he stood his ground. "You hurt her." he said darkly, voice heavy with fury. "How bloody dare you." he growled.

But something changed in the Crocodile's face then, something almost like unhinged glee. "Ah. You care for Miss. Swan, do you?" That wicked grin grew. "Well, now you get to watch me kill her. Just like Milah."

Horrible, horrible pain mixed with his fury into an emotion so strong Hook felt like he would explode.

Gold swung the cane for Hook's head, but Hook managed to catch it with his hook once again. His whole body shook with the strength of holding him back.

His wicked face inches from Hook's, the Crocodile snarled, "Don't worry, Captain. Her death will be far slower than dear Milah."

Hook's fury exploded.

Using every ounce of his strength, Hook shoved the Crocodile back off him, so hard he knocked the cane from his grip and it clattered to the ground, and the imp staggered back.

And not a moment later, Hook plunged his very namesake straight into the Crocodile's chest.

For a moment, Hook and the Crocodile stood frozen.

The Crocodile looked down at the hook in his chest, then back up at Hook.

He laughed.

"This again?" he drawled, face tight with pain but eyes still holding an unholy arrogance. "I thought you—"

But his voice cut off into a choked sound.

He stumbled, and looked down.

The skin of his chest was turning a stark black.

The Crocodile fell to his knees, and Hook followed, only stabbing his hook further into the demon's chest, eliciting an agonized groan from the man. The dying man's hands scrabbled for the hook inside his chest, but Hook pinned him to the ground, as the Crocodile gasped for breath.

"How bloody dare you touch her," snarled Hook over the Crocodile's hitched breaths, his weak writhing. "Rot in Hell, Crocodile," hissed Hook.

The Crocodile was still feebly trying to get free from Hook's hold, a slight panicked note in his voice, sounding like the coward he was.

The poison took hold of the demon, the hook driven into the man's heart, though it was hard to believe he had one at all.

The Crocodile's eyes fell shut, his struggles ceased, and the man went still.

The demon was dead.

Hook didn't revel in the victory.

He quickly detached his hook, leaving it in the dead man's chest just in bloody case the poison wasn't finished.

Then, he ran to Emma, all-too-familiar desperation tightening his chest.

"Swan," he gasped. He reached her side, kneeling where she was still curled up, shaking with pain or fear or both. "Emma," he whispered. He touched her shoulder, but she flinched away with a little cry, curling in on herself even more.

He has never seen Emma anything less than combat-ready.

Seeing her like this…

It was wrong.

And seeing her hurt—

He hasn't felt this angry in centuries.

The only silver lining was, as far as Hook could tell, her life wasn't in any immediate danger. There was a gash on the side of her face, bleeding down her cheek, the gruesomeness contrasting so sharply, so wrongly with her beauty. His chest hurt.

The demon had tried to beat her to death. If he hadn't come when he did….

He couldn't even imagine a world where he didn't.

Because he knew exactly how that felt.

Tied to the mast, unable to free himself, forced to watch…

She's alive.

She's alive.

"Emma," said Hook gently. "It's all right. You're safe, love," he whispered, a touch of anxiety in his own words. It took a few repetitions of the words for Emma to slowly uncurl herself at his voice, and she opened her eyes.

Pain and fear shone bright in them.

He has never seen her afraid before.

He hated it.

"Hook?" she breathed, eyes going wide and scooching back toward the wall with a little more fear, like she couldn't tell whether or not if she could trust him right now. And he has never hated himself more for being someone who scared her.

"It's all right," he said softly, in a voice he hasn't used in centuries. He lifted his hand and hookless arm in surrender. "Emma, I'm not going to hurt you. I swear to you, I will not hurt you." She hesitated, eyes searching his, perhaps for a lie, like she's been given that promise before, and it had been broken.

"Where is he?" she suddenly gasped, eyes scanning the room, landing on the Crocodile's unmoving form. Her eyes widened. "Is he…?"

"Dead?" asked Hook, looking at the demon. "Very." Softer, he said, "He will never hurt you again." I will never let anyone hurt you again.

Emma stared at the monster.

As they did, something dark shimmered from the Crocodile's body, like black dust, and with a tightness in his chest, Hook realized it was the very Darkness itself. They both watched as the Crocodile slowly turned to the ash, the blackness burning off into air that had no magic to keep it alive.

They watched until all that was left was his own hook, clattering to the floor.

Hook managed to tear his eyes away, looking back at Emma, whose eyes were burned to the floor where the Crocodile disappeared. A horribly lost and fearful glint still shone brightly in her eyes.

"Emma?" said Hook gently.

She turned her gaze to his.

And all at once, she cried.

Tears fell down her cheeks, a sob breaking out of her chest.

Hook acted on instinct, grabbing her as gently as he could and pulling her to his chest.

And Emma clung to him, every wall of hers seeming to crumble as she cried into his chest. She was shaking, from pain as much as fear, and Hook shut his eyes, trying to remind himself the demon was dead.

Hook held her tightly, running his hand over her hair, whispering soothingly into her ear, "It's all right, love. Shh. You're safe now."

Hook was suddenly reminded of the last time he held a woman in his arms like this.

Milah.

She had died in his arms.

He turned to look back where the Crocodile had perished. He was suddenly seeing the parallel.

Back then, he hadn't been able to save Milah.

But he saved Emma.

And, shockingly, it wasn't Milah he was thinking about when he killed the Crocodile. It wasn't his revenge.

It was Emma.

A surge of desperate panic that he couldn't lose her.

He'd always felt a connection with Emma, a something, but she'd apparently found a way into his heart when he wasn't paying attention.

He smiled a little, holding Emma tighter.

He saved her.

Inadvertently, he had gotten his revenge, in the end.

But revenge is the ghost of a victory.

For the prize was already dead.

But this, feeling Emma alive in his arms…

Tears stung his own eyes, as he felt for the first time in two hundred numb years.

-.-.-.-.

Emma didn't know how long she cried.

Everything hurt. Her head pounded with the threat of a concussion, and she could still feel the blood wet on her cheek. She knew some bones were broken and they hurt with every sob.

Bones weren't the only things that had broken, however.

She was only half-aware that she was clinging to Hook, pressed so tightly to his chest, feeling his arm wrapped tightly, safely, around her waist, his hand running over her hair. He was whispering sweet things to her over and over, in a voice she never thought he could possess. Walls, armor that should have had her pulling away—running away—didn't.

She hadn't been that scared in ages.

Emma couldn't hold back the tears, the sobs.

She knew it was Hook holding her and she knew she shouldn't be letting him because it was Hook and he shot Belle and he was a villain but right now he didn't feel like a villain.

He felt like a damn hero.

Her hero.

His arms suddenly felt like the safest place in the world.

So she let herself cling to him, let herself cry into him, let him hold her together. For once, she just couldn't hold it together anymore and couldn't manage to patch walls that had just been completely, forcibly shattered.

And there, in his arms, she realized that something about Hook and his reputation didn't add up. It was the something she heard in his voice and felt in his embrace.

There was so much more to the man holding her now, and her heart seemed to recognize it before she did.

Emma was not someone who felt safe anywhere or with anyone but she felt safe with him, despite all rationality.

The only person Emma had ever felt safe with was Neal.

And he had left her, purposefully, not once, but twice.

And this time, he left her to his father's wrath, and dammit that hurt more than the injuries Gold had given her.

It just made her cry harder.

"Emma, love," came a hoarse whisper in her ear, a voice worn with emotion and pain. "It's all right."

She didn't know what made her respond with her next words, but she couldn't help them. "Don't leave," she whispered, a desperation in them she couldn't dilute.

She couldn't handle it.

She simply couldn't handle one more person leaving.

She just felt him hold her even tighter, whispering back, "I promise you, Emma. I am not going anywhere."

It made her smile brokenly through the tears, her arms still wrapped around him, and she shut her eyes. Everything hurt, and Hook's embrace didn't help the physical pain but somehow it felt like cool water over the emotional agony.

So she buried her head in his chest, letting herself be broken in every way.

And for the first time, she didn't have to do it alone.

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