#walsh ouat

[onceuponadream-rpg]

Valientes, caóticos, heroicos o heridos. Las criaturas del Bosque Encantado son tan diferentes entre sí, y no es sólo la magia lo que los hace especiales, también lo son ellos mismos.

[smiletimeisrunningout]

#but also to kill Randall the r*pist immediately given how easily Turn jumped into that territory and he survived for no reason#can she replace Sarah and save her from that fate in every universe pls I hate that he lived#can this be in my wishlist too#together with giving happiness to everybody sòdghldfkg#people in the show are way too chill with assault she'd kill everyone who attempts it#and I feel this is more something about the writers than the time period#because it's honestly ridiculous at some point

#rape tw // rape tw // rape mention tw (not but really, the way every men there except the recurring cast was like this was the one thing I disliked about this show, and I wanted Randall to be at the very least imprisoned for it.) (As I was saying today I had enough of people not paying for it in OUAT)

still rewatching Turn and like:

the feminine urge to have Emma compliment Philomena genuinely and rescue her from prison

and to give Hewlett some kind of extremely difficult romance given how she is but still one with a good happy ending because he re-broke my heart when he was all joyful and stealing kisses from Anna

(also the hilarity of the whole thing that was Mary nearly taking out the Rangers all by herself and how Caleb never looks at her the same)

[mccallhero]

okay so i just finished ouat for the first time ever (watched it years ago but stopped in s5b) and i just wanted to ask one question about the finale lmao

(discussions of r*pe, the r*pists on the show, the erasure of graham, and regina's crimes)

first. some context. i absolutely hate what happened to graham's character (being r*ped and then murdered by his r*pist and then the crime never ever ever ever being acknowledged) and it's really really hard for me to like regina's character after that. for the longest time i always told myself it was the writers that didn't actually understand what they were writing, and then once they did, they tried to ignore it and sweep it under the rug because that wasn't their intention for regina's character

for example, with the other two r*pists on the show (there's arguments for a lot more, but these ones are confirmed in the canon), zelena and mother gothel are both treated as villains (regina actually calls zelena out for the r*pe, telling her she 'deceived robin in the most vile way possible,' which is another reason i thought the writers were trying to kinda retcon what regina did to graham once they realized what they had actually written). zelena eventually does get her 'redemption' (kinda. the only person who ever treats her well is regina. we just stop seeing zelena with other characters. the only exceptions really in s7 are wish!killian, robyn, and chad and they all don't know about her true crimes), which is something i hate, but again, zelena and mother gothel (for the majority of their characters) are treated as villains, which is genuinely why i thought for over a decade now that the writers realized they made an oopsie with regina and graham and just ignored it

however. then i watch the season 7 finale

and regina's getting crowned the good queen which. okay. interesting take i guess (love or hate regina's character, she burned down entire villages, who the hell is voting for her???). and then regina, the good queen, supposedly forgiven and redeemed for all her past evil deeds, gets to give a speech. in fact, the last speech that's ever given on ouat, the last words ever spoken on the show is this speech

she starts off by saying: 'i thought my story came to an end a long time ago, and then new people came into my life... people who gave me a second chance. i can't wait to see what's in store for me next. well, for everyone'

and then with this speech, as it continues, there's a lovely little montage to give us a reminder of the journey that was ouat and all of the characters along the way

regina says: 'i refuse to believe there won't be more adventures' and we see the jolly roger, charming on horseback, rumple in the heroes and villains au on horseback (interesting choice), grumpy being hatched, jiminy cricket, pinnochio and gepetto being swallowed by a whale, regina casting the dark curse over snow and charming's dying body (.......), emma freeing merlin from the tree, elsa using magic, ursula and maleficent tussling, monkey!walsh, rumple being bitch slapped by a bear, belle being attacked by fire-doggie!phillip, snow hitting charming with a rock, and cruella's stank breath

these are all, so far, decent choices. some are a little iffy but, for the most part, just moments reminding us of everything that's happened

and then regina says 'more love' and we see outlaw queen, snowing, swan believer, phillip and aurora, rumbelle, henry and violet, cinderella and her guy (shawn?), jasmine and aladdin, snowing again

this one's a little more questionable (just like. where is captain swan? and why is swan believer here when everything else is romantic love? did someone mix it up? idk. not the point but still)

'more family' and we see snowing and baby emma, emma and baby henry, the heroes in s2 walking together, snowing and neal, gepetto and pinnochio, henry smiling, and the last supper ouat version

this one's fine. i think including gepetto and pinnochio there is kinda funny when it could be replaced by any other scene of the actual main family (regina and henry maybe???????????????)

and then. finally. why i am making this textpost

regina says 'and yes, there will be more loss'

and. okay. we see robin dying, robin's funeral, regina at her father's grave, and then ???????????????????????????? for SOME REASON they show GRAHAM DYING????????????????????????????????

and at this point i don't care what else they show because regina's then saying 'because that's just a part of life' and i am just wondering. HOW. after SEVEN SEASON. did ouat think that was a good idea

and it genuinely makes me feel nauseous because yes, he is a forgotten victim, he was controlled and r*ped and murdered and nobody ever found out about it and, in fact, he is rarely ever even remembered (emma wearing his shoelace was such a fucking blessing to know at least ONE PERSON cared about him after he had died. that he at least wasn't forgotten by her) but for YEARS i thought it was just ouat being ouat and trying to ignore their mistakes because addressing them would make regina truly unforgiveable

but then. regina. in her final act of being truly redeemed, switched completely from the evil queen to the good queen, her crimes being forgiven by her victims and everyone electing her to be queen (WERE THERE NO OTHER CANDIDATES?), regina reminds us of the crime that she never ever told anyone about, the crime that she will be taking to her grave, and we see graham dying (because she r*ped and then murdered him)

and it just feels so so so wrong. ESPECIALLY. especially. ESPECIALLY after season seven, where we're forced to watch rogers be taunted by his r*pist, the knowledge of her crime being unknown to him (she taunts wish!killian too when he does know), and that entire plot is sickening and heartbreaking but that's what it's supposed to be. like one of the biggest plots of the season was about a r*pist taunting her victim and destroying his life and making him miserable and being the cause of his death (gothel poisoned wish!killian's heart, regina crushed graham's, wow ouat sure does love their parallels). never once are we expected to be on gothel's side and literally everyone on the show hates her besides characters she is also manipulating (ivy and anastasia). so how are they going to have that be one of the main plots of the season (if not the main plot, considering it's why rumple dies and killian/alice/gothel have the most backstory eps out of any other plotline) and then do this?

how are they going to give regina her redemption and then remind us of graham's death, arguably one of her worst crimes that is kept secret from everyone on the show? she took his heart and then commanded him to her bed chamber and then created a curse where they had a sexual relationship despite graham being miserable every single day and never wanting or feeling anything because oh yeah she stole his heart and controls him. and then she killed him when she couldn't control him any longer

and now she's the good queen, getting her second chance? ('second' chance. okay ouat. sure)

how are they going to forgive regina for her crimes while reminding us, the audience, that nobody even knows about graham?

[cosette141]

While You Weren't Sleeping | OUAT fanfic oneshot

Author: cosette141

Fandom: Once Upon a Time

Pairing: Captain Swan

Words: 1.2k

Summary: Emma learns that Hook was a little less unconscious after their fight in the Enchanted Forest than he’d led her to believe. (tag to s3 ep The Jolly Roger)

AO3

(story under the cut!)

a/n: I personally still think that the s2 fight between Emma and Hook could have gone either way (one theory being that Emma actually won because Hook was being cocky, the other (more popular one) being Hook threw the fight because he didn’t want to hurt Emma).

I’m all for girl power so I love the idea of Emma having actually gotten the upper hand cause he was flirting too much lol and underestimated that Emma is a scrappy badass.

But this little story came along with the other theory, because I caught something Hook said in season 3. He tells Emma “Magic is a part of you, Swan. Don’t forget; I was there when Cora tried to steal your heart. I saw the power inside of you.” So, either this is a writing mistake, since he was supposed to be unconscious… or it was Hook’s flub, outing himself.

For the sake of this story, we’re going with the idea that Hook threw the fight, but I love both theories. :)

She found him where she knew she would; by the docks. And ever since seeing him again, though it’s been weeks since he woke her up in New York, she still felt a… something stir inside her at the sight of him. Something she’d felt at the town line, that might have prompted her to do something if they had been the only two people there. 

But that was a long time ago.

And everything after Walsh…

She knew she had… feelings… for Hook—Killian. 

However she didn’t yet know what to do about them. 

“Hey,” said Emma, trying to ignore that feeling when he looked her way. “I need you to watch Henry again.”

Hook grinned, but it was still a softer one than he used to have. 

Like this smile was one just for her. 

“If you wanted to get close to me, no need to use the lad as an excuse,” said Hook, smirking a little.

Emma very nearly rolled her eyes. “I’m not.” At least not entirely. “Regina is giving me a magic lesson,” she explained. “We think that the both of us combined should be strong enough to overpower Zelena.”

His features shifted into one of a little relief. “That’s about the best plan we’ve got yet.” he said with a grin.

“Yeah,” said Emma, biting her lip, feeling a little less confident than he seemed to feel about her. She had no idea how to handle her magic and she wasn’t sure one lesson was going to change that. 

“Don’t worry, Swan.” he said, the cunning slipping out of his expression, the look in his eyes shifting to something much more genuine. “Remember,” he said gently, “Magic is a part of you, Swan. Don’t forget I was there when Cora tried to steal your heart.” A change in his eyes, something like pride, like confidence , in her . “I saw the power inside of you.”

Emma smiled, a little heat touching her cheeks at the faith he had in her, nodding at his reassurance. Her magic was powerful, and that reminder did give her a little newfound faith in herself . 

But her expression halted, something shifting in her eyes, and then her eyes snapped back to his. 

Suspiciously. 

“How do you know that?” she asked, eyes locked onto his. “Cora told you?”

“She didn’t have to,” he said, his own brows kneading with genuine puzzlement. “I was there.” 

No…

“As I recall,” she said slowly, brows narrowing, “you were unconscious .” 

“I—“ It was only then he seemed to understand the direction her interrogation was heading, and he froze. Swallowing, he scratched behind his ear, saying, “—aye, yes, I was.”

He didn’t .

“Then how did you know I used magic to stop Cora?” she demanded, brow hitching up sharply. 

Hook swallowed again, eyes shifting to the ground before meeting hers. 

Lie.

Emma felt something heat up her chest. 

He did not .

“I—er, it only makes sense that’s how you—“ 

“ Hook .”

His eyes found hers. 

And then…

He grinned .

Like a child caught doing something they shouldn’t have. 

Emma’s jaw dropped. 

“I knocked you out!” she hissed.

“You knocked me down ,” he corrected, that amused grin lifting his lips into a crooked smile, and Emma suddenly wanted to smack it off. 

“Are you saying you let me win? ” growled Emma, voice hitching up an octave. 

“I’m saying,” he said, “I didn’t duck when you swung the compass at my head.”

Emma gaped at him. 

But it was there in his eyes. 

His stupid, cocky eyes. 

“I knocked you out,” whispered Emma. “You were being a cocky bastard, and I knocked you out .”

Hook winced a little. “I’ll admit to being the cocky bastard, but you know as well as I do that you didn’t.”

Emma stared him down, and he let her, and damnit he wasn’t lying. 

“But—“ began Emma.

“Swan,” he said, a little exasperatedly, “unless you’ve forgotten, I am a few centuries old. I’ve been a swordsman for hundreds of years, and you’d been one for all of five minutes.” At her narrowed eyes, he said, “Though I’ll admit, I did have quite the headache afterward.” 

Emma felt anger and a thread of humiliation course through her. 

He let her win?

He let her win?

She’d prided herself on that victory.

But something else snuck into her mind, a question that suddenly wouldn’t let her go.

She raised her eyes to Hook. “Why?”

The amusement slipped from his face. “What do you mean why?”

Emma’s anger faded. “I mean,” she said quietly, “why’d you let me win? It’s not like we were on the same side.”

His brows rose. “Emma,” he said, and it always shot a little chill down her spine when he chose to use her first name. “ Winning that fight would have meant either severely injuring or killing you.”

“So?”

He blinked. “What?”

“So?” repeated Emma. “At that point you were ‘done with me.’” She watched Hook wince at the words, and she suddenly realized he must have regretted saying them to her. “You risked your mission and Cora’s wrath for me? Why?”   

Hook hesitated. 

And Emma would never get over how strange, how rare it was to see him unsure. 

But he smiled, something soft, and he shifted her hair with his hook, like he’d done on the beanstalk. “Because I was never done with you, love.” Taking a breath, he said, “I still had the last Bean. I knew Cora and I could use it to get here, and you deserved to return to your son. I… simply couldn’t bring myself to prevent you.” He scratched behind his ear again. “And, love, I…” He swallowed. “I do apologize for the way I spoke to you that day.”

There was a touch of anguish in his eyes, and Emma found herself smiling. “You let me clock you in the face with a compass,” she said. “I think we’re even.”

He smiled too.

His eyes on her, he said, “Rest assured, love, that you are the strongest person I know.”

Emma rolled her eyes. 

His expression didn’t change. “I’m not placating you, Emma,” he said with a sort of gentle firmness. “I may have given you that fight that day, but Cora didn’t.” Emma felt herself pause, realizing that. “No one,” Hook went on, “in any of the realms had been able to defeat her, myself, Regina and the bloody Crocodile included.” He smiled. “So, trust me when I say that I’ve still yet to see you fail, and I know you will defeat Zelena.”

Emma felt herself smile. “Thanks, Killian.”  she said softly. 

Hook smiled too, something even warmer. Because Henry was nowhere in earshot, and she used his name.

Because she was also realizing that he had been the first person, other than perhaps Henry, to believe in her.

And before she could think twice about it, throwing a look over her shoulder to make sure Henry wasn’t looking their way, Emma stepped toward him, kissing him lightly on the cheek.

He stared at her in utter shock.

Breezing past it, trying to keep the heat from rising to her cheeks, Emma said, “So you’ll watch Henry?”

He looked like he was torn from a daze. Shaking himself from it, he said, “Ah—aye, of course.” 

“Thanks,” she whispered. She turned to get Henry, when Hook said, “Emma.”

She turned. 

“I’d be open to a rematch,” he said, that grin back at his lips.

Emma smiled. “I would, too.”    

Hook grinned. 

She left Henry with Hook, then walked away, heading toward her magic lesson with Regina. 

And found that she might be open to more than just a rematch.

tag list: @kmomof4 @justanother-unluckysoul @klynn-stormz @stahlop @ilovemesomekillianjones @hookmecaptain @sotangledupinit @tiganasummertree @eddisfargo @anmylica @pirateprincessofpizza @cs-rylie @elfiola

[overlordofthelollipopguild]

Broken Souls Mend Hearts: Chapter 98: The Captain's Swan -- a Captain Swan, OUAT fanfic

CS REUNION!!!!

Read on FFN or AO3.

Note: I figured out Killian's travel plans. Killian was traveling from somewhere in Maine with no money except his gold, so I'm thinking he walked/hitchhiked to the nearest city, found a cash for gold/pawn shop, and got money for a bus ticket. So he walked/hitchhiked to Portland, Maine (let's say that's two hours south of Storybrooke by car, so with hitchhiking that could take anywhere from 5 to 7 hours), so he gets to Portland by 1 p.m., gets money, gets a bus to New York City because he’s got his compass (check out Chapter 20: Little Talks). Bus ride is 7hrs and 49mins. He gets on the bus at 4 p.m. (after at least getting a little bit of food), arrives in New York at nearly 12 a.m. so he checks into a motel and sleeps until 8 a.m. Voila!

Also, keep in mind that as far as Killian knows, Zelena is evil and the villain, so that will be mentioned a few times in this chapter. They’ll find out the truth in Storybrooke.

Also, this chapter is rated M, possibly explicit, for depictions of sex. Fair warning. Like they’ve been separated 8 months, so I can’t blame them for wanting to get reacquainted.

Likely this will be the only smut I write for this fic. Sorry Krystal!

If you do not like smut and want to skip, you can start from when Killian says “So we’re alone?” And control+F to  “Her head rested on his shoulder as she threw her arm over his chest”.

Then skip again from “As she kissed him, her fingers danced down his skin to the towel around his waist, loosening it so that it fell to the floor.” And control+F to “When her soul returned to her body, Emma’s stomach growled.”

There isn’t just smut in the chapter, there’s also some emotional moments and Walsh does show up at one point to tie up that loose end.

Chapter 98: The Captain’s Swan

Emma never woke up early on Saturdays, especially Saturdays when Henry was staying over at a friends, but her anticipation from yesterday hadn't worn off. All day yesterday, she looked over her shoulder constantly wondering if someone, if he, would pop out at her. She couldn't focus on work and even got home before remembering she needed groceries. Instead, she ordered Chinese take-out, glad that Henry was staying over at Avery's house for the weekend.

Last night, she tried to focus on whatever she could find on television, and when that didn't work she cleaned. She actually deep cleaned until she was bone tired. Sleep only came due to physical exhaustion. When she woke up an hour ago, the feeling that something big was happening remained with her. Emma couldn’t even enjoy her coffee due to the emotional jitters she experienced. 

Needless to say, Emma wasn’t in a good mood this morning. 

Her eyes watched the time on her phone like she was expecting someone, which she wasn’t no matter what her heart told her. No one was coming. Certainly not a pirate straight out of her dreams. 

There was a knock on her door. 

Her heart skipped a beat, even as her head wondered who it was, hoping it wasn’t Walsh. Her feet carried to the door before her mind caught up, her hand turned the lock with an audible click, why wasn’t she looking through the peephole? It didn’t matter. The door was already cracking open. Her heart went to her throat.

Blue eyes and a wide, infectious smile greeted her. “Swan, at last.” He breathed her name like a prayer. 

It was him. Her dream pirate. No fucking way. Emma couldn’t breathe as her eyes drank in the sight of him. “Killian.”

His expression grew surprised, before Emma unthinkingly, instinctively, reached up, gripping him by the collar of his jacket and pulling him to her lips. The moment their lips met, a breeze of magic rushed between them and everything flashed in her mind. 

They met at night outside of Regina’s house. She was bringing Henry home. 

“Killian Jones. Deputy of Storybrooke. Mind if I ask what you are doing with the Mayor’s son, Miss Swan?”

She remembered his protectiveness over Henry. How much of a father he was long before Henry called him “Dad.” 

"I'm not saying that. I'm saying that Henry needs to believe that someone believes in him. Just because the curse isn't real to us, it doesn't mean that it isn't real to him. He needs you to believe him, Emma. Go prove him right.”

His smirks any time she got one over on Regina. His affirmations of support no matter the hurt it caused him, so long as she felt better and was comforted. 

Coffee and notes. He made it a habit, a routine for them. One she looked forward to every morning. 

He could read her so well. Knew all of her thoughts and emotions just by a look. 

"You're something of an open book.”

"Am I?" 

"More than you know.”

Killian worked hard to open her heart up to him, to love. 

"I know that you aren't one to let go and take a leap of faith. Your walls are a tower where you hide away, but you're not waiting for your prince to come rescue you. You're protecting yourself because you believe that anyone who comes near your tower is an ogre out to do you harm. But know this, love, I'm not an ogre. I want nothing more than your happiness and I know that it's too much for me to ask you to allow me to climb that tower, or you to let yourself out of it. So I won't. I'm ready and willing to wait for you, because you are more than worth any wait. Even if I have to wait twenty or fifty years or even an eternity for you, my Swan, I will."

Her first and only Christmas with him and Henry. The happiest Christmas she’d ever experienced. Their first kiss in the hospital after his accident. Their first date on the beach getting to know each other. Their first time together in the lighthouse.

Giving him True Love’s Kiss and breaking the Curse over the town. 

"What do I have to do?”

"Only True Love's Kiss can break this curse. You have to believe in his love for you, and your love for him.”

"I don't know if I can.”

"Stop thinking, and just feel. Listen to your heart.”

"I love you, Killian."

Learning that the man she loved was Captain Hook, a character straight out of a children’s story she grew up with, but nothing like she ever imagined. 

"Who are you?”

"Killian Jones. But most people have taken to calling me my more colorful moniker…Hook."

“Hook? As in Captain Hook?”

"I'd say at your service, milady, but pirates tend to not have good relations with royals.”

Ending up in the Enchanted Forest and having to find a way home. Climbing the beanstalk together and re-committing to each other. Telling him about Neal and the pain he caused, opening herself up to him completely, giving him her Swan pendant. 

"I wore it, to remind myself never to trust anyone again. I held onto it, as a reminder of what Neal did to me, but I don't want to live in the past anymore. What you told Anton, on the beanstalk, about how you realized you didn't have to be alone anymore...it made me realize that I don't have to hold onto the past anymore. Yeah, I'll never forget what Neal did, and I doubt that I'll ever forgive him for it, but I've let his actions, the memory of him, hold me back from love and trust for ten years. I don't want to be held back anymore. I want you to have it. You don't have to wear it, or even keep it really, because, well Neal gave it to me, and you probably hate that, but...I want you to have it anyway, because I want it to remind you that you are the reason that I'm letting go of Neal. That you're the first person who I've been able to open up to in a long time. I want it to remind you that...that I trust you.”

"I'd be honored to wear it. I love you, Emma."

Henry helped her find her happy ending. Sweet, amazing, smart Henry, her wonderful son, ever the optimist whenever she was in doubt. The only who truly believed Killian would make it home from the Enchanted Forest when no one else did.

“Grandpa always says that we have to have hope. That we have to have faith that everything will work out. I know that dad may be hurt, and it may be really, really bad, but I believe that he'll make it. He'll pull through, and then he'll find his way back home.”

 "Optimism must've skipped a generation.”

"Maybe, but you can't give up. Grandma once told us in class, when we were making birdhouses, that if someone loves you they will always find you. And Dad loves you, doesn't he?”

“Yes. And I love him.”

"Then he'll find you.”

"Thank you, Henry. Come here, kid. I love you.”

"I love you, too.”

Tears came to her, remembering that that was the first time she ever told Henry she loved him.

Finding out she was pregnant again. Terrified she’d have to go through it alone, because Killian hadn’t made it home yet. Telling Killian the news.

Her and Killian proposing to each other. He kept his mother’s ring for centuries and deemed her to be worthy enough to possess it. It was the ring she still wore on her finger to ward off Walsh. 

"Marry me?”

"Swan, what are you doing? You're depriving me of my romantic proposal.”

"You were going to propose?”

“Someday.”

“Well, I guess I saved you some trouble then?”

"You're proposing now?”

"I'll say yes, on one condition."

“What?"

"Well, I proposed first. So, don't you think you should say yes first?”

"If the lady insists. Yes, I will marry you, Emma Swan.”

"Yes, I'll marry you, Killian Jones.”

They were so happy for so long, and everything was going perfectly. Neverland and all the baggage that nasty adventure came with rushed back. 

Liam’s birth on the Jolly Roger. 

“I never got to hold Henry like this. Things will be different this time. I’m not missing another day in Henry’s life, and I’m not going to miss a day of Liam’s.”

“Nor will I.” 

“We love you, Liam Jones. You have no idea how happy we are that you’re here.”

Liam. Her baby. She left him, choosing Henry because Henry would be alone. 

“How do we know what’s best?”

“We…we’ll have to…we have to give them both their best chance.”

“Henry can’t be alone. But Liam needs me too.”

“I know. But, I…I think you and I both know what we need to do.” 

“This isn’t fair. Why couldn’t Regina’s price be her magic? Or her title, or something that didn’t involve us making the hardest decision of our lives?”

“I don’t know. I wish it didn’t have to be this way.”

“I know that you won’t remember me, but I want you to know that I love you so much. In my heart, I will remember you everyday. I promise. So, you be good for your dad. He’s going to have a hard time, and he loves you so much, but he’s not going to be in a good place. He will be so overprotective of you, so let him, even though it’ll probably drive you crazy. But he loves you, and he will put so much energy into giving you everything you deserve. You will be so so so loved, and I am so sorry that I’m going to miss all of it. I’m so sorry that I won’t be there. I wish more than anything that your brother and I could go with all of you. That we could be there for you. But life isn’t fair, and it sucks. But you are so lucky to have your dad, and your grandparents, and so many people who will be there for you. I hope that you miss me, but I really hope that you don’t either.”

Her parents. David and Mary Margaret. Prince Charming and Snow White. 

"Well, he thinks that you're Snow White, right? He thinks David is Prince Charming. You guys are True Love, so that makes you my parents.”

“Huh? Well, I have a kid. You'd think that I'd remember something like that.”

“Yeah. You'd think.”

"You do kind of have my chin. And my eyes. Hell, I think you have David's nose too.”

“Please, you just want Emma around so you can go into mother hen mode and molly coddle her during the pregnancy.”

"That's not true."

"I always knew you'd be a daddy's girl."

They hadn’t abandoned her. They loved her so much, but she was the Savior. She needed to break the Curse. 

"We're together, finally, and I can't help but think you're not happy about it.”

"Oh, I am. But see, here's the thing. No matter what the circumstances, for twenty-eight years I only knew one thing. That my parents sent me away.”

"We did that to give you your best chance.”

"You did it for everyone, because that's who you are. Leaders, heroes, princes, and princesses, and that's great, a-and amazing, and wonderful. But it doesn't change the fact that, for my entire life, I've been alone.”

"But, if we hadn't sent you away, you would've been cursed, too.”

"But we would've been together. Which curse is worse?"

“But Henry and Killian changed that?”

"Coming to Storybrooke changed that. Henry, Killian, you, and David. All of it. I have a family now. It's all I ever wanted. I'm...I'm really happy I finally found you guys.”

"We are so so happy that you found us too.”

Henry. God, she did give Henry away but he found her.

“I gave him up because I couldn't be a mother. At the time, Neal had proved to me that I couldn't be loved. That I didn't deserve it. I knew that if I kept Henry, he would've loved me unconditionally, but I didn't think that I deserved his love. The doctor tried to get me to change my mind, he even told me the baby was a boy after I had told him that I didn't want to know what it was. But...But I couldn't...I told the doctor that I couldn't be a mother. I wasn't fit to be a mother. I didn't even look at Henry, because I knew that if I had seen him, I would've begged them to let me keep him. The first time I saw Henry was when he found me.”

Graham. His shoelace which she still kept in her jewelry box. She stopped wearing it because she didn’t remember why she even had it, but Emma knew it wasn’t something that could be discarded. Oh god, he was her first true friend to die, the first funeral she went to…she and Killian named their son for him. 

August. He came with her, he left her, the wardrobe could’ve taken two, but it didn’t and she grew up alone. He was family now, a brother to her and Killian, uncle to their sons. 

Facing Neal and all the past pain he caused. 

Being the Savior. Bringing back the happy endings. Finding and building her family. 

Her friends. Her family. 

Separating again because of another fucking Curse. 

“I know this isn’t fair, but I need you to promise me something else.”

“Anything.”

“It’s impossible.”

“I don’t care.”

“Promise me that you’ll find us. Promise me that you will find a way back to me and Henry. Find us.”

“As you wish.” 

It was all back. Emma Swan knew exactly who she was now and every part of her was back in it’s rightful place. Slowly, she pulled away, her hands gripping his coat collar, unwilling to let him go again. “You found us.”

“Aye,” Killian rested his forehead against hers. “That was True Love’s Kiss. It doesn’t work with memory loss, so I take it that you remembered me?” His sweet, dimpled smile sent her heart soaring. 

“Not entirely.” Emma said, just breathing him in. God, he was back, he found her, he kept his promise. “Bits and pieces. I don’t think Regina’s spell was foolproof.” She pulled him fully into the apartment, not wanting any nosy neighbors to question why some guy in strange clothes was kissing her. 

The apartment door shut with a click and they stood in the entryway, holding each other, drinking  in the sight of each other. “How did you find us?” Emma asked, hand going around his neck to play with the curling ends of his hair. He needed a haircut and a beard trim, but damn if he didn’t look fine. His Enchanted Forest clothes certainly screamed menacing pirate, and Emma loved the look. She didn’t know why he never offered to dress up for her before, but Emma was going to make him from now on. 

Something pained flickered in Killian’s eyes, before a strained smile appeared. “The compass you gave me on my birthday. When I came through the portal, I meant to use it to navigate to the nearest city. It wasn’t pointing north. I followed it, ended up in Portland, Maine. Then I just took a bus in the direction it pointed and ended up here.” His hand reached into his coat pocket, pulling out a blue vial. “This is a memory potion, but looks like you won’t need it.” He set it on the kitchen counter.

“Henry might.” Emma said, taking Killian’s hand and hook in hers. She missed him so much. “He doesn’t remember like I do, but he’s been having dreams of Storybrooke.” 

That only made Killian more curious. He supposed when they returned, Regina might have some answers. 

Emma asked the one question that nagged most at her. “Where’s Liam?” Her baby was alive. The baby she thought lost forever was alive and happy and healthy as she knew he would be with Killian. Her entire being ached to see him and hold him again.

“He’s safe.” Killian reassured, cupping her face. “He’s with my brother.” 

“You’re trusting August with an eight month old?” Emma teased.

That odd smile was back. There was a story there. “Where’s Henry?”

“At a friend’s house.” Emma said, leaning in. “I’m picking him up in the morning.” 

A smirk formed on his handsome face. “So we’re alone?”

Emma grinned into his lips. “Yes.” Pressing her lips to his could never convey just how much she truly missed him and how happy she was to see him, but she sure as hell was going to try.

Killian pulled her close, deepening the kiss. It had been too, too long since they’d been together. Every fiber of his being missed her; his heart ached without her; his soul cried out for her. Overjoyed at their reunion, Killian could only express it all in this kiss where relief, love, passion, and joy united together, saying everything that words could not. 

Ignoring their burning lungs, the couple leaned further into each other. 

His coat fell from his shoulders, so Emma gripped him desperately by neck, attempting to meld them into one being. 

“Too many clothes.” She mumbled, hardly taking her lips from his. Her hands slid down his waistcoat, unbuttoning the red brocade swiftly. 

Killian grinned into her kiss as the vest met the same fate as the coat. “I missed you.” He pushed into her, her back hitting the island behind them. “Gods, Emma I thought about you every moment of every day.” His fingers nimbly undid the buttons of her pajama shirt. 

Emma eagerly let her shirt fall from her, pressing her bare chest to him. 

He groaned into her. 

Her hands pulled down his suspenders. Why the fuck was he even wearing suspenders? Too many layers. She practically clawed at his shirt to get it off. 

They broke their kiss briefly to discard his shirt. 

Emma gripped his forearms as she lead him further into the apartment. “Bedroom, now.”

He followed her command letting her haul him to her bedroom. He kicked the door closed behind him before hauling her in for another kiss. Killian spun her around, pressing her into the bedroom door, lifting her legs around his waist. 

Emma moaned as his hardening cock rubbed against her through their remaining layers off clothes. “Fuck.” Her hips ground into him, creating friction they desperately needed. “Killian, I missed you so much.” 

His lips danced down her collar bone, pausing to suck at a sensitive spot along her pulse. He breathed in the scent of her, content to kiss her here for eternity, sucking hard enough to leave bruising. 

Her hips undulated against him as her need grew. She hadn’t orgasmed properly since before Neverland, having frustratingly little success in her solo efforts for the past eight months. Emma pushed him away a bit, letting her legs fall, quickly shimmying out of her pants and underwear. 

Killian swallowed seeing her naked form for the first time in so long. Gods, she was radiant. He pulled her back to him, fingers dancing along her stretch mark scars. “I haven’t had a lot of privacy these past months, so I’m not sure how long I’ll last.”

“Me either.” Emma admitted. Her hands unbuttoned his pants and pushed them downwards.

Killian stumbled back as he kicked off boots and pants, falling ass first onto her bed.

She laughed at the sight he made before helping pull everything off. Then he was naked before her except for his hook and brace. Emma climbed onto his lap, bringing their bodies together, her wet folds sliding over his erection. A happy sigh escaped her. “Foreplay later?”

“Count on it, love.” He smirked shamelessly. “Condoms?”

“IUD.” Not that she planned on having sex with anyone, but after believing she miscarried, Emma didn’t want to risk another pregnancy and had one implanted as soon as she could. Though now that she had her memories and the love of her life back, she’d certainly reconsider it if they wanted another baby. Pushing those thoughts away for the time being, Emma reached between them, her hand grasping his cock, aligning them together. She sunk down fully on him, both of them moaning loudly as their bodies joined together for the first time in too many months. 

Emma whimpered as her body stretched to accommodate to his size after so long. 

Their foreheads pressed together as they took time to revel in their union. 

Emma cupped his face. “I love you so much, Killian.” 

He brushed a lock of hair behind her ear. His blue eyes seared into her very soul. “I love you, Emma.” His voice thickened with desire. “Ride me, love.”

Her body shivered pleasurable at the huskiness of his voice. Gripping his shoulders, Emma set a slow, torturous pace as they relearned each other. She rose and fell in time with their harsh pants. How could she ever forget how wonderful it felt to be filled by him? 

Killian secured his right arm around her waist to support her as his hook traveled down her body until it fell between them, the cold metal rubbing against her hot, swollen clit. 

A guttural moaned left her lips as her head fell back. God that hook just fucking did things to her. “Fuck, Killian.”

“Yes, that is what we’re doing.” He teased, leaning down to kiss along her neck again.

She choked on a laugh, lightly smacking him on the shoulder. “Ass.”

“Later if you have the right toys,” He mumbled against her skin, biting along her collar.

She quietly lamented that she in fact didn’t have the right toys for that at the moment, but they’d fix that when they returned home. 

His lips trailed down to her breasts, his beard roughly scraping against her pale, creamy skin.

Emma cried out as his mouth mercilessly sucked in a pert, tight nipple. She bucked against him, her pace increasing as she chased the building tightening in her gut. 

Sensing she was close, knowing her body as well as his own, Killian withdrew from her before leaning back and rolling them over. 

She keened as Killian increased their pace, rocking the bed with the force of it. Their whimpers and moans filled the air as they lost themselves in the sensation of chasing their release. Emma choked on his name as white exploded behind her eyes, her orgasm washing harshly over her. 

Killian moaned out her name as her tight, pulsing cunt squeezed him dry as he came inside of her. As his senses came back to him, lightheaded from such a forceful orgasm, Killian looked down at his sweaty, glowing bride-to-be. 

Emma smiled widely, reaching up to run a hand through his damp, dark hair. “I hope you’ve got another round in you, sailor.”

Killian chuckled, leaning in to kiss her. “My love when have I ever left it to just one?” Slowly, Killian pulled out of her, dragging his lips against her dewy skin as he made his way southward. Now that their initial desperation for each other was satiated, he was going to take time lavishing attention on her body until she screamed his name. 

Her body quivered in anticipation as Killian left a trail of kisses down her stomach. As his mouth sucked on her throbbing clit and a scream of unadulterated pleasure leaving her, Emma felt as though her soul left her body, her body overwhelmed by the sensation. 

Her noises only spurred Killian on as his tongue slipped between her folds, eagerly tasting the remnants of their coupling. Knowing what his hook did to her, he brought the sharp instrument back into play, very lightly brushing the tip against her clit. 

“Fuck!” A hoarse moan ripped from her as she came quickly on the heels of her last climax. 

Killian took time relishing the taste of her as her body relaxed into the mattress. Blood rushed back down to his cock, his delight at bringing her pleasure shooting through him. Gods how he loved the noises she made, her completely unguarded, primal expression as she came. 

Feeling boneless, unable to properly move or speak, Emma lightly whined to get Killian’s attention. 

He chuckled against her before leisurely, agonizingly taking his time kissing his way up her body. He paused at her breasts, teeth raking along her skin before sinking in to mark. 

“Damn,” Emma gasped. “I forgot you’re all bark and bite.” Her teasing tone drew a small laugh from him as he continued kiss her chest. Wrapping her legs around him, Emma’s hands combed through his now wet hair, tugging at the strands, speaking with her actions.

Knowing his Swan was growing impatient, Killian moved upwards, kissing her soundly as his erection nestled between her legs, heat radiating from her. “You’re welcome to bite back any time.” 

Emma grinned, locking her legs around him. “You’re incorrigible.” 

“That’s not news to you.” He chuckled, kissing her again. A content sigh left him. “It’s been too long, my love.” 

“I know.” Emma’s hands clasped behind his neck. “If there’s ever another Curse, I’m going nuclear with my magic. Our family isn’t being separated ever again.” 

The seriousness of her tone and the tears in her eyes was enough to undo him. Killian swallowed back his own pain, focusing on them, in the here and now. “Never again.” He entered her deliberately tender after putting her body through the ringer. Keeping his pace gentle, he reached out, taking her hand in his and lacing their fingers together before pinning their joined hands above her head.

Their eyes locked reflecting everything they felt for the past eight months. Pain, suffering, loss, desire, joy, love all rolled into one look. 

“Killian.” Emma choked on tears as they slipped from the corners of her eyes. 

“I know.” His own voice hoarse. So much happened. There was still so much to talk about. Unable to stand it, Killian kissed her ardently, willing away everything these past months inflicted on them. “I love you.” 

Her voice tight with emotions, Emma whispered back words of love and adoration as his slow, reverent movements sparked the sedate beginnings of another climax. Together they moved as one, heavy breathing in sync, hearts beating in harmony. 

They came undone together, stars behind their eyes, as they lost themselves in each other’s embrace. 

How long they stayed that way, wrapped up together, drained from their vigorous lovemaking, they couldn’t say. After a time, when their breathing normalized, Killian rolled off of her, laying next to her on top of the sheets. 

Emma snuggled into his side despite the fact that they were both hot and covered in a layer of sweat. Her head rested on his shoulder as she threw her arm over his chest. 

Killian’s own arm came around her, holding her close. They remained silent for awhile, neither wanting to break their bubble, both knowing there was a lot to say, to catch up on. He sighed, knowing that they couldn’t keep putting it off. “How about a shower before we talk?” 

“That sounds like a good idea.” Emma whispered. “I can order us some lunch too.”

In no hurry, they took their time getting up and heading to the bathroom, kissing and touching along the way, neither willing to let the other go for very long, both fearing that this was all a dream and they’d wake up alone again. 

After a nice long shower and heavy petting, they dressed, Killian only in his pants and Emma in his shirt and her underwear, and sat in her living room. 

Emma ordered pizza, not wanting to leave to pick something up. She settled herself in Killian’s arms and asked about the Enchanted Forest. 

“We appeared near Aurora’s castle.” He started. “They took us in for the first night, but we were eager to get to Regina’s castle. It was still intact and had more room. Liam’s worst night was that first one, but it got better.” He spoke of their journey to Regina’s castle, of how he researched magic and exhausted all of Regina’s resources, how he dreamed of her. “Emma, I…” He looked around the apartment, eyes flicking everywhere before speaking. “I saw this apartment in my dreams of you. I dreamed of you doing things here, living your life, and I knew that you felt something was missing. That’s when I decided I needed to leave the castle and search elsewhere. You and Henry weren’t happy.” 

“Wait, you dreamed of me too?” Emma asked. Though it was odd that he was dreaming of her life here. She dreamed of her memories of course, but there were other things too. Liam crying, Killian on his ship, Killian with Liam. 

“Aye.” His brow furrowed. “What were your dreams of, love?” 

“Mostly Storybrooke.” Emma said. “But there were some of you and Liam in the Enchanted Forest.”

Killian contemplated her words. So they both dreamt about each other’s lives while they were separated…was that because they were True Love? 

Emma’s own thoughts wondered along the same lines. “I guess we’ll have to ask Regina and my parents when we get back to Storybrooke. They’d know if our dreams were because we’re True Love.” 

“Perhaps.” Something nagged at Killian though he ignored it for now. He continued telling her about his time at Regina’s castle, glossing over his fight with Snow a bit, explaining how he, Will, Alice, Tink, and Blackbeard left on their journey, taking Liam with them. “As we were traveling, well, I found out a truth about Blackbeard.” 

“Great.” Emma huffed. She didn’t like the bastard at all since it was his fault they ever ended up in Neverland and Pan fucking cursed them all. “Please, tell me more about that asshole.” 

Killian winced. That's right, Emma and Blackbeard weren’t exactly friends before the Curse so she wouldn't have any warm, fuzzy feelings towards his brother. Well, it was best to rip the bandaid off. “He’s my brother.” 

Emma blinked, taking a moment to process his words. “I’m going to need a very detailed explanation.” 

“Uh, well, he’s Liam.” Killian started. “My brother Liam, who I thought died, but apparently Pan resurrected him and owned his soul. Pan also didn’t let us know about each other being alive and he found out when he kidnapped you and Henry. I found out around Christmas. He didn’t want to tell me the truth because of our Liam and some stupid idea about tainting my memory of him, but yeah. Blackbeard is my brother and Will’s father.” 

“Wow.” Stunned didn’t even begin to cover what she was feeling. There was anger there too, though now it made sense how quickly Blackbeard flipped on Pan. He knew they were family and that Henry and Liam were his nephews. Still, she was definitely punching Blackbeard in the face when she saw him just on principle. “Wait, is he still called Blackbeard or do we have two Liams now?” 

“Blackbeard.” Killian said. “He said he’s too used to it now and it keeps it from being confusing.” 

There was a knock at the door, startling both of them. Emma hurriedly went to the door, seeing the pizza guy though the peephole. “Pizza.” Emma said. She quickly grabbed her wallet and paid, practically throwing the money at the guy as she grabbed the pizza. “Keep the change.” 

After shutting the door, Emma brought the pizza over, setting it on the coffee table. She opened the box and asked. “Any other bombs to drop?” 

“A few, yes.” Killian sighed. “Emma, we spent months traveling and came up empty handed. I wanted to return to the Enchanted Forest and try to find new leads, but then Regina came and got us. The only way to get back here was to cast the Dark Curse.” 

“No.” Emma shook her head. “There had to be another way.” Surely someone didn’t die just to get her and Henry home?

Killian swallowed. “Regina and Rumplestiltskin both agreed that it was the only way.” 

“Rumplestiltskin is alive?” Emma asked, floored. “How?” Jesus, what the fuck all happened in the Enchanted Forest? God, she couldn’t leave her family alone for five minutes. New brothers, curses, resurrections, what else could possibly happened? 

“Regina didn’t elaborate.” Killian said. “Emma, the Wicked Witch is controlling him and he seems to think you’re the only one who can stop her.” 

Emma leaned back against the couch, dread creeping in. “You mean the Savior is the only one who can stop her?” Is that all she was to people? 

Killian put his arm around her, hugging her to him. “You know that everyone went along with the Curse for you and Henry. Not because they need the Savior, right? We all wanted you both home.” 

“I know.” Emma sighed. “I just wish the Savior thing died with breaking the Curse.”

“I know, love.” Killian kissed her forehead. 

“So the Wicked Witch has the Dark One?” Emma grimaced. “Did this new Curse bring magic back with it?”

“Regina said that because Rumplestiltskin brought it back after the first Curse, that Storybrooke would always carry magic with it.” Killian still wasn’t entirely sure how that worked. Principles of magic were beyond his expertise. “It’s fully a magical town now.” 

Emma only nodded against him. It was a vain hope that magic hadn’t been brought back and they could all live normal lives. Bracing herself, she finally asked the question she dreaded the answer to, “Who…who volunteered?”

He moved away from her, avoiding looking at her. He wanted to be there when it happened, but Regina needed to stay with the Curse and hadn’t wanted to risk Killian getting caught up in grief and the Curse. His throat tightened. “Pop.” 

He spoke the word so quietly, Emma wasn’t sure she heard correctly at first. “Marco volunteered?” 

Killian could only nod in response, his eyes glossing over with unshed tears.

“Oh Killian.” Emma reached for him, pulling hi into a tight hug. “I’m so sorry.” Her own eyes watered. Despite his part in her growing up alone and in foster care, Emma grew to love Marco, and not just as he was Killian’s father figure, but also because he was a kind soul, who loved Killian and their boys fiercely, and who helped people as much as he could when he could. 

It was her hug that finally broke him and grief slammed into him, his body shaking as he began to sob, finally allowing himself to mourn his father. Burying his face into her shoulder, Killian let it all out. 

“I’m so sorry.” She whispered against his neck, holding him as they both cried, feeling Marco’s loss. Emma wished she could take away Killian’s pain. Marco was gone; he chose to die so that she and Henry could come home. He died for their family. Emma squeezed her eyes shut as guilt assaulted her. Why couldn’t there have been another way? Why was there always a stupid freaking Curse? 

It could’ve been minutes, hours maybe, but it felt like forever as Killian cried in her arms. 

Emma ran a comforting hand through his hair as he slowly calmed. 

His breathing evened out. “The pizza’s cold.” He mumbled. 

“I have a microwave.” Emma whispered. 

He pulled back, meeting her eyes. “I couldn’t be with him when it happened. I couldn’t risk being caught up in the Curse.” 

Emma brushed away the tear tacks on his cheeks. “He knew. He loved you, Killian.” 

“At least, I got to say goodbye.” Killian said. “I got to see him a final time.” He collapsed against the couch.

Neither of them were keen on eating anymore, so Emma put the pizza in the fridge then returned to the couch to cuddle with Killian, wishing there was more she could do to comfort him.

Killian rested his cheek against her hair, closing his eyes as the emotions of the day washed over him. 

When his breathing evened out, Emma carefully extricated herself from his arms. She maneuvered him so he was lying on the couch. She pulled the throw blanket over him and sat next to him, gently caressing his cheek. Her heart ached for him. He’d lost so much in his life. Would they ever get a break? 

She stood up and wanting to let him sleep, Emma decided to get dressed. Killian needed clothes for the trip home, and possibly extra outfits. Who knows if the Curse brought back all of their belongings? God, would their house still be there? Marco had nearly finished the renovations when they left for Neverland. Emma’s throat tightened. She hoped the house survived, so they’d have their home. Marco renovated it for them as a gift for their family and making it the place they raised their children seemed the best way to honor his memory. 

Once dressed, Emma made sure to leave Killian a note on the coffee table in case he woke up before she got back. She was glad that he fell asleep, if only so she could take time to process everything he told her. There was a Target not too far from her apartment, so she decided to grab what she could find there. Killian lost some weight from what she could tell. Had he taken care of himself? Didn’t anyone make sure he was eating? Knowing him as she did, he probably prioritized Liam and his search for a portal over everything else, but especially more than himself. 

She entered the store, not entirely focused on her mission as she thought over what all she learned from Killian. His brother was alive. Her kids already had a bunch of aunts and uncles, and now there was one more. She still wasn’t sure how she felt about a man she greatly disliked being the man Killian worshipped for his whole life. 

Grabbing Killian a few pairs of dark blue jeans, Emma’s mind turned over to the fact that the Dark One was alive. All magic came with a price, so how steep was the price for resurrection? Who the hell paid it? 

As for the Wicked Witch, Emma didn’t even know what to think about that. She was a product of True Love, which meant the most powerful magic of all lived inside of her, manifesting in her magic. So how powerful and bad was the Wicked Witch if Regina couldn’t fight her? Why did Emma have to be the one? What was the story with the Wicked Witch anyway? Killian hadn’t told her more before telling her about Marco. She’d need to get as much information as possible before returning to Storybrooke. 

She grabbed Killian some crew neck t-shirts, a few long-sleeved button downs, a pack of socks, and a belt before going to look for shoes. 

Why did she have to be the Savior? Her thoughts grew bitter. Why didn’t her job as the Savior end with the Curse breaking? Why was she responsible for villains? There were other heroes out there.

There was a nice pair of dockers that Killian would like. Grabbing the boots, she shook herself mentally. 

God, she sounded so fucking selfish. People needed her help; they were in danger. Emma wondered if she’d ever accept that she was indeed the Savior and likely always would be. She made her way to check out, lost in her own world, freezing as she found herself in the baby aisle. 

Sorrow filled her being at the thought of her baby, her little Liam. She missed out on the first eight months of his life after she swore she’d never miss out on a thing. How big was he? Was he crawling yet? Did he still use magic? Had his powers grown? What was he like? 

Keeping her tears at bay, Emma hurried to check out before a full on breakdown happened. When she arrived at the bug, throwing the bag of clothes into the passenger seat, Emma covered her mouth with her hands as sobs escaped her. 

How could she be the Savior? People were dying for her. She couldn’t stop a Curse from taking her family away from her. She couldn’t protect her sons. If she couldn’t do any of that, if she couldn’t keep everyone together and safe, how was she ever going to defeat the Wicked Witch? She wasn’t a Savior; she was a failure. She broke a Curse, but Regina defeated Cora and saved Henry, Neverland beat Greg and Tamara, Rumplestiltskin defeated Pan. What good was she? Storybrooke didn’t need her. They needed someone who could actually defeat a villain. Someone who wouldn’t fail them. 

Angrily wiping away her tears, Emma started up her car. 

She wasn’t a Savior. Storybrooke was screwed. 

Returning to her apartment building, Emma parked and grabbed her purchases. Hopefully Killian was still asleep so she didn’t have to explain her tears to him. Then she stepped out of the elevator, she froze seeing Walsh standing in front of her apartment talking to Killian, who stood shirtless in the doorway looking irritated. 

Emma glared at Walsh’s profile as she approached.

Killian saw her first, clocking her annoyance and wariness. His brow furrowed seeing that she’d been crying. “Hello, love.” He smiled gently, giving her a kiss on the cheek as he reached out to take the Target bag from her, before placing it inside the apartment on the floor next to the door. 

“Hey.” Emma relaxed, grinning back. She turned to Walsh. “Can I help you?” Okay, so she didn’t really hide the annoyance in her tone. 

“I was just…” Walsh started, but Killian cut him off.

“Walsh here was concerned for your wellbeing.” Killian said, smirking though there was a dangerous glint in his eyes. “He heard our rather enthusiastic reunion and thought you might be in need of saving.”

Emma rolled her eyes. The only one in need of saving was Walsh from the punch she wanted to throw. “Clearly I don’t. Did Walsh also mention he’s been stalking me and Henry?”

The dangerous glint in Killian’s eyes turned murderous. “No, he left that part out. He was much rather keen to introduce himself as your boyfriend.” Killian, of course, hadn’t believed him, and he definitely wanted to sink his hook into the man’s throat for stalking his wife-to-be and son. 

“In his dreams.” Emma growled. “Walsh is well aware of the fact that your my fiancé and that your were deployed, but he thought I conveniently made you up.” She moved to Killian’s side in the doorway, arm going around his waist. “As you can see, Killian’s a real person. Now, he’s been away for eight months and I really want to keep showing him how much I missed him.” Emma turned to head into the apartment, not seeing Walsh’s eyes flash red before he transformed into a flying monkey. 

Killian reacted quickly, pulling Emma out of the way of the monkey’s trajectory. 

Pressed up against the wall of her entryway with Killian’s body against hers, it took Emma a second to process the fact that her weird, creepy, psycho neighbor just turned into a flying fucking monkey. “What the fuck?” 

Killian kicked the door closed and maneuvered Emma behind him. “Well, looks like the Wicked Witch sends her regards.” 

The monkey perched on the kitchen counter glaring at the pair. It shrieked loud and angry before launching towards them, knocking the memory potion off of the counter, the blue vial hitting the tile floors, shattering everywhere. 

Emma and Killian ducked, scrambling away as the monkey slammed into the door. 

Killian pushed Emma ahead of him to keep his body between her and the monkey. 

The monkey shrieked as it knocked into Killian from behind, sending the pirate to the ground. It jumped on top of him and Killian quickly grabbed the monkey’s wrists with his hand and hook to keep it from clawing at him. 

“No!” Emma’s fear for Killian consumed her and without thinking about it, her magic reached out and blasted the monkey to ash. 

Killian closed his eyes as monkey dust covered him. He sat up brushing himself off. “I’m going to need another shower after that.” 

Emma stared at her hands. “I used magic.” 

“Aye.” Killian walked over to her and helped her stand up. “Are you all right, love?” 

“How did I use magic?” Emma asked. “There’s no magic here.” 

“Actually, there’s a little magic here.” Killian said. “You’re just the only one powerful enough to tap into it.” His hand gently grasped her chin, making her look at him. “Are you hurt, my love?” 

“No, I’m fine.” Emma said. “Are you okay?” 

“Not a scratch.” He smiled. “Thanks for saving me, Savior.” His lips landed on her before Emma could respond. A possessive need overcame him as he enthusiastically deepened the kiss.

Emma groaned into him pressing her body against his before remembering he was covered in Walsh. Pulling back, Emma grimaced. “Hold on there, Tiger. I’m not getting naked with you until your clean again.” Just the thought of anything of Walsh touching her grossed her out.

Killian chuckled. “As my lady commands.” He cupped her face gently. “Are you sure you’re all right? You were crying before you came home.”

Emma sighed, leaning into him. “I’m fine. We’ll talk about it after your shower.” She promised. “Now go. The sooner your clean the sooner we can have some fun.” 

When Killian left her alone, Emma took out the broom and began cleaning up the rest of Walsh and the shattered pieces of the memory potion. Without the potion, what were they going to do about Henry? He needed his memories too. She wasn’t going to lie to him; after everything that happened, with Henry already experiencing dreams, he deserved to know everything. More than that, Emma wanted Henry to know about Killian, about their bond, how much he loved his father. She wanted Henry to remember his brother and how excited he was to be a big brother. They could tell him everything tomorrow when she brought him home, of course, but it wasn’t the same as having his memories back. If they were going to face magic and witched, Henry needed his memories to prepare and to protect himself. Maybe Regina could make another potion and they wouldn’t have to worry about it for too long. 

She finished her cleaning and her stomach roared at her. They hadn’t eaten their pizza and it was nearing dinner time, so Emma pulled it out of the fridge and tossed it in the oven to warm it up. Her mind went back to Killian’s words earlier. 

Thanks for saving me, Savior.

He was sincere when he said it, but of course Killian always believed in her. When no one else was in her corner, Killian defended her and lifted her up constantly. Of course, he’d have faith that she could be the Savior. But defeating one flying monkey didn’t make her a Savior. It was luck that her magic came to her aid. What if it hadn’t? Would Killian be hurt or worse? She could’ve lost him. 

The pizza tasted like cardboard as her stomach churned with anxiety. How could she save everyone? 

Strong arms came around her, pulling her back into his chest. “You’re thinking loud enough to wake the dead.” 

Emma sighed, a small smile coming to her face. She turned in his arms, realizing he only wore a towel, her arms locking around his neck. “I’m just brooding.”

“I thought that was my trademark?” Killian teased.

“Ah, but see, you’re over three hundred years old, so brooding is in the public domain now.” Emma smirked. 

“Ha, ha.” Killian rolled his eyes good-naturedly, before turning serious. “What were you thinking about, Emma?”

Her hands drifted down his neck muscles, fingers caressing his skin. It was easier to stare at his chest and play with his chest hair than look at him as she admitted to her shortcomings. “I just…I’m not a Savior. Not really.” 

“What do you mean?” His hand and stump went to her hips, pulling her close. 

“I just broke a curse.” Emma shrugged. “Regina never payed for it. Then Cora comes along and almost kills our son, and Regina stops her. I couldn’t even stop a sociopathic teenager. Rumplestiltskin killed him. A Savior is supposed to be able to save people, and I didn’t do that. How can I save them from the Wicked Witch?”

“Oh, Emma.” Killian knew the burden of being Savior ate away at her and he hated how she doubted herself. “You did save people. You brought back their happy endings. You saved Henry in Neverland. You saved me from myself. Hell, love, you save me every day you allow me to be worthy of your love.” 

She couldn’t help a small smile from forming. He always was her biggest cheerleader. “You have so much faith in me, Killian, but I just don’t feel like a Savior.”

“Who says you have to?” He cupped her chin, making her look at him. “You never asked to be the Savior. It’s not like you trained your whole life to be this beacon of good. You are naturally an amazing, kindhearted person who wants to help people. Don’t let putting a title on it psych you out, and please never think you have to bear this burden alone.” 

Emma carded her fingers through his thick, wiry chest hair. “How do you do that?” She smiled. “You always know just what to say.”

“I only speak the truth.” Killian said. “Most of it just comes from my heart.” 

She leaned up to soundly kiss him. How did she get so lucky to have this wonderful man as her True Love? As she kissed him, her fingers danced down his skin to the towel around his waist, loosening it so that it fell to the floor. 

“Swan.” Killian grinned against her lips. “What are you doing?” 

“I told you we’d have fun after your shower.” Her voice was coy. She kissed along his neck, pushing him back towards the counter for support. 

Killian leaned against the counter as Emma kissed down his chest, sinking to her knees in front of him. His cock twitched as she looked up at him with hooded eyes and a coquettish smirk. 

Her hand curled around him, pumping along his length to help him along. 

He groaned, closing his eyes, desire shooting through him, his blood swimming southward. Opening his eyes, Killian watched intensely as she worked him up. 

“What would you like me to do, Captain?” Emma purred as she continued her ministrations.

He shivered pleasurably at his rank falling from her lips. Her full, pink, wet lips. “I want your mouth on me.” His voice was husky and deep as he gave the order. 

“Do you promise to fuck my mouth if I do?” She teased, a hunger for him gleaming in her eyes. “I’m so very hungry after all.”

Her words went straight to his already straining cock. “Yes. I won’t hold back.”

“Good.” Emma’s mouth quickly went to work taking him all in. 

His head pitched back as she deep throated him. “Fuck.” 

Emma pressed her tongue to the underside of his cock as she pulled back slowly. She suckled the tip, earning a throaty whine for her efforts, before she took him all in again. Emma hummed around him, causing his hips to buck into her. 

Remembering his promise, Killian moved his hips, setting a leisurely pace as she sucked him off. His fingers tangled in her hair, holding her head to him. 

Her thighs rubbed together as she grew wet with desire. Emma took him all the way in again, humming around him before hollowing out her cheeks, slowly dragging her teeth the length of him, breathing through her nose as she focused on her task. 

His grip on her hair tightened as Emma scraped her teeth against his sensitive, throbbing cock. “Emma.” He choked out her name. His gut tightened with need as he picked up the pace, fucking into her hot mouth. 

Emma glanced up to see her fiancé wreaked by her touch, pleased with herself, she swirled her tongue around him, digging her nails into his thighs.

He groaned as her nails marked his skin, a silent tell to increase his pace. 

As he let go, undulating into her at a rapid pace, Emma clutched at his thighs with one hand, securing her position, while her other hand moved to his balls, twisting them ever so slightly. 

A hoarse shout left him as he fucked unrelentingly into her mouth, his release coming upon him faster than he could warn her.  

Once she swallowed all he had to give, her mouth freed him with an obscene pop.

Killian dragged her up by her hair, kissing her fiercely as he backed her into the island. He pulled her shirt up, braking the kiss, tossing it wherever before diving back in for more. His hand impatiently unbuttoned her jeans and he shoved them and her panties down just as quickly before lifting her onto the counter. 

Her bra joined her shirt somewhere, but Emma was preoccupied with pulling Killian closer. “Was my Captain pleased with my services?” She giggled. 

“You’ll be the death of me.” He grumbled amused. His mouth moved along her neck. His hand tweak a nipple hard eliciting a moan from Emma’s lips. 

“More.” Emma wrapped her legs around him, her hot cunt pressing against his abdomen. 

“Now, now.” Killian tisked. “You had your fun, so now it’s my turn.” He pulled her nipple again.

Emma whimpered. 

Killian nipped at her ear. “Be a good girl and let me take care of you.” He kneaded her breast as his stump traveled down her body to her nub. 

Her head tilted back as Killian pressed on her little bundle of nerves. “Killian.” 

His stump moved lower between her slick folds before entering her. 

Emma groaned rapturously at the intrusion. Her toes curled and she keened as he thrusted sedately in and out of her. 

Killian ducked his head down, capturing one of her breasts in his mouth, gratified to see purpling areas on her skin from where he marked her earlier. 

Between his hand, mouth, and stump, Emma lost her self in the pleasurable sensations inflicted on her trembling body. Her climax uncoiled gradually, her body arching towards him, his name nothing more than a pant from her lips. 

When her soul returned to her body, Emma’s stomach growled. 

Killian laughed into her shoulder. “Me thinks we need to eat the damn pizza already.”

“Too tired for another go round, old man?” Emma breathlessly taunted. 

“After we eat, I’ll show you why the old man jokes fall flat.” He huffed with a smile. 

Emma shakily slid off the counter, Killian’s arms around her to steady her footing. 

The couple cleaned themselves up in the bathroom, though neither bothered to dress since they were alone in the apartment, before returning to the kitchen and finally eating the pizza. Still starved, they also finished off Emma’s leftover Chinese from the night before. 

Emma stretched and yawned once they were done. It certainly had been a day with Killian’s arrival and the emotions and physical activities they both endured. God, had he only appeared at her door this morning? 

“Tired, Swan?” Killian asked, hugging her to him. 

“More than I thought I would be.” Emma stifled another yawn, resting her head against his chest as he held her. They really should move to the bedroom before she fell asleep against him. 

Killian chewed the inside of his lip. “There’s something else I need to tell you.” 

“It can’t wait until the morning?” Emma mumbled against him, her eyes closed. 

He hesitated, knowing that she needed to know about her younger sibling, who’d be born soon. It wasn’t news she’d take well and she’d need time to process it. However, she was tired and if he told her now, she’d likely not sleep very well. “Aye, it can. Come on, love, let’s get you to bed.”

They stumbled into her bedroom, Emma plopping face first into her pillow. 

Killian chuckled. “You’ll need to get under the sheets, princess.” 

Emma groaned, rolling back off of the bed to pull the sheets back. 

As Killian stepped next to the bed, he noticed a book on the nightstand. It was orange-brown with red and yellow flowers painted on it. “Is that the journal Belle gave you?” 

She froze, eyes darting to the book. Everything she felt and thought in the last eight months was written in those pages. Sitting on the bed, Emma nodded. “It is.” She whispered, not trusting her voice. So much pain fell into the words she wrote. Swallowing, Emma reached a hand out, indicating for Killian to hand it to her.

He did so, sitting next to her, concerned about her reaction. 

Her fingers brushed the cover. “I…I was struggling when we came to New York.” Tears formed in her eyes. “I know Regina tried to give us happy memories and I’m not sure what happened, but there were some things we remembered that weren’t happy.” She turned to Killian. “I remembered giving birth, but Liam was stillborn in my memories.”

“Emma.” Killian put his arm around her. He couldn’t imagine going through that. Leaving Emma and Henry was one of the most painful and difficult experiences in his life, but at least he knew they were alive. It seemed Emma couldn’t let go of Liam entirely and her mind must’ve excused Liam’s absence in the worst possible way. “I’m so sorry, love.”

“It’s okay now.” Emma gave a watery smile. “I know he’s alive and I’ll see him soon.” She looked back at the journal, making a decision. “There’s some things I don’t think I could relive, but I want you to know everything.” Emma passed the journal to him. “I want you to read it.”

“Are you sure?” Killian reverently took the journal from her. 

“You already know everything about my life.” Emma leaned her head on his shoulder. “This is just one more chapter.” 

Killian kissed the top of her head. “Okay. Thank you, love.” He gently set the journal aside for now, and laid down with Emma in his arms. “What are we telling Henry tomorrow?”

“The truth.” Emma said. “We don’t have the memory potion, but I’m not lying to him. He’s already having dreams of Storybrooke, so he’d figure it out as soon as we returned to town.” Her arms wound tightly around him. “We did promise him not to lie to him after the ordeal with Neal. Besides, he may not remember you, but I want him to know your his dad and that he has a brother.”

Killian held her firmly to him. “We did. Do you think he’ll like me?” 

Emma scoffed. “Killian, Henry’s always loved you. His head may not remember you, but his heart will. I promise.” She closed her eyes as she snuggled further into him. “He loves you, and when we get to Storybrooke, we’ll make sure he remembers everything.” 

“Too right.” Killian said softly. He brushed his hand through Emma’s hair, comforting himself as much as her. Before long, her breathing evened out, letting him know she fell asleep. Killian stared at the ceiling, his thoughts abuzz with what tomorrow would bring. Sleep struggled to find him, but he tried to remain still as to not wake Emma. Unfortunately, he grew restless after a couple of hours attempting to sleep. 

Carefully, he delicately rolled Emma off of him, ensuring she was comfortable and tucked in before he snuck out of bed, getting dressed in a pair of jeans and a white t-shirt, taking her journal with him to the living room. 

He settled onto the couch and began reading. His heart broke reading over her painful memories, the confusion of her memories infecting her dreams, the loss of her baby, knowing she was missing something, grief overcoming her. 

Killian read for hours, lost in her words, knowing now where Henry received his writing talent, invested in knowing all his beautiful, incredible Swan went through to better understand her. His love for her continued to grow, seeing the strength in her words, the determination to rebuild her life, the depth of her love for Henry and how she wanted to protect him from grief and their strange dreams. 

He wasn’t quite finished when the sun came up and Emma padded into the room wearing his pirate shirt. 

“Have you been up all night?” She yawned, joining him on the couch. 

“I couldn’t sleep, so I decided to do some reading.” Killian made note of where he was in the journal before closing it and setting it onto the table. He turned to Emma, pulling her into his arms and kissing her soundly. 

The intensity of his kiss surprised her, but Emma eagerly returned his fervor. Gasping for air minutes later, Emma reluctantly broke their embrace. “What was that for?” She breathed. 

“I love you.” Killian said, pressing his forehead to hers. “You are the strongest, bravest, most incredible woman I’ve ever met.” He brushed her wild, untamed curls out of her eyes. “Even though the memories of your loss weren’t real, that didn’t make them less real to you. You survived so much and continued to suffer, and I’m so proud of your ability to keep going on with life without any bitterness tainting your heart.”

A lump formed in her throat as his love for her overwhelmed her. After such a shitty childhood and a lackluster young adulthood, fate bringing this man into her life more than made up for the hand she was dealt. “I don’t know about that.” She deflected, looking down at her hands. “I just pushed through everything for Henry.”

“You never give yourself enough credit, Emma.” Killian said, gently taking her hand in his. “You are so much more than you believe yourself to be. I wish you could see what I see.” 

“I don’t need to.” Emma smiled. “I have you. You’re my biggest cheerleader next to Henry. Between the pair of you, I sometimes get the idea.” She leaned back, wiping away a few stray tears. “Speaking of Henry, I better get dressed. I told him I’d pick him up for breakfast. There’s an artisanal donut shop we’ve been eyeing for a special occasion, so I’ll pick up a box.”

Killian let Emma retreat for now, but he’d never stop reminding her how amazing she was, especially in her darkest moments. He winced as he remembered he still needed to tell her about Snow’s pregnancy. He needed to do so before she left, to give her time to process it, before they talked to Henry so she’d be prepared. 

Emma returned about fifteen minutes later in jeans, a pink plaid shirt, and her boots. “Okay, I’m off.” She grabbed her purse and keys from the front table. 

Killian hurried over to her. “Emma, wait, there’s something you need to know.”

She paused, a curious look in her eyes. “Is this the thing that you wanted to tell me last night?”

“Aye.” Killian grimaced. “I didn’t finish dropping bombs yesterday.” 

“Well, it can’t be bigger than your brother being back and Marco’s passing.” Emma sighed. She took a breath and braced herself. “Okay, lay it on me.”

“Snow’s pregnant.” There. Bandaid, ripped off. “About seven months along.”

Her stomach dropped to the floor. Swallowing, Emma whispered. “My parents are having a baby?” Suddenly Emma found herself back in the Echo Caves, her mother’s words ringing in her ears. I resent Emma. I need a fresh start. I want another child that I can raise. Emma shook herself. “I should go get Henry.”

Emma ran before he could stop her. 

Her feet hurriedly carried her to her car. She slammed the door once she was inside, her breathing ragged and panicked. 

Her parents were having another kid. Pressing her hands to her eyes, Emma tried to calm herself. Don’t be selfish. You knew this was going to happen. 

In the hospital after Liam was born, Snow made amends with her. They buried the hatchet on the issue. Or, well, Emma thought she buried it. Hell, she told Snow that she had every right to try for another kid. 

“Come on, Emma.” She whispered to herself. “You’re not an orphan anymore. They won’t replace you just because of the new baby.” But the Swans did that. She didn’t often think about her first set of parents, first set she remembered anyway, despite carrying their surname with her. Killian once asked her why she never changed it after learning what the Swans did to her and Emma said it was because she wanted to prove her worth in spite of them. She kept the name and made it her own. 

Even so, in this moment, she felt like she was three years old again, watching their green, wood paneled Ford Pinto driving away, leaving her and a small suitcase with a stranger, her case worker she later learned. 

“Emma, sweetie, we’re going on a trip.” Mommy smiled at her when she picked her up in her arms. Daycare was over and Emma wanted to share her picture. 

“Look, Mommy.” Emma waved a drawing of a house with two adults, a little girl, and a kitty cat. “I drew you and Daddy and Nugget.”

Mommy’s stopped smiling as she took the picture away. “That’s nice, Emma. Come on, Daddy is waiting in the car.”

“I don’t want to feel like this.” She berated herself through tears she couldn’t stop, hitting the steering wheel angrily. “Mom and Dad aren’t the Swans.” They aren’t, they aren’t, they aren’t. “They aren’t replacing me.” She sniffled. “I’m good enough.” Not good enough. They don’t love you. They want their baby, not someone who’s broken. 

Emma leaned back, taking a deep breath. “Stop it. Stop it. You are not an orphan.” She reaffirmed. “Mom and Dad love you. This baby is not a replacement.” Her words felt hollow and her chest constricted. 

Her cell phone rang. It was Henry. Clearing her throat, Emma answered. “Hey, kid, I’m on my way.” Though she’d definitely need to make a stop somewhere to wash her face so Henry wouldn’t see that she was upset. “I’m fine, yeah, everything’s okay. No, I promise. I’m driving, so let me let you go. I’ll see you soon.” She wasn’t lying to lie, but Henry didn’t need to be burdened with her baggage, especially over the phone. No, she’d talk to Killian about how she was feeling later. 

She just needed some time to deal with the news first. 

Starting her car, Emma first drove to Starbucks for their bathroom, buying herself a bottle of water, planning to get coffee at the donut shop after seeing Henry. She gulped her water down on the way to Avery’s, hoping it would ease her throat and she’d sound happier when she picked him up. 

Henry came running out as soon as she parked in front of the apartment building, obviously waiting for her with Avery’s mom. Emma waved and smiled at Hannah as Henry jumped into the car. 

“Okay, what’s wrong?” Henry asked, concern all over his face. 

“Nothing’s wrong.” Emma said. “Something did happen yesterday, but a good something. I promise.”

“What happened?” Henry asked, now confused. He knew his mother was upset earlier when he called. She sounded like she’d been crying.

“Donuts and hot chocolate first.” Emma said. “I think it’s time for us to try Bean There, Donut That.” 

Henry tilted his head. “Is this a special occasion?” 

Emma chuckled. “You could say that.” 

They arrived at the coffee shop ten minutes later. Henry excitedly chose one of eight wild flavors, excited to try different things, and Emma was glad to limit it to a box of six, because the donuts were huge and more than enough for the three of them. Plus, she really wasn’t sure how Henry would feel about some of the flavors. She added a hot chocolate with cinnamon for Henry, a white chocolate mocha for herself, and a caramel latte for Killian. 

Henry eyed the third drink suspiciously. 

They grabbed their purchases and headed back to the car.

“So who’s the third drink for?” Henry wasted no time in interrogating her. 

He definitely inherited my tact. Emma sighed. “Okay, so um, you know those strange dreams we’ve been having?” She pulled out of the parking spot into the busy road. 

“Yeah.” Henry said. “Are we going to Maine to find answers?” 

“We are.” Emma said. “There’s more though. So, um,” She breathed deep. This was the hard part. “Henry, you asked if it was magic that did this to us. Well, turns out it was. We lost our memories because of a curse.”

“I knew it!” Henry exclaimed triumphantly. “There was a curse in my dreams, and magic. You had magic!”

“I have magic.” Emma corrected. “Henry, when we get home, I’ll go into more details, but there is someone waiting for us. He’s my fiancé, your step-dad, though you call him Dad and everyone we know treats you as his son and vice versa.”

“I have a dad?” Henry asked. “Wait, I have a brother too, don’t I? The baby you lost? He was alive in my dreams.” 

“Yes, Henry.” Emma smiled, happy tears building in her eyes. “Liam is waiting for us in Maine.”

“Why didn’t he come with Dad?” Henry asked. “What’s Dad like? Is he cool?”

“He was safer with your uncle.” Emma said, though now knowing it was Blackbeard and not August, she wasn’t too sure about that. She knew Killian trusted Blackbeard and would trust Killian’s judgement, but she’d still get to know the man herself when they returned home. “You think your dad is the coolest person. He taught you how to sail his pirate ship and his sail boat. He taught you how to fish and use a sword. You love him so much.” 

“Dad’s a pirate!” Henry shouted with enthusiasm. “Are you serious? That’s so freaking cool!”

“Your dad’s going to be relieved you think so.” Emma laughed. 

They finally made it to their apartment building and Henry practically sprinted out of the car with the box of donuts. Emma hoped he didn’t drop the box. They carried their breakfast to the elevator and rode up in what must’ve been the longest ride of Henry’s life since the kid couldn’t stop jumping up and down with excitement. 

The elevator doors barely opened wide enough before Henry slipped through, darting down the hallway. Emma hurried after him. 

Henry paused before the door to their apartment, suddenly anxious. “Does he like me?” 

“Henry, Killian loves you so, so much.” Emma said. “He practically raised you in Storybrooke. You are his son, okay?”

Henry swallowed, but nodded and put on a brave face. 

Emma opened the door and they entered to find Killian nervously pacing the kitchen. 

Killian stopped suddenly, taking in the sight of Henry, now all of twelve, and about three inches taller since Killian last saw him.

Nervously, Henry approached, setting the box of donuts on the counter, never taking his eyes off of Killian. “Hi, I’m Henry.”

“I know.” Killian said softly, his eyes shining. “I’m…”

“My dad.” Henry said. “I know. I mean, not my biological dad, but a better dad.” He stumbled over his words not sure how to act around this stranger, though he knew the man from his dreams and his heart felt nothing but affection and love for the man in front of him. 

“You seem to think so.” Killian chuckled, his voice thick with emotion.

An overwhelming urge to hug Killian overcame him, so Henry went with it, throwing his arms around the man’s middle. 

Killian returned the hug instinctively, cupping the back of Henry’s head. “I missed you so much, Henry.” 

“I think I missed you too.” Henry mumbled. The two stayed like that for a moment before Henry pulled away. “We brought donuts.” He said shyly. “I didn’t know we were getting them for three, so I don’t know if you’ll like them.”

“That’s okay.” Killian reassured. He turned to Emma. “Does he know everything?”

“Not yet.” Emma told him. She handed Killian his coffee. “Let’s sit down, eat and talk.” 

They gathered around the table with the donuts and their drinks. Emma took a breath and started from the beginning with her twenty-eighth birthday, a wish, and a knock on her door. 

It took a few hours to explain their history, especially as Henry had questions, but eventually they reached Pan’s curse and Killian briefly touched on some of the happenings in the Enchanted Forest. 

Henry took it all in, pushing away the last bites of his creme brûlée donut. “So, the Wicked Witch is real too, and you have to stop her?”

“Seems that way, kid.” Emma said. “But the good thing is that we get to go home. We’ll get your memories back, you’ll see your brother, grandparents, and aunts and uncles again. You’ll have your friends back too.” 

That brought a small smile to Henry’s face, though it was clear he was still processing everything. It was a lot for anyone to digest let alone a twelve year old. “Are we leaving then?”

“Go pack a bag.” Emma said. “As much as you can anyway. We’ll have to leave the big stuff for later.” 

Henry nodded and left his parents alone, lost in his own thoughts. 

Emma watched him with worry. “Do you think he’s all right?” 

“He’s always taken things in stride.” Killian said. “Even so, he’s learned that what he thought was his life was a lie, that magic is real, and that his mother’s about to head into very real danger.”

“Aren’t we all?” Emma sighed. “I hope I can live up to everyone's idea of me.”

Killian grasped her hand in his. “You already have, love.” 

“Cheerleader.” She teased. 

“Always.” Killian said. “Are you okay?” They’d yet to discuss her future sibling. 

Knowing what he meant, Emma nodded. “I will be. I still have old wounds to work through.”

“I’m always a willing ear.” He reminded her, bringing her hand to his lips to kiss her knuckles. “Lean on me when you need, yeah?”

“I will.” Emma said. “Now, I need to go pack. The sooner we leave, the sooner we get to be home.” 

As she headed to her room, Emma squared her shoulders. 

It was time to don her armor and take up her mantle. 

The Savior was going home. 

[taleswritten]

Under the cut is a list of muses I have for those who can’t open the google doc. Note: the google doc has detailed information about them so if you can, please open it up.

Bold is primary, italic is secondary, regular is by request.

TVD/TO/LEGACIES:

ELENA GILBERT

KATHERINE PEIRCE

DAMON SALVATORE

ALARIC SALTZMAN

LIZZIE SALTZMAN

josie saltzman

caroline forbes

bonnie bennett

Klaus Mikaelson

FINAL FANTASY:

CLOUD STRIFE (ff7r)

aeirth (ff7 remake)

tifa (ff7 remake)

Jill Warrick (ff16)

Clive Rosfield (ff16)

snow villiers

THIRTEEN REASON’S WHY:

Justin Foley

Bryce Walker

Jessica Davis

Clay Jenson

911/911 LONE STAR:

ATHENA GRANT

MADDIE BUCKLEY

OWEN STRAND

TK STRAND

GRACE RYDER

AHS:

Brooke Thompson

Montanna Duke

donovan

BBC SHERLOCK:

SHERLOCK HOLMES

BRIDGERTON:

Simon Bassett

Daphne Bridgerton

kate sharma/bridgerton

Penelope Featherington

BTVS/ATS

Buffy Summers

CORDELIA CHASE

CAOS:

SABRINA SPELLMAN

ONE CHICAGO:

natalie manning

JAY HALSTEAD

ADAM RUZEK

KIM BURGESS

Hank Voight

CRIMINAL MINDS:

Spencer Reid

Emily Prentiss

DAREDEVIL:

MATT MURDOCK

DEXTER:

DEXTER MORGAN

DCTV:

SARA LANCE

JOHN CONSTANTINE

SPOONER

EUPHORIA:

JULES VAUGHN

RUE BENNETT

FROM DUSK TIL DAWN:

Seth Gecko

Kate Fuller

GOOD GIRLS:

BETH BOLAND

Greys’ Anatomy:

meredith grey

JO WILSON

CARINA DELUCA

Ameila Shepard

GAME OF THRONES:

DANY

Jon Snow

Sansa Stark

NCB HANNIBAL:

WILL GRAHAM

HAUNTING OF BLY MANNER:

DANI CLAYTON

PETER QUINT

HEMLOCK GROVE

PETER RUMANCEK

HTGAWM:

CONNOR WALSH

LAW AND ORDER SVU:

OLIVIA BENSON

Elliot Stabler

kathleen stabler

alex cabot

casey novak

LOST GIRL:

BO DENNIS

LUCIFER:

CHLOE DECKER

lucifer morningstar

mazikeen

MINDHUNTER:

Holden Ford

POSE:

ANGEL EVANGALISTA

BLANCA EVANGALISTA

PRODIGAL SON:

MALCOLM BRIGHT

RIVERDALE:

ARCHIE ANDREWS

BETTY COOPER

TONI TOPAZ

CHERYL BLOSSOM

FP Jones

JUGHEAD JONES

ROSWELL NEW MEXICO:

MAX EVANS

LIZ ORTECHO

STRANGER THINGS:

NANCY WHEELER

BILLY HARGROVE (BILLY’S TATTOOS POST SEASON THREE HERE )

STATION 19:

Vic Hughes

SUPERNATURAL:

Dean Winchester

THE MAGICIANS:

ELIOT WAUGH

MARGO HANSON

THE WITCHER (GAME, TV SHOW, AND BOOK MIXED MEDIA):

GERALT (please note, geralt has cat-eyes. not the eyes we see in the show. if you need a visual, think game geralt)

CIRI

Yennefer (only willing to write her with @writtenmisfits at this current time)

TRUE BLOOD:

SOOKIE STACKHOUSE

TARA THORTON

jessica hamby

JASON STACKHOUSE

SAM MERLOTTE

WYNONNA EARP:

WYNONNA EARP

WAVERLY EARP

NICOLE HAUGHT

THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY:

KLAUS HARGREEVES

ALLISON HARGREEVES

VAN HELSING:

Vanessa Van Helsing

YOU:

BECK

JOE GOLDBERG

LOVE QUINN

THEO

FORTY QUINN

DCU:

WONDER WOMAN/DIANA PRINCE

HARLEY QUINN (au verse 1 here)

DESCENDANTS:

HARRY HOOK

MAL BERTHA

EVIE GRIMHILDE

MCU:

DEADPOOL/WADE WILSON

EDDIE BROCK/VENOM

STEVE ROGERS/CAPTAIN AMERICA

WANDA MAXIMOFF

BUCKY BARNES

NATASHA ROMANOFF

YELENA BELOVA

THOR

LOKI

MICHAEL MORBIUS

Peter Parker (the amazing spiderman)

POTC:

CAPTAIN JACK SPARROW

ASSASSIN’S CREED SERIES:

JACOB FRYE

EVIE FRYE

EIVOR

KASSANDRA

DETRIOT BECOME HUMAN:

Connor

DRAGON AGE:

MORRIGAN

FENRIS

GARRETT HAWKE

MARIAN HAWKE

LUCANIS

TAASH

CYBERPUNK:

V (both male and v, both streetkid and corpo)

JOHNNY SILVERHAND

JUDY ALVAREZ

LAST OF US:

joel miller

ELLIE

LEGEND OF ZELDA:

LINK

RESIDENT EVIL:

ADA WONG

LEON KENNEDY (previously traumamade)

ETHAN WINTERS

LADY DIMITRESCU

Claire Redfield

dimitrescu daughters

TOMB RAIDER:

LARA CROFT

UNCHARTED:

NATHAN DRAKE

BLEACH:

ichigo kurosaki

GRIMMJOW JAEGERJAQUEZ

VAMPYR:

JOHNATHAN REID

BLACK BUTLER:

SEBASTIAN MICHAELIS

BLUE EXORCIST

RIN OKAMARU

HELLSING:

SERAS VICTORIA

INTEGRA HELLSING

NARUTO:

NARUTO UZUMAKI

TSUNADE

SEVEN DEADLY SINS:

BAN

VAMPIRE KNIGHT:

yuuki cross/kuran

ZERO KIYRUU

OUAT:

Regina Mills

Emma Swan

SOA:

JAX TELLER

VENUS

GEMMA TELLER

WHITE COLLAR:

Neal Caffrey

FAR CRY:

FAITH SEED

NEW AMSTERDAM:

MAX GOODWIN

CRUELLA:

CRUELLA DE VILLE

MASS EFFECT:

JOHN SHEPARD

JANE SHEPARD

KAIDAN

SAMARA

KASUMI

MIRANDA

DOCTOR WHO:

rose tyler

GOSSIP GIRL REBOOT:

ZOYA LOTT

MAX WOLFE

DOOM PATROL:

JANE

LARRY TRAINOR

A WAY OUT:

LEO CARUSO

CASTLE:

RICHARD CASTLE

BITTEN:

ELENA MICHAELS

TEEN WOLF:

CHRIS ARGENT

ALLISON ARGENT

SCOTT MCCALL

LYDIA MARTIN

STILES STILINSKI

THE FLASH:

BARRY ALLEN

NORA WEST ALLEN

BART WEST ALLEN

IRIS WEST

CAITLYN SNOW

KILLER FROST

SUCKERPUNCH

BABY DOLL

SHADOW HUNTERS

ISABELLE

ALEC

HOUSE OF ASHES

JASON

THE MEDIUM

MARIANNE

THE LAST KINGDOM

UHTRED RAGNARSON

Iseult

MOON KNIGHT

STEVEN GRANT/MARC

FIRST KILL

Calliope Burns

Juliette Fairmont.

THE QUARRY

Kaityln Ka

Dylan Lenivy

Laura Kearny

THE SANDMAN

Dream/Morpheus

INTEVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE

Louis De Pointe

Claudia

HORIZON SERIES

Aloy

THE VAMPIRE ACADEMY (TV SERIES)

Rose Hathaway

NETFLIX’S WEDNESDAY

Wednesday Addams

Morticia Addams

Enid Sincliar

DAYS GONE

Deacon St. John

QUEEN CHARLOTTE - A BRIDGERTON STORY

Queen Charlotte

MAYFAIR WITCHES

Rowan Fielding

Critical Role (currently caught up to episode 97 and both seasons of the animated show)

Vax

Vex

Keylith

THE EVIL WITHIN

Sebastian 

Baldur's Gate 3:

Astarion

Karlach

Orin

Hazbin Hotel:

Angel Dust

Charlie Morningstar

Niffty

Alastor

Outlander:

Claire Fraser

A COURT OF THORNS AND ROSES SERIES:

Feyre (started and currently reading book 3)

HELLUVA BOSS:

Stolas

Loona

Fizz

Moxxie

Millie

[savingthrcw]

About Emma Swan

[testing, low activity because I'm nearly all written-out] fc: Jennifer Morrison Open to: Killian Jones, David Nolan and Mary Margaret.

Canon divergences:

The damage done by the system, by her terrible life before getting to Storybrooke and the traumas she lived there as well have changed her personality from the one in the show to a less socially adapted, more emotion-driven one (as in she may snap at her parents too, at first, because overwhelmed, and she will call people out regardless of who they are, she clearly has no healthy routine/eating habits/sleeping habits).

It was very implied if not shown that she was severely abused in the system by foster parents who took in children just to get the money that comes from it, she chose to be homeless as a pre-teen/in her early teens and was only convinced by August to walk back into the system, she was back to homeless by age 16. Her life in general is a disaster in too many ways to count, constant abandonment and betrayals, there is not ONE relationship in her life, whether friendly or romantic, in which she's not backstabbed or left behind/abandoned for the first 28 years of her life and I believe it's only due to the show magic that she's not beyond help at this point, it's just not realistic otherwise, especially adding the traumas after she comes to Storybrooke, and that also means that her need to run away from commitment doesn't leave as quickly as it did in canon BUT nor does her desperate need to be close to her family, to have that love she always wanted, because Emma blatantly never fully gave up on it. Keep in mind that even villains in OUAT have known love, have been loved by at least one parent or sibling or romantic partner, Emma had none of that (that she knew of).

Her instincts drive her to be the romantic unrealistic fairy tale princess she was meant to be, and that is also shown when she basically acts like a cute fairy tale princess even while homeless, simply because she found Neal and she thinks they'll be family: princess-y cute dresses, happy, hopeful, domestic, despite literally sleeping in a car. But all of her traumas fight against those instincts.

-Which is also why once she and Killian start seeing each other she'll tell him a LOT about her past, if only to explain why she can't control the urge to pull back every now and then, to run, to be unnecessarily snappy. Up to you how Killian will react to it, given that in canon she was quickly softened by their relationship but also didn't share right away (even if he did see through her early on).

Here to write canon divergent ways for her to fall in love with Hook or more about their domestic time, AND different ways for the lost girl to get closer to her parents while still so traumatized.

She will never be friends with Regina but feel forced to play nice to keep the town safe, and she will be far more defensive/angry about Neal and what he did to her, while they’ll still co-parent until his death: let's not forget that regardless of his reasons she spent years thinking that he must have used her, tricked her and left her to take the fall while he kept the money (also confirmed by the fact that that's the version of the story she gives Henry in New York when her memories are rewritten). If we write that Gold followed canon in the background she also hates him to death from the moment he enslaved Killian regardless of the context (and tried to kill them both soon after). This has nothing to do with my enjoyment of Rumple/Gold as a character, and other muses of mine would be open to him. This is CHARACTER based, as in I cannot imagine Emma forgiving him after he took Killian's heart, much less trusting him anywhere near her family, and being sort of forced by circumstances to let Henry see him both because Henry would see him anyway and to avoid an actual war. She's also very hurt/disgusted by Walsh, considering the two SLEPT TOGETHER, planned a LIFE TOGETHER, while he was simply keeping an eye on her, ready to kill her for the Wicked Witch. Any joke about it will be met with pain and disgust.

The events of Dark One Emma can be entirely rewritten or left the way they are, but she will be absolutely hurt and angry by her family being so hostile and distrusting, regardless of them being right or not, while letting Regina and Gold participate in the 'what do we do now' discussions; she would have been far more like the Emma who questioned Regina about her past and any attempt from Regina/Gold to judge her would be met with instant aggression and a list of crimes they committed. She doesn't regret anything, as it is exactly what her parents and everyone else would have done and have done for their true loves all the time: trusting that things would work out even if there was a huge risk.

[stardreamer28]

hahaha been rewatching the covert affairs marathon that's on and I remembered eion bailey being in it & vaguely an episode with lana parrilla early on, the OUAT connection made sense. then hit the episode about auggie's marine history, it's my 2nd fave of the show but completely blanked about bex mader being in it. and they had a fling at the beginning of the story! awkward!! they spend most of the episode working together. coincidentally at the same time christopher was on OUAT as walsh the flying monkey lol. I never put together that he & bex knew each other when he guested, just that I knew who he was from covert affairs and the same filming location - & that she had guested on white collar as well lol. well that took 10yrs for that shoe to drop!! lol. anyone happen to know which appearence came first or were he & bex friends and just traded shows? also later on the man who plays victor's father plays henry wilcox on CA, the guy who plays eyal is jafar, & christopher and david anders later joined forces to help a friend with his charity. small world!

[highfantasy-soul]

NaNoWriMo 2023

I have jumped on the NaNo train again this year! Honestly, I don't think I'll hit 50k, but it's still fun to try and keep track of word-count for a bit.

I'm going to try to get some more words written on my MCU Namor/Netflix Daredevil setting fanfic, but it's been slow going for awhile on that one, so my main focus the first couple days is going to be a new fic I'm starting (because I'm a big dum dum and despite having two other started fics, I'm beginning YET ANOTHER ONE).

So my current NaNo project: a Once Upon a Time fic that starts at the Season 3B intro - (spoilers) Storybrooke is gone so Emma Swan and her son Henry have lost all their memories of magic and the inhabitants of the fairy tale town, with fake memories implanted that gives the two of them happy memories as though Emma had never given up Henry for adoption. I'm introducing an OC that became Emma's friend during her year in New York and becomes VERY concerned when she runs off with a strange, leather-clad man who claims to know her and tells her she needs to leave with him to save her family.

Pretty much, I'm rewatching OUAT and couldn't help but think for the entirety of 3B - did Emma not have any friends that were worried about her just disappearing with her son one day??? It seems odd that she didn't have any work associates who might ask about her, or really anyone in the city other than Walsh.

It's pretty fun exploring the story from the POV of someone who isn't from the Enchanted Forest and doesn't have some fantastical destiny in the town. It's just a regular person who befriended someone who took off one day with a dude who dressed like a ren faire attendee, has no phone, credit card, money, or ID, and is claiming Emma needs to go on a quest to save her family. Very adult-form urban fantasy!

Viewing Storybrooke from a 100% non-magic believer at a point in the town's history where everyone has their Enchanted Forest memories is going to open up a whole lot of options for me!

Also, an OC x Emma Swan x Killian Jones throuple is a tantalizing story idea.

So let's see how far into this fic I get, or if I can add any more words to my other fics!!!

[hitchell-mope]

Sure about that hon?

[justanoutlawfic]

I don't ship Monkey Swan, not even close but I can tell how hard Emma fell for him. She was going to marry him. She loved him enough to make him a step-dad to Henry. 

And then he was just pretending all that time? That has to fucking hurt and we saw it did.

Look at how happy she was.

Henry liked him a hell of a lot more than he ever liked Hook. 

Like dammit Walsh. Why'd you have to be evil? They loved you...

[queenofglassbeliever]

Once Upon A Time proposals ranked from my least favorite to favorite

(keep in mind that this is my opinion)

10. Hook and Emma

Nothing more romantic than proposing with your gf's essentially dead parents in the next room. Enough said.

9. Leopold and Regina

This was disturbing on so many levels

Leopold was old enough to be her grandfather

He used to be engaged to her mother

Regina didn't accept. Cora did on her behalf

I could go on and on, but I think you get the point.

8. Walsh and Emma

As we all know, Walsh turned out to be a flying monkey. So...... yeah.

7. Jonathan and Cora

This was just one giant lie.

6. Prince Henry and Cora

Eh.

5. Wish! Robin and Evil Queen

I only ever passively shipped Outlaw Queen. It was a very sweet proposal. Points for creativity.

4. Daniel and Regina

😭😭😭 Why!? The proposal was simple and sweet. RIP Daniel.

3. Cyrus and Alice

Alice and Cyrus were a beautiful pair and I will forever love them.

2. David and Snow

😍😍😍 😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍

1. Henry and Ella

I don't have the words to describe how beautiful, wonderful, breathtaking, and romantic this was. Poetry in motion.

*It should be noted that the top 3 best proposals happened next to a body of water.

[elizabeethan]

On This Night

Emma Swan’s life falls to shambles suddenly one night, and Captain Jones is there to pick up the pieces.

Rated E for smut and some violent stuff

Also on Ao3

Check out other stuff I’ve written

Warning: This story contains a few very brief and minimally detailed descriptions of gore (blood), threats of sexual assault, domestic violence, and miscarriage. Nothing is graphically described but it's there.  This fic also depicts Baelfire and Walsh in a very negative light so if you’re not into that please move on!

A/N: while watching the CS movie long ago, I noticed that jmo/Emma has a scar on her chest above her left breast which you can see pretty clearly in this gif set. I wondered how she might’ve gotten it, and then created an entire universe in which Emma is a bar maid and somehow got into trouble one night, and Killian comes to her rescue. Then I wrote this prompt, and ouatxxxxx said she wanted more, so the rest is pure self-indulgence.

Tagging: @courtorderedcake​​ @kmomof4​​ @stahlop​​ @klynn-stormz​​ @laschatzi​​ @emelizabeth88​​ @lfh1226-linda​​ @kday426​​ @profdanglaisstuff​​ @elisethewritingbeast @timeless-love-story​​ @captain-emmajones​ @gingerpolyglot​ @ebcaver​ @ilovemesomekillianjones​ @teamhook​ @superchocovian​ @itsfabianadocarmo​ @tiganasummertree​ @gingerchangeling​ @jrob64​ @onceratheart18​ @xhookswenchx​ @winterbaby89​​ @swampmedusa​​ @ultraluckycatnd @dancingnancyy​ @love-with-you-i-have-everything​ @shireness-says​​ @snowbellewells​​ @hollyethecurious​​ @ouatpost​​ @ouatxxxxx @donteattheappleshook​​ @cocohook38​

Emma tries very hard to keep her head down and get her work done each night. Being a barmaid in a skeevy tavern isn’t easy and Emma always feels the need to stay on her toes as she works around the raucous crowd of sailors and pirates. She’s seen things get out of hand before, and she isn’t ignorant to what goes on in this area, so she always has her guard up.

She maneuvers her way around the dark and muggy tavern carefully, avoiding sticky hands attached to slimy men, handing out mugs of ale to paying customers and being shouted at by the ones who won't toss her a coin. Her job shouldn't be difficult— it isn’t, in fact. But when some pirate ships make port just outside the tavern’s doors, she never fails to see the rise in aggressive and discordant behavior from her customers.

Granny normally tries to calm her down, reminding her that the pirates will leave soon and the tavern’s crowd will be back to its usual fishermen and honest sailors, but it hardly ever works. Emma can’t help feeling nervous that someone will step out of line and that she’ll be powerless to prevent destruction of the tavern or harm to herself or the other bar maid, Ruby.

She continues on with her night, handing out bread and ale to anyone who pays her, until she notices a familiar face. Though she didn’t catch him coming in, the dark and brooding man sits in the corner surrounded by other women she’s seen in the tavern before and laughing loudly enough to draw the attention of the other patrons. He looks as handsome as he usually does, wearing black leather and kohl under his eyes to make the bright blue pop from across the small room. She reprimands herself for always noticing, but he fills the tight outfit flawlessly, the muscles around his shoulders clearly defined through the leather and the hair on his chest peeking through the many open buttons.

She watches him discreetly throughout the night, continuing her work and avoiding the hands of the patrons until the crowd begins to dwindle. As it does, she notices that he stays put, continuing his games but dismissing the women who were keeping him company.

She gathers some of the refuse from the busy night and carries as much of it as she can out the back door, reveling in the cold bite of the air outside of the stuffy building. She hasn't been still all evening, and takes a moment to lean against the brick wall and close her eyes, breathing deeply despite the wretched smells surrounding her.

“Well, hello there,” she hears from beside her, and she wants to kick herself for hoping it’s him. Instead, her eyes fly open to see a slight, tall man leering at her threateningly. She’s frozen, the blood in her veins turning to ice in response to the man’s spine-chilling presence.

“Sir,” she nods in greeting, trying to sneak by him without triggering an angry response that she’s grown so accustomed to from the men who frequent the area.

“Where do you think you're going?”

She clears her throat, freezing again as his arms cage her against the brick wall and he smirks again. “Just trying to get back inside, sir.”

“I like when you call me that,” he says.

“I have just a bit more work to do this evening, I should be getting back.'' She attempts to be forceful, showing him that she isn't interested, but she has a feeling it isn’t working.

“You're not going anywhere until I tell you you are,” he insists, and she feels a bit of moisture hitting her face due to just how close he’s standing to her.

“I—” she starts, but she feels his hands grabbing her arms below the shoulders and she gasps in response, fear grasping onto her. “Sir, I can’t, I have a husband.”

“I don’t give a damn about your husband. One man can’t claim a woman who looks like you.”

Tears begin to sting at her eyes as he takes a small dagger from the side of his leg, holding it up to her throat threateningly before she feels a menacing hand trailing roughly down her side. “Please,” she begs softly through a sob. He puts his hand against her mouth and hisses to silence her and she takes her opportunity, biting down on his salty flesh.

He shouts, and the knife slips from her throat. “Stupid bitch!” he screams at her, spitting at her and shaking out his hand. “And you got blood on my sleeve. You idiotic wench.”

Stunned, Emma flounders quickly away from him and reaches for the door, but he grabs her by the wrist again and pulls her towards him. She lets out a loud cry, feeling a sharp sting on the skin of her left breast as he tugs that same arm, and she thinks she must have truly bungled her escape from this monster. She tries to accept her fate, crying some more as he forces her to the ground, until he’s suddenly off of her and on the cobblestones before her.

She hears shouting followed by the sound of a fist contacting the man’s face and thinks a bone may have cracked at the impact. She chooses this moment to scurry away on her hands and heels, dragging her frock below her.

“Swan,” she hears eventually. Her eyes are open, she thinks, but she can’t see much of what’s going on around her. “Swan, he isn’t here anymore.”

When she finally sees him, she’s panting as her eyes make contact with his, and the bright blue grounds her just slightly. “We’ve got to go, love. You're bleeding everywhere, we’ve got to get you cleaned up.”

She isn't sure what kind of sound escapes her throat when he takes her hand in his, pulling her up onto her feet as she stumbles into him. She can hardly stand up, even with him supporting her weight, and she wonders what has happened to the strong, independent Emma she left inside the tavern. “Not Granny,” she tells him weakly, and she thinks she hears him scoff before a wave of nausea washes over her when they try to walk.

Stilling, she takes a deep breath and he tugs on her once more. “Come, love. We can go to the ship if you'd like, but we have to move now. You're bleeding quite badly.”

She whimpers as he tries to get her to walk once more, feeling dizzy and even more disoriented, and before she knows it, he hoists her into his hold and is carrying her through the streets until they make it to the gangplank of his ship.

Somehow, he manages to get her down the ladder into his quarters without dropping her or alerting any member of his crew that she’s even aboard. He takes a clean cloth from beside the basin and wets it before dabbing it against the skin of her chest and drawing a shout from her at the burn. “Hush, love,” he says softly, and she knows his goal is to soothe her rather than keep her quiet. She certainly feels less intimidated now than she had when the smarmy man hissed threats at her

“You need sutures,” he tells her after a few moments of silence. Her skin has gone numb at the feel of the burning liquid pressing to her, and she realizes he’s using rum to cleanse her wound. She wishes she could drink some. “I could do them now, if you'd like.”

“Okay.”

As he cares for her, she guiltily lets her thoughts wander to the first night they met. It was months ago, perhaps years by now, and he continued to request ale from her all night, tipping her handsomely. She was taken by him immediately and almost allowed herself to bring her guard down, but the ring on the chain around her neck continued to weigh heavily upon her heart to remind her of her responsibilities.

When she found out that he was not a naval captain, but rather a ruthless pirate, she felt conflicted. Growing up an orphan, she’s always wanted to travel the realms and seek adventure, but falling pregnant, marrying the father, and then losing the baby all in a matter of months made her too scared and traumatized to do much of anything aside from advance her career as a wench in a tavern by the port.

Meeting the Captain mere months after marrying and then losing her baby was a blessing and a curse. Each night he comes to the tavern, he shares brief stories of his latest adventures and it fills the hole of wanderlust in her heart as she falls for him again and again. However, each time she sees him and listens to his tales of splendor, she’s reminded that she can never have him.

As quickly as the thoughts of leaving her loveless marriage come to mind, they leave her, and she forces herself to move on from her feelings for the handsome, gruesome pirate.

And despite the decision she made all that time ago to stay faithful to her husband, she feels something in the pit of her stomach as the captain stands before her and carefully stitches her up. She can’t help but wonder if she made the right choice. It isn't as if Captain Jones even propositioned her to come away with him, not outwardly, but she always wonders if she would have done something differently if he had.

“You shouldn’t be out on your own late at night like that,” he says, finally breaking the soft silence between them as he finishes up his work on her skin sliced by the slipping blade. He had blessedly given her a few swigs of rum as he worked, so she felt the warmth rushing through her at the feel of his hand sweeping some hair away from her wound.

“I had to take out the waste,” she tells him softly, grabbing for another swig of rum and allowing the burn in her throat to distract from the burn on her breast.

“It’s too dark and secluded. If I hadn’t heard you shouting…”

“How’d you know to come outside, then? I thought you were busy with your many women?”

“I watched you walk out the back alone, then saw some bloke follow you and when you didn’t come back in, I figured I’d better check. Glad that I did.”

“Yeah,” she agrees. She is, too.

He fastens a bandage to her skin, gently tugging at the ties as the fabric loops under her arms to secure it tightly over the injury. “Are you alright, Emma?” he asks tenderly, lifting his hand as if he might touch her. He hardly ever calls her Emma.

“Yes, you’ve seen to my wounds very diligently, Captain,” she smiles as the rum warms her.

“That’s not what I mean,” he answers impatiently, clearly unappreciative of her lighthearted tone.

“Oh.”

“This evening could’ve gone quite differently.”

She nods, understanding his meaning. He isn’t searching for vindication or thanks; he’s worried about her.

“I need to get home,” she suddenly realizes. It’s far past what was meant to be the end of her shift, and now that she’s regained her wits, she realizes that she never properly closed the tavern, and that her husband will likely be looking after her soon.

“Let me walk you,” he practically demands. After what’s happened, she doesn't want to argue, but logically knows that she must.

“I can’t.”

“I won't walk you to your door, just far enough to know you’ve made it safely.”

He understands her.

~~~~

When she’s home, safely guided by the deadly pirate captain who first entertains her with blithe conversation and then watches from around the bend as she walks through the door, she’s met with exactly what she was expecting.

He’s drunk.

He shouts at her for being home late. He chastises her for the soiled garb, telling her that they can hardly afford to replace it. He accuses her of being drunk, despite the soft daze from the rum having long worn off during her stroll.

He notices the bandage and becomes irate.

“You truly do have absolutely no respect for me, is that it? You’d run off behind the tavern with a man and allow yourself to be mutilated like this?”

“Bae, it wasn’t like that. He followed me and he attacked me.”

“I’m not interested in your excuses, Emma. You were in an alley alone with a man, and you got what was coming to you for being unfaithful.” She feels the tears coming back, burning her eyes and the back of her throat as her bottom lip quivers. “At least tell me it was Granny who stitched you up and not that man.”

She shakes her head weakly, swallowing the tears back desperately. “It wasn’t that man,” she tells him ambiguously.

“So it was Granny, then,” he says slowly, his eyes drawing narrow as he stares into her glassy eyes.

She swallows. She’s a horrible liar despite being able to tell when anyone else is lying, and if there’s one thing he knows about his wife, it’s when she isn’t being truthful. “It—” she starts, but he cuts her off.

“So it wasn’t Granny? Who the hell was it, then?!”

“Bae—”

“Who did you let near you, Emma?!”

“It was simply a kind passerby who helped me in my time of need, Bae. I’m sorry.” She’s lying. She thinks he may know it.

“So it was a man. You allowed a man who isn’t your husband to touch your flesh, and you expect to come home to no consequences?”

“Bae, I’ve,” she chokes, begging, “I’ve had a very difficult evening. Please, can we talk about this in the morning?”

“We’ll talk about it when I want to talk about it!”

“I’ve never been unfaithful—”

He cuts her off, not with his words but with his open palm clouting across her face.

She gasps, slowly reaching her hand up to the burning flesh of her left cheek as tears slide down easily. “Get out of my house. Go back to that man, you harlot.”

“Bae,” she cries out, her voice completely shot and pathetically weak.

“Can’t give me a son, can’t stay faithful— the only two things a woman needs to do— you’re worthless. My father was right about what he said when I married you; you're nothing but a greedy orphan. Get out.”

~~~~

She wanders the streets for a while before finally making her way back towards the tavern. She knows it to be closed by now, but she also knows which window Ruby leaves unsecured due to the broken lock, so she can sneak inside and spend the night.

Everything hurts her. Her cheek is throbbing and hot against the cool air and her chest is burning and stinging through her sutures, but what hurts the most is her broken spirit.

She feels so defeated. She had been thinking about leaving her husband for some time, simply because she was unhappy with his mood and his drinking and his endless verbal assault on her, but also because he serves as a constant reminder of the child she’d lost not long before she was due to give birth to him. Beyond all of this, though, he’s never struck her, not until now.

She tries to jimmy the window open with little success due to her maimed chest shooting pains into her left arm and lets out a sob of frustration. If she doesn't get inside the tavern, she’s unsure of how she’ll be spending her night. Surely she isn’t immune to another attack in a dark alley.

“Swan?” she hears from far behind her, and she jumps up and spins around to meet the owner of the soothing voice. “What the bloody hell are you doing?”

When she meets his eyes with hers, despite him being several feet away, she feels stinging tears once more, but she isn’t sure why. When he steps towards her and takes her hands in his, she knows it's because of the relief she feels, like a tidal wave crashing into her and carrying her to safety. “What’s happened?” he asks, reaching a hand up to her swollen cheek.

She chokes out a sob, dropping her head in defeat as she allows the tears to fully take her over. Seemingly without a second thought, he winds his hand behind her head and draws her close to him, pulling her against his chest and holding her tight. He hushes her gently as he had earlier, and she feels safer in his arms than she has in months.

“He threw me out,” she finally chokes out. “He was drunk and angry with me and he told me to leave.”

“And he struck you, love?” She nods against his chest, feeling moisture mixing with the hair there, realizing it’s from her tears. “Do you need a place to stay now, then?”

“I was going to stay in the tavern but I can’t get the window open,” she says quietly, still clinging her arms around his waist and refusing to consider the fact that she’s doing exactly what her husband had accused. She’s standing here, taking comfort from a man to whom she is not married. A man she could love easily if she so allowed. She’s unfaithful.

“Come with me, would you? I’ll keep you safe.”

She sniffles hard against his chest again and shakes her head. “I can’t. I don’t want him to find out.”

“Then where will you sleep? I’m not letting you sleep on the floor of Granny’s.”

He’s right. Even if she could get in, there’s no way for her to get upstairs where the beds are without a key, so she’d likely end up on the cold hard floor anyway. And Bae did throw her out of her own home. Where else is she supposed to go?

“I’ll sleep on a chair, or on a rug, or something,” she finally concedes.

“Absolutely not. I’ll stay on the floor, you will take my bunk.”

“Killian—”

“Emma,” he insists, pushing gently on the front of her shoulders so that he can finally look at her in her eyes. He almost never calls her Emma. “You’re taking the bunk, and that’s final. I’ll not have a fair maiden sleeping on the floor of my ship.”

“I’m hardly a fair maiden,” she argues weakly.

“Fairer than any I’ve ever seen”

When she looks up at him, finally lifting her head to meet his eyes with her own, she almost lets herself believe him.

~~~~

“We had only lain together once,” she says into the darkness. It feels like several hours have passed since he found her in the street, but in reality she thinks it’s been under one.

“Hmm?” he asks from the floor, rolling towards her and bringing the heavy blanket with him. It may be nearly spring, but the air still bites at night, especially on the water.

“Bae and I. I laid with him one time, and I became pregnant.”

He’s silent for a moment, then says, “I didn’t know you had a child.”

“I don’t.”

“Oh.”

They’re quiet again for a few moments as she focuses on calming her breath. “He attempted to do the right thing and marry me. But a few months later, I lost the babe. A boy.”

She thinks she hears him gulping. “I’m sorry, lass.”

“Is it horrible to say that I... I’m glad I don’t have a child to worry about now?” she asks with a breaking voice, tears springing to her eyes once more.

She hears him stir, and in the moonlight streaming through the windows of his quarters, she sees him sitting up, turning towards her. “No, Swan,” he says. “It would’ve been dangerous for a wee lad.”

“Sleeping here on the ship tonight?”

“Living with your husband.”

“Oh.”

He’s right.

~~~~

She wakes alone in his quarters, the blanket he slept under neatly folded at her feet. Her cheek feels less swollen, but it still throbs and the burning in her chest hasn’t gone away.

She isn’t expecting to see him so soon after she’s woken up, but a few brief moments later, Killian’s back in the room with some bread and fruit. “Morning,” he mumbles, handing the food to her and turning back to his desk.

“Thank you.”

“Aye.”

He sits down, apparently very engrossed in his logs as he pours over them. “For everything,” she clarifies.

He looks up at her, his eyes like steel and his jaw clenched tight. She wants to touch his rough, stubbled cheek to sooth the tension, but she stays put.

“Aye,” he finally returns. She thinks his face is softening, but he looks back down at his logs and stays silent.

After she’s finished her breakfast, and when it’s clear that he isn’t interested in talking, she moves the blankets aside and stands, thankful to have food in her belly as the dizziness she feels likely would’ve been worse. “I’d best be off, then,” she tells him with a soft smile that he doesn’t return.

“And where will you go?”

She shrugs. “Home, I gather.”

His shoulders collapse and he drops the page he was looking at, staring up at her with his jaw agape. “You can’t be serious.”

Emma looks around the room awkwardly before answering, and says, “surely I am… I live there.”

“That’s also where your husband lives, love. The man who assaulted you not twelve hours ago, do you not recall?” he asks condescendingly, and she can feel the heat of his anger from across the sturdy desk.

“Of course I recall,” she answers, reaching a hand up to tenderly poke at her left cheek. “But you’re right, he’s my husband. I have responsibilities. We all can’t just go traipsing around for a living.”

He scoffs, clearly offended but she isn’t sure why. This isn’t the first time she’s poked fun at how he makes his living. “He’s abused you now, Emma! What more of a reason do you need to leave?”

“He’s my husband,” she says weakly, not believing the excuse herself.

“He’s a rat bastard who lay a hand on you after learning that you’d been attacked in the streets. You needed sutures last night! Was he not the least bit concerned?”

“Of course he was concerned!”

“With your well-being?”

He stands from his noble chair and she hears it scraping back against the wooden floor before he takes several steps around the desk until he reaches her.

“Killian,” she starts as he touches her cheek with his own finger, but she has nothing else to say.

“Let me check on the sutures, would you? We need to ensure that they aren’t infected.” His voice has softened considerably and his movements against her cheek are so featherlight that she barely feels them. She nearly has whiplash from the change in his demeanor, from angry with her and her husband to tending to her wounds.

She nods in approval, realizing that over the last 24 hours, he’s been the only man to ask permission to touch her. Perhaps in her lifetime, if she were to really think about it. He removes the bandage that he’d fashioned last night, poking gently at her tender skin and looking at it pensively. “Looks sore,” he points out, and she chuckles.

“It is.”

“I don’t understand you, Emma,” he says, moving back towards desk and taking out some type of salve. He removes the cover and scoops some out, applying a thick layer onto her wound with gentle fingers.

“How do you mean, Captain?”

“I mean… I don’t understand how you could desire to be back in such a position. One in which you could be hurt again, perhaps more severely.”

“I don’t believe it’s of your concern. And I never said I desired it.”

“It’s become my concern. You made it my concern when you told me you were going back to the beast who struck you. And you’re so stubborn that I'm powerless to prevent it from happening again.”

She scoffs, rolling her eyes as he continues to work the salve into her flesh. “And what would you have me do? Live in the streets?”

“No, I’m sure we could find a place for you here.”

She balks at him because surely he can’t be serious. Her thoughts are drawn immediately back to when they had newly met, when she thought that if he had offered, she may have left with him on his pirate ship and run from her vocally violent husband. But he never offered, and she never asked.

Is this an offer?

“I’ll need to be going,” she says again, her voice just above a whisper. He refuses to look her in the eye as he ties on a clean bandage to cover her wound once again.

“If you—” he starts, cutting himself off. “If there’s anything… I won’t be leaving port for some time.”

It sounds like an offer. Of what, she isn’t sure. She isn’t sure she cares.

“That doesn’t seem very lucrative, sitting in the same port day in and day out without anything to pillage,” she says lightly.

“I’m the captain. I can do as I bloody well please.” She giggles at him, though she doesn’t think he was trying to be funny. “I’m not leaving just yet.”

“Okay.”

“I’m sure I’ll see you again, at some point.”

“In the tavern,” she tells him. He nods.

He takes her hand in his once more as she walks towards the door and says, “you don’t deserve this.”

~~~~

“So she decided to come back,” he says through her as she walks over the threshold.

“Hello, Bae,” she responds weakly. He doesn’t stand from his place at the table, continuing to eat as if nothing has changed between the two of them.

“I see you’re still a harlot, haven’t learned your lesson. Who’s changed your bandages today?”

She swallows as she walks towards their sleeping area, hoping to change out of her bloodied dress. “It was going to become infected.”

“Right.”

“Bae,” she starts, her voice gaining some strength. “You struck me.”

He places his utensil down gently, so gently that it frightens her, and turns her head towards her. “I did.”

“Perhaps…” she starts, unsure of how to continue. She started off strong, but she feels her weakness taking over by the second. “Perhaps it won’t happen a second time?”

He stands slowly, threateningly, showing her an ominous smile on his way up and speaks in a frightening tone. “It will happen a second time, and a third, and a forth, so long as you continue to behave so deservingly.”

She doesn’t deserve this, she tries to remind herself.

She stays quiet for some time, retreating under his threatening gaze before he seats himself back at the tables and she says, “okay.”

She moves to the bed and changes her clothes, tears falling as she does so. Then she grabs what few trinkets she can carry without being seen by him, but it isn’t much. Nothing feels quite important enough.

“I need to be off to work,” she says just above a whisper.

“Fine.” He doesn't question her decision to leave hours earlier than she needs to.

“Goodbye.”

~~~~

Ruby let’s Emma stay with her in the tavern all day as she prepares for the evening crowd, baking bread and cleaning mugs. She doesn’t ask why she’s here, but Emma has a feeling she may already know without even having the details.

Granny returns from the markets and immediately asks Emma what the hell she’s doing here so early. Neither of them ask about her bandage or her bruised cheek. She’s lucky to have these two strong ladies in her life. Not only because they give her work when she needs an excuse to leave the house, but also because they’ve provided her with friendship and a sense of family that she lacks in her own home.

She never knew her parents, and growing up an orphan on the streets by the harbor hardened her. She counts herself lucky, though, to have met Ruby and her Granny, as it allowed her to turn her life around. She struggles to maintain her pessimistic outlook of the world when she’s with her best friends, even despite the trials she’s gone through.

Ruby was there for her when she found herself pregnant by a stranger. She spent one night with Bae when he was a patron of the tavern, and the resulting pregnancy was a shock, but he did the right thing and married her. She never loved him, and through bouts of depression during gestation, she grew to resent him. When she lost the baby a mere eight weeks before he was expected, she hated Bae for it. It was almost as if he was relieved to have been saved the hassle of providing for a child. Ruby was there for her then, too.

She’s here for her now.

“It was Bae, wasn’t it?” Ruby asks her as the afternoon wanes into evening and a crowd begins to fill the tavern. “Your face and your chest, Emma, was it Bae?”

She nods, then shakes her head confusingly. “My face, yes. This was some dolt out in the alley.”

“Out here?” Emma nods. “I’m sorry, sweetie. Do you know who it was?”

“I believe it was the one you call Walsh.”

“He won’t be back,” she promises. Emma believes her. She also believes that the damage Killian did to his nose may also be a deterrent.

“Thank you,” she laughs. “I’ll be glad not to get sutures again any time soon.”

“Did Bae suture you before or after he whalloped you?”

She realizes her mistake immediately. Ruby won’t let her casually brush past the pirate captain nursing over her wounds, that’s for certain. After all, Ruby was here for Emma when she met him, and could see immediately the way that she felt about him. “It wasn’t Bae who helped me, it was… it was Captain Jones.”

Ruby slams her hand against the bar, dropping the rag she was using to dry the mugs. “Captain Jones?!” she hisses too loudly, bumping Emma’s shoulder with hers.

“That’s me, love,” she hears, his cocky and assured voice approaching them from across the tavern.

“This man, Emma?” Ruby asks her, moving her brows up and down and bumping her shoulder again. She leans in close and whispers, “I’ve been telling you to get after him for eons!”

“I’m a married woman!”

“Hopefully not for long, hon. I mean, look at you.”

“Ruby,” Emma threatens weakly.

“An ale, if you please, ladies?” he asks once he’s close enough. “Evening, lass.”

She can see him taking stock of her appearance— perhaps checking on her old bruise, perhaps checking for new ones— as he waits for his ale. It’s almost intimidating, but a part of her also feels more cared for now than in her past two years of marriage.

“Good evening, Captain. Can we get you anything else?”

“I wouldn’t mind some company later on, if you feel so inclined to prattle,” he says boldly. It isn’t the first time he’s asked to keep her company after her shift, but it is the first time he’s done so with Ruby around.

“Emma isn’t too busy this evening, are you? You were such help all day, getting the tavern ready to open, surely you can take a break now.”

Emma shoots Ruby a menacing look at her suggestion that she take time off, as well as her hinting at Emma having been here all day when she normally doesn't come until later. Killian knows this, and she’s sure he’s putting the pieces together quickly.

He leads her through the crowd easily, pulling her towards the corner near a window to his usual seat and pulling a chair out for her. She sits slowly, never breaking her eyes from his as he moves to his own chair and plants himself in it, safely settling himself between her and the door.

“Alright?” She nods. “I’m glad to see you.”

She nods again, shrugging as she bites her bottom lip nervously. “I spent the day here.”

“Good.”

“He didn’t even notice. That I’d left.” He sighs. His hatred for her husband is clear, as it has been since they’d met and she told him she was married, but she thinks now he has a valid reason for it. She thinks she may have reason herself.

“He’s a bastard, as I’d said this morning.”

“I can’t— Killian, I’m frightened. I’m scared to leave and I’m scared to stay.”

“Let me help you.”

“Killian.”

“I want to help you,” he says again, taking her hand in his and looking deeply into her eyes. “Let me help.”

“How?” Emma thinks the tone of her voice must convey the level of hopelessness she feels.

“However I can, whatever you need. If you want to stay, I’ll stay; I’ll keep you safe. If you want to go, come with me.”

She scoffs, but feels her heart begin to race. It isn’t as if she hasn't considered this fleetingly. In fact, she’s considered it seriously. She’s never been happy with her husband, and Killian has always posed as a possibility for escape. When she met him shortly after she miscarried, she didn’t know he would be so fundamental in dragging her out of the hole of dark sadness she had buried herself in. She hasn't given herself the freedom to truly consider being with him until now. Now that he’s offered.

“I’m scared,” she whispers into the loud darkness of the tavern. She’s seen him threaten other patrons and drink in excess and flirt endlessly with other lasses, and a part of her has always felt unsure of him. But in this moment, and over the last several hours when he proved himself to be someone who truly cares for her, she’s more certain than she’s ever been. She’s terrified, but he makes the feeling melt away when he slips closer and touches her aching cheek once again.

“All I want is your safety and happiness, Emma. I’ll do whatever I can to ensure that, whether you think that’s going back to him or leaving.” The intensity of his stare intimidates her. She doesn't miss the flicker of pain in his eyes as he suggests that she may want to go back to her violent husband.

“I don’t want to go back to him,” she tells him with certainty. “I thought I had a responsibility to stay, but… you were right, about me not deserving this. He said I did, but I think that isn’t true.”

“Of course it isn’t true,” he breathes out, drawing his brows close together and giving her a pained look, shaking his head.

“I want to leave,” she finally admits, both to him and to herself through tears. “I want to go.”

“I want to help you.”

“Okay.”

~~~~

Ruby lets her leave her shift early. She says again that she deserves it for coming in early, although Emma hardly did a thing when she was here all day.

Emma lets Killian lead her back to his ship, and on her way, now that she’s of sound mind, she sees a trail of blood droplets in the streets and on the gangplank and knows it must be from her. She had no idea how badly she had been bleeding last night, and wonders what would have happened to her if he hadn’t stopped Walsh in his tracks and then expertly cared for her wounds.

When they arrive on the ship, his first mate looks confused and asks his captain what’s going on. Killian responds menacingly, telling him that he requires privacy and brushing aside him to lead her down into the captain’s quarters once more.

Being here now feels different. Things between them feel solidified, and she feels such joy at the prospect of being with him on their journey through realms.

He sits her down gently on his chair and she feels special, powerful, sitting in the captain’s throne. She looks over his maps and logs and wonders what sort of adventures he’s been up to aside from the few he’s told her about. She sees the journal of his treks and longs to pour over it.

Killian laughs lightly as he walks back over to her with two glasses and a bottle of rum. “Anywhere you’d like, Swan,” he says, gesturing to the map she was peeling over as he starts to pour.

“Anywhere?”

“Aye, I’ll set a course and bring you wherever you please so you can start a new life. You won't fall into harm's way while you’re in my charge and I can drop you safely if you like.”

Something has just shifted between them, a flame sparking in her mind in response to his words, and she realizes what a fool she’s been.

All this time, she thought he was bringing her along with him on his pirating adventures. She thought he meant to make a life with her. In reality, he simply means to transport her and drop her off, likely never to see her again.

She thought for certain that he had felt as she has since they met. That he wanted to be with her, now that she’d made her choice. She didn’t even consider the possibility of him simply doing this to help her, then leaving her behind to continue his life of piracy.

“Oh,” she says weakly, making to stand from his chair. She feels her heart racing faster and faster as her hopes are dashed to further disappointment.

“Swan?”

“I don't— um, I don't have any idea.” Her eyes swell with tears once again, she’s unsure if she could even count how many times this has happened in the last day.

“Well sit, love, we can find a place for you and begin plotting the course tonight.”

“I don’t know.” She feels so pathetic, letting herself cry in front of him again after he’s made it clear that he has no desire to be with her as she thought he had. She worries over her lip as her breathing quickens and she holds back a sob as he stands too, forcing her to turn back towards him.

“Swan, what’s happened? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” she chokes. His gentle hand moves to wipe the tear that has fallen onto her bruised cheek and she flinches.

“Love,” he starts, and her heart clenches at the name that she thought meant more than it does. “Tell me what’s happened here.”

He’s so tender with her. She feels more tears falling at the realization that she isn’t anything special. He’s likely been treating all of the women he’s come across the very same way. A very small part of her throughout the months of knowing him thought that he was sending away the loose women who chased him for her, but she knows now that he likely enjoyed their company.

The thought of running has terrified her since she met her husband. She never wanted to be with him, married him out of obligation, but she knew she couldn’t leave him and live here on her own. He was far too dangerous, she’s learned. But the thought of leaving with Killian gave her strength. Not only because he could provide her with an escape, but because she knows how fiercely he protects that which he loves. She simply thought that may have been her.

“I’m fine, I just,” she chokes again. “I thought…”

She can’t find it in herself to get the words out. She feels so foolish in this moment that admitting to him what she thought was between them makes her stomach churn. All at once, she allowed herself to finally feel the love she harbors for him, only for it to be ripped from her grasp. As he leans down close to her and gently kisses the sore flesh of her battered cheek, she cries harder. “Thought what, darling? You can tell me anything.”

She may have believed him yesterday, or last night, or even this morning, but now she knows this isn’t true. He doesn't truly feel anything for her, only cares enough to help her flee her abusive home life. “Nothing,” she settles on.

He sighs, kissing her sore skin once more just over the faint bruise before he laces his fingers up through her hair and pulls her head close to his, their foreheads touching softly. “I’m sorry,” he whispers, his lips so close to brushing hers that she feels another sob wracking her. “I want nothing more than for you to be happy, Emma. Whatever that means to you, I want to give you joy and security and contentment. Please just tell me how. Please tell me what’s caused you such anguish just now so I can fix it.”

She sniffles, his speech giving her the strength and ferocity to respond in truth. “I would’ve been content to be with you. I don’t want to be dropped off at some foreign realm by myself, I need you, you dullard.” She pushes herself away from him, angry now for reasons she can’t explain to herself, and makes for the door. He follows closely behind, but not so closely that he startles her.

“Bloody hell, Emma, stop!” he says, placing his hand on the door to prevent her from opening it but moving away from her quickly. Memories of the night before flood her again and she’s glad to have him away from her as she considers the way that Walsh caged her against the wall and forced her to be still.

“What?!” she demands loudly.

“I told you I want your happiness! I would put whatever you want above anything that I could ever desire, no matter the pain it would cause me to let you go, you maddening woman. Bloody hell,” he shakes his head, “are you honestly daft enough to believe that I wouldn’t happily live out the rest of my days with you by my side?”

“What?”

“I love you, you absolutely barmy thing,” he says frustratedly, turning from her and moving towards the desk to take a swig of his rum.

“What?” she asks again.

“If you’d wanted me to drop you in some realm and leave you be, I would have, but it would have killed me,” he tells her through his glass, tossing back another sip.

“You love me?”

He sighs deeply, sinking into the chair that he likely saves for his crew. He still isn’t looking at her, choosing instead to stare down into the dark liquid in his glass as he nods and says, “aye.”

She’s calm. The turbulence of her emotions in the last ten minutes has taken its toll on her and she thinks she can do nothing but walk back to the chair she had left and take her own glass in her hand. She intakes a breath, choking the rum down and feeling it slide over her burning throat.

“I shouldn’t have said that,” he finally says. His voice is nearly inaudible in the quiet room, drowned out by the sound of the waves lapping against the ship. She finally cocks her head and looks at him, confused and begging for an explanation for his words. “You’re in a tough stop, lass. I shouldn’t have put that pressure on you. I’m sorry.”

“I’m not in a tough spot.”

“You only left your husband this morning. I’m perceptive enough to know that me telling you how I feel now is far too convenient. I don’t wish to manipulate you.”

She chuckles, leaning back in the chair to make herself comfortable. “I left a loveless marriage and a violent home this morning. I had left my husband the moment I met you,” she tells him contently.

“What?”

“Killian, I never loved him; I told you we only got married because I was with child.” He appears stunned, looking at her with his jaw slacked open and his tumblr of rum likely close to falling from his hand. “As soon as I met you, anything that I ever could have felt for him was just… gone.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, that’s so. And I thought, since I’d finally left him and you were taking me to your ship to look at maps and make charts, that we were going to run off together, leave all this behind, traipse around a pillage for a living,” she laughs, as does he, “but you said you would bring me somewhere and drop me off, and I thought you must not have felt as I do.”

“As you do?”

He sits up in his chair, as does she, and they lean as close as they can to one another across the oak desk. “I love you,” she says to him now that she’s finally able.

Killian stands from his chair with haste, nearly knocking it onto the floor, and walks to her swiftly, leaning down to take her face in his hands and kissing her with such fervor that she loses her breath. His strong hands hold her firmly, grounding her through her torment of the last few hours and carrying her home. His lips massage hers with a gentle passion that she’s never felt before; not from any man and not from her husband.

He pulls her closer, one hand remaining in her hair and the other trailing down her waist to drag her body up towards his. She lets out a soft whimpering moan as his tongue traces along her bottom lip, the heat erupting in the pit of her stomach making her clench her thighs together as she stands, seeking to be as close to him as possible. The slight throbbing she feels against her leg through his tight leather britches heats her cheeks, to the point that she doesn't even feel the ache of her bruise anymore.

“Emma,” he breathes into her mouth. “Thank the gods.”

She giggles lightly and bites playfully on his lip, drawing a low growl from his throat before he pounces on her again, tugging her impossibly closer to him. She drags her hands up along his chest, enjoying the feel of friction against her palms as she grazes the hair covering his firm skin, and she lets her tongue glide against his again until she feels the fire in her belly roaring.

“I want you,” she says boldly against his mouth, and he groans again, turning her around and hoisting her up onto the desk so that he can rest his hips between her knees. “I want you so much, Killian, I love you.”

“Gods above, I love you,” he bites out as his hands find her rear and tug her even closer to him so that she’s perched on the edge of the surface and grinding her hips against his. “I want you so badly I can scarcely breathe.”

“That’s because we’re kissing.”

He laughs against her mouth, kissing her chastely once before pulling away. “You always have such high spirits, love. It makes me feel so joyful to be around you.”

As she looks into his eyes, she sees that he means it— that he’s meant everything he’s said tonight.

“We can’t both be broody, can we? The world can only handle so many brooding pirates.”

“I suppose you’re right,” he answers softly, biting his own bottom lip as his eyes trail to hers. “Do you consider yourself a pirate, then? Does that mean you’re coming along with me?”

“Of course it does, you fool. There’s hardly anything keeping me here.”

He smiles, a sweet, innocent thing as his eyes light up and make him look a decade younger. “Then we shall leave come sunrise, my love.”

She returns his grin at the prospect of leaving this awful harborside town and her wretched excuse for a husband. A pang of sadness strikes at the thought of leaving Ruby and Granny, the only family she’s ever known, but she thinks she may be able to convince Killian to bring her back for a visit.

“We’ll have to find a way to pass the time until sunrise, then, wouldn’t you say?”

“Do you mean to tell me you don’t find plotting courses and studying maps to be entertaining?”

“Why should I? Isn’t that why I have you?”

“That’s the only reason?”

She drags her hands up his chest again, sneaking under his vest at his shoulders and then sliding up into his thick hair. “I suppose you’ll just have to prove me wrong.”

His mouth plunders hers once more, kissing her with a strong mixture of love and passion and animalistic desire. She hasn't felt so turned on from just a kiss in her entire life, and the way that his hands roam her covered body and his tongue dances through her mouth has her panting within mere moments.

A hand slides under her dress and for a moment, she freezes, remembering the man in the alley who had attempted the same motion. He falters at her obvious stuttering, pulling back and placing a hand on her cheek. “I’m sorry, love. You alright?” She nods her forehead against his. “I’m sorry.”

“I’m fine,” she says breathlessly. “I’m… I feel safe,” she tells him with a soft smile.

He kisses her again, soft and sweet. “That all I want, Swan,” he tells her.

“I love you,” she whispers, her cheeks flaming as she’s finally able to say it aloud.

He kisses her again, holding her so closely that her chest feels tight, but it feels good. It feels as though he’s holding her together. “I love you.”

His hand slips under her skirt again, slower now, and she feels relaxed at the feeling of his skin against hers. She hooks her ankles together around his waist and squeezes him closer to her, loving the feeling of his hips pressed against her own. In response to her movements, his hands slip under her rear and he lifts her easily, resting her weight against him as he walks them through the room.

“You’re certain?” He asks her as he steps slowly towards his bunk with her in his arms.

“Yes,” she tells him, continuing to kiss him through her words. “More certain than I’ve ever been.”

“Gods,” he murmurs, dropping her on her back against the mattress and taking in the sight of her laying before him as she blushes.

“What’s wrong, Captain?” she asks innocently.

He scoffs out a laugh, leaning in close to her while resting his body weight against hers comfortingly. “Each time you call me that, it goes straight to my cock.”

She laughs as her blush deepens, reaching her hands back up into his hair and pulling him back down to her for another kiss. “Show me,” she finally says.

He bites her lip in response, groaning into her mouth again and soothing it with a soft lick of his sinful tongue. “You’re a bloody siren,” he tells her as his hands wander.

“Undress me, Captain,” she insists in a whisper, taking the reins as she’s driven by her need for him.

Hips lips trail down her neck, biting and licking over her tender skin, but he’s careful around the injured skin above her breast. “Gladly” he mumbles against her flesh.

His hands wander farther down her body, meeting her eyes with his to ask permission as he reaches towards her laces and loosens them before he tugs her heavy dress down and tosses it to the floor with a soft thud. She revels in the feeling of his fingers finally meeting her skin as he pulls at her shift, gently grazing along her ribs while his lips continue to work along her neck.

She glides her own hands down his front, scraping her nails along the coarse hair of his chest until she reaches the fastened buttons. He groans again as she tucks her hands into his silky top and tugs at his buttons, forcing them to pop open and sending a few to the ground in a clatter.

“Minx,” he says, dragging his mouth along the side of her jaw until he reaches her earlobe and nibbles.

Her hands play with the hair on his stomach, desperate to slide lower into his britches and discover where the trail leads, but his own fingers distract her. They’ve found their way to the apex of her bare thigh, ghosting dangerously close to the most sensitive part of her that’s throbbing for him. “Please,” she begs breathlessly when his fingers threaten to dip into the flood of arousal between her thighs. “Touch me.”

“It would be,” he starts, sliding his fingers through her folds torturously slowly, “my pleasure.”

The pressure that he finally applies to her clit gives her a start, squeezing her legs around his hand. “Relax, darling,” he hums against her collarbone, dragging his mouth down to her right breast, carefully staying away from the left, a licking  lightly over her nipple. “You’re so tense. You’re alright.”

She nods against the pillow, plunging her fingers into his hair and pulling him up so she can see his face. She stares into his ocean blue eyes and she knows she’s safe. She’s home. “I love you,” she whispers into the night.

He restarts his movements against her, leaning down to press gentle kisses just above her tattered heart, the very one he’s put back together. “I love you, Emma,” he says as he works her up, higher and higher. She’s a writhing mess under his weight, moaning and whimpering at each move of his expert fingers. His mouth finds its way back to her hardened nipple, licking and sucking at it until themixture of sensations threaten to end her. She feels him rutting his hips against her thigh as he moves her toward her release, and the hardness against her only serves to excite her more for the main event. As he whispers sinful praise into her skin, his fingers dance inside her and his thumb rubs tight circles over her until she shatters.

He carries her through it, kissing his way up her chest and neck until he reaches her mouth. Their lips meet chastely, then his travel up her face to her ear and he whispers, “good girl.”

His words make her clench harder around his fingers before he slides them out of her and sucks them into his mouth, cleaning them with a wicked smirk on his face and humming appreciatively. “I’d love a better taste.”

“Would you please fuck me now, captain?” she asks with an innocent lilt in her voice that she thinks may drive him mad based on the way his breath catches. “You can have a taste next time.”

He thrusts his leather-covered hips against hers, making each of them groan as she reaches her fingers down to the laces hastily. She tugs them loose, pulling on his trousers so that his rear is almost exposed before he hoists himself up and removes them altogether.

He’s aligning himself with her in an instant, tracing his cock along her wet folds and touching his forehead to hers before he plunges inside. She didn’t get a look at him once his trousers were off, but she doesn't need to see to know that he’s well endowed. The stretch she feels in response to him is close to being too much, but when he pulls out slightly and slides back in, she revels in it, planting her feel firmly on the mattress and curling her toes into it.

“Gods, Killian,” she whimpers, pulling his head impossibly closer to hers as she links her fingers back into his hair.

“Bloody hell, you’re impeccable. You feel so perfect around me.”

She nods against his forehead before he moves to kiss her neck, thrusting in and out of her with gentle force that drives her mad. “So good, Killian, don’t stop.”

He grunts as he thrusts some more as she squeezes around him, seeking more friction and tilting her hips slightly to feel the pressure of his pelvis against her clit. She can feel every detail of his cock gliding against her walls and it’s maddening. He holds her hips higher in the air against him before his hands stroke down her thighs and lift her knees. One leg slides higher along his hip and the other slips over his shoulder, increasing the depth of his thrusts, before his thumb finds her clit once more and presses gentle and firm circles until her mouth hangs open in a silent scream.

It doesn't take either of them long, their yearning for one another the driving force behind their arousal. “Are you close?” he asks, kissing her deeply as she nods against his mouth.

“Please don’t stop, Killian, that feels so good, don't stop,” she begs.

“I won’t, I promise. Come for me, Emma.”

He quickens his thrusts and his movements on her clit as she squeezes her fingers around his hair and her walls against his cock. She comes with a shout, louder and higher pitched than she may have ever heard from her own mouth. When he finally spills himself into her, the sensation of him throbbing inside her simply intensifies her feelings as she continues to ride out her high.

He stills, both of them panting heavily as his hands roam her body slowly and mindlessly. As they come down together, he continues to press soft kisses against her neck and whisper loving praise into her ear. Her foot starts to go numb atop his shoulder the longer they stay stunned in their places, but she can’t find it in herself to care enough to move. Emma feels her eyes drifting shut at the feeling of his weight firmly upon her, reaching his goal of making her feel safe and happy and loved.

Her leg falls from his shoulder as finally slips out of her, and she pouts up at him playfully, dragging a smile from his lips as he stands to reach for a cloth to clean up. He hands her one as well, kissing her forehead before tossing them away and joining her back in bed. He holds her back to his front, tightly tucking her in close to him and kissing her head, whispering, “sleep now, my love. You’re safe and you’re loved, and come morning we’ll be off to whatever realm you desire.”

She slips blissfully to sleep, dreaming of the adventure she craves and of the man she loves.

~~~~

She wakes just before the sun, alone, the feeling of the cool sheets beside her setting stones in the pit of her stomach. She takes in a breath quickly, sitting up in bed, disoriented, when she hears his deep voice.

“Morning, darling,” he says to her from his desk. She sighs in relief, collapsing back onto the pillow and grinning as she shuts her eyes against the slowly rising sun.

“Come back to bed,” she murmurs into the dimly lit room.

He chuckles. “Though I’d love to spend the rest of my days in bed with you, I promised my lady love I’d whisk her away come sunrise, and to do that, one must first plot a course.”

“If I promise to do it later, will you come back to bed now?” she asks as she rolls to her side to look at him.

He laughs aloud once more, writing down one more detail before standing and walking to her to lean down and press a gentle kiss to her lips. “Are you rather good at charting, Swan? I thought you said it was boring.”

She giggles, reaching her hands up to link her fingers around the back of his neck. “No, I said I'd rather do other things. But I am a fast learner.”

“You are a rather shrewd thing, aren't you?”

Emma hums in agreement, kissing him once more. “I think you’re the only one who’s noticed.”

“That isn’t true, love.” He emphasizes with a kiss. “Would you like some breakfast?”

“After,” she growls, pulling him lower until his weight rests on hers. “Would you like to go back to your charts, or is there, perhaps, something else you’d rather work on?”

He nips at her bottom lip playfully, running his hand up along her waist until he can squeeze her bare breast. “I’ve just finished the charts, darling,” he tells her as he licks along her jaw. “Let me simply bring them to Mr. Smee and I’m yours for the day.”

“Only for today?”

“Today and every day for as long as I live, my love.”

And so he was.

~~~~

~~~~

[courtorderedcake]

Team Every Walsh Must Die & Team Every Neal Must Die

[writeyourownlifestory]

OUAT and sexual assault

Just gonna make a tiny list here.

Graham - forced to sleep with Regina when she had his heart. 

Emma - unknown whether or not she slept with Walsh (aka, a flying monkey and Zelena’s henchman), but chances are rather high. 

Robin - Slept with Zelena believing her to be Marian.

Wish Realm!Hook - Slept with Gothel believing her to be Rapunzel. 

These are all the characters that have been raped by force or deception thus far. Feel free to add any that I might have missed.

[ladystrallan]

Once Upon a Time season 3A thoughts

I’m rewatching OUAT and I wanted to share some of my opinions on each season!

- Lol bye Greg and Tamara

- Rumple I’m digging this outfit

- It’s Robin omg

- “That election was a sham” REGINA THERE ARE MORE IMPORTANT THINGS TO WORRY ABOUT

- Rumple’s little doll lol

- Regina is ridiculously overpowered in comparison to snow

- But she still can’t manage to kill her

- Ooh the captainswan chemistry is growing

- Demon doll moving around

- No David

- I knew he got hit with that arrow

- Regina calling hook emma’s boyfriend lol

- Rumple being willing to die is very interesting

- Camp fire dance party!

- The lost boys give me maze runner vibes

- Killian with a ponytail!

- “Mate? MATE!” Lol

- OMG CAPTAINSWAN KISS

- but Neal is still alive… yikes

- Who’s ‘the other one’???

- “Your secret is safe with me” snow you have a bad track record

- Little baby Rumple

- The big reveal: PAN IS RUMPLE’S DADDY

- Yikes Henry getting gaslit by pan

- “I need a child Gold and I need your help” “Well I’m flattered, but uninterested” “Not like THAT” lol

- “My father passed some time ago” YOU KILLED HIM

- Hey Felix why do you care about pan so much???

- Seems a little gay to me

- “You came back for me papa” me sobbing

- ITS NOT HENRY

- Alexa play believer by imagine dragons

- Belle is always walking around in platform stilettos

- RUMBELLE REUNION

- Pan is acting so weird as Henry like they should figure it out

- Is he gonna cut off his hand? Kinda ironic

- NO RUMPLE

- “The curse ITS HERE”

- They’re hyping emma up meanwhile belle is sobbing over rumple

- Ooh I forgot about this

- Doesn’t 3B start with Emma on a date with Walsh?

- This is sad :(

- OMG ITS HOOK

- Woah he kissed her

- Wow

- Memorable lines: “pan never fails” “the boy will be my undoing”

How I feel about the characters this season

Love: Rumple

Like: Emma, Hook, Neal, Belle, the Darlings

Neutral: Regina, Snow, Charming, Henry, Ariel, Tinker bell, everyone else

Dislike: Pan, Felix, Blue

Hate: Greg, Tamara

Season rating: 7.5/10

Contrary to popular belief I actually like the Neverland arc. I think it makes a lot of sense for Peter Pan to be evil. And also it’s cool that he’s Rumple’s dad. That family has so much daddy issues. Rumple’s sacrifice was so sad. Good season.