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walviemort · 8 months ago

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Expecting a Secret [2/3]

Summary: After the events of 3x19, Killian is at his lowest after being rejected by Emma. When Snow’s labor turns out to be a false alarm, Zelena offers Killian a deal: she’ll leave the Charmings alone…if he gives her the baby she needs for her spell instead. There’s just one hitch: he has to keep it a secret. At least it will only take 10 days, right? a/n: Here's the second part of my bday fic for @sancocnutclub !!! This is the full fic from the manip I posted last week. Last chapter should go up on Friday! rated T | AO3 | 3.8k | part 1 |

Based on what Killian was feeling and seeing, the next morning found him roughly at the 23-week mark (as expected, he’d spent most of the night studying his borrowed book—and was feeling thoroughly overwhelmed). His stomach looked yet larger, but his vest still had plenty of room, even if the laces on the side were let out a bit more.

He also found himself resting his hand on his belt to further hide the increasingly obvious curve of his midsection (at least, it appeared so to him, given all the decades that his form had remained unchanged). It seemed to work, thankfully, but he also made an effort to not be too social; he took lunch with Emma and Henry, at their request, but had to pass on their invite to dine at the loft that night. He cited his desire to avoid the extra burden on Snow—who it was implied could go into labor at any moment, though he had (good) reason to believe they had a bit more time, assuming Zelena’s implication that she had control over Snow’s pregnancy was true—but in reality, he knew his ravenous appetite would be nigh impossible to hide in such close quarters. (Granny was far less discerning, especially with with her approving comments about “putting some meat on his bones.”)

“We’ll miss you,” Henry told him as he and Emma left the diner that afternoon; Killian wasn’t sure if what he felt at that was his heart skipping a beat, or yet another kick from the little one, which were happening with increasing frequency and strength.

He tried his damnedest to swallow his emotions and looked up at Emma, who was giving him a similar gentle look. “I, uh, I’ll miss you too—lad,” he added quickly. “Until next time.”

He was glad he’d left things vague when he yet again felt immediate relief at unclasping his vest once back in his room. The odds of it fitting even later that day were slim to none, which would no doubt draw Emma’s attention. No, he’d do best to avoid her the next several days, until this whole thing was done.

That was something else he’d noticed—his conscious effort to put distance between him and this child, even if it obviously was more emotional than physical. His paternal side would find it far too easy to start considering names for the wee one, to caress his growing stomach and maybe even serenade the baby, to start preparing for the future. He wasn’t even sure the babe was his—but that had never stopped him before.

Until he knew how to keep them safe from Zelena’s clutches, though, he didn’t dare; that might only lead to heartbreak, and he’d known enough of that for a few lifetimes.

He did ask Emma, during a moment when Henry stepped away to the restroom, if any progress had been made regarding the witch problem, given that his attempt at research was fruitless.

“Nothing yet,” she sighed. “Unless we can somehow steal the items back before my mom goes into labor, our only hope is my magic.” Her eyes briefly darted to his lips; he leaned away from her.

“I’d say both are good plans,” he assured her. “Especially the second one.”

She rolled her eyes, but blushed. “I think you’re the only person confident in that.”

“Well, take some of mine, then. Remember: I have yet to see you fail,” he reminded her, and placed his hand over hers on the diner table.

The look she gave him was heavy; she still wasn’t used to people having that kind of faith in her, he knew. But if this was his only way of thwarting the witch—of keeping two infants safe—he’d give her as much support as he could.

The moment was simultaneously interrupted by Henry’s return, and a strong kick from his passenger—as if to remind him that at some point here (sooner than he’d care to admit), he’d have to go into hiding. He’d have to figure out a way to offer his support from afar.

But until there was a definite plan, he was going to keep things as impersonal as possible, merely trying to make sure he complied with Zelena’s rules and did whatever he needed to remain something resembling comfortable. The babe seemed to be growing just fine; his stomach was maybe a touch smaller than average, but that could be attributed to him also being taller than the typical expectant parent, as well as a life at sea demanding denser core muscles.

Hopefully, that remained the trend; he’d read the section about what happened after birth in more detail and…it wasn’t pretty. And he was still a rather vain man, with a woman to woo, if she’d still have him.

(He hadn’t given much thought as to how he might explain this to Emma after the fact, if at all; he hoped the simple fact that Zelena was no longer going after the Charmings would be enough that they wouldn’t even need to have the conversation. However, he wasn’t naive enough to count on it.)

—----------------------------------------------

When he woke the next morning, his hand was instinctively resting atop the bare curve of his belly. (That didn’t bode well for his plans of detachment.)

He also found it difficult to sit up in his normal manner; after much rolling around and repositioning, he finally managed to get upright—only to see that his stomach had popped out a fair bit overnight. It most definitely resembled a bump now; after using the lavatory, he traced the curve of it in the mirror, equal parts astounded and horrified. He was also surprised at how firm it was—it wasn’t just softness; there was definitely something there. (Something that was repeatedly kicking at his liver, it felt like.)

His tunic was plenty roomy, but the vest would no longer clasp over his gravid form, no matter how much he let out the laces. He huffed as he cast it aside; he knew it was inevitable, but it was depressing all the same. At least his pants still fit, but barely—and likely not for much longer.

If no one looked closely, and he didn’t tuck in his shirt, it wasn’t all that noticeable. But there would be no hiding it from those even reasonably close to him. Now he understood why the upper-class women referred to this time as “confinement”—because in order to keep this hidden, he’d have to stay in his room.

Not for the first time, he wished he had his ship; it would have been far easier to hide out there, away from prying eyes. Or if only there were another inn in town, but it would likely draw more attention if he were to relocate.

While he still had a semblance of normalcy to his appearance, he decided he should seek out provisions to get him through the next several days. By his math, he’d only just crossed the halfway mark in the time frame Zelena gave him, but was more than halfway through the pregnancy—so it was likely slowing down in speed, meaning he’d be spending the bulk of it during the most uncomfortable parts. Not only would he need food, he’d need other supplies as well.

He’d jotted down a list and slipped it into the pocket of his greatcoat, next to the fair amount of gold he’d stashed before leaving the Jolly Roger. His jacket hung loose enough that it hid his belly, but only just.

Cautiously, he poked his head out in the hall before heading out; even if he was reasonably covered up, the more inconspicuous he could be, the better. The coast was clear, so he slipped out and locked up—but then he heard a similar sound from behind him.

“Oh, hey—I was just about to come over,” Emma said from across the way. “I’ve got a magic lesson this afternoon, but do you want to get lunch before it?”

He was still facing the door. Given the state of things, Emma was the last person he’d wanted to run into. Traitorously, the baby chose then to give him a sharp thump in the stomach, as if telling him to get a move on.

So he did his best to suck in a breath—to minimize his bump’s profile—before turning around. He plastered on his best flirtatious look and avoided the urge to place his hand on his belt. “Is that your way of asking me out on a date?” he teased, hoping the obvious come-on would prevent her from suspecting anything was awry.

As predicted, she rolled her eyes. “If I was asking you on a date, it wouldn’t be to Granny’s,” she countered.

“Duly noted,” he quipped back (and saved for future reference). “But unfortunately, I have to decline the invitation; I’m afraid I have some errands to run that I’ve been putting off too long.”

“Oh.” Her face fell, and he tried to make sure his heart didn’t follow it. “Well, I could go with you, if you wanted.”

He did—so much. But then how would he explain the copious amounts of food he was about to buy? “I appreciate the offer, but I don’t know how long it will take—and I know that Her Majesty can’t be kept waiting.”

Emma huffed, but he saw acceptance across her face. “Yeah, you’re right. But I’m absolutely not seeing her on an empty stomach.”

“Nor should you,” he agreed, smiling—though hopefully it didn’t look too pained, because his attempts at holding in his belly were beginning to strain. As such, he started to turn away to leave, but she wasn’t done.

“Hey, where’s your vest? Is that one of your errands?”

Dammit; should have known she’d notice. But her gaze seemed to be focused on his chest and not any lower; normally, he’d comment on her leering but he was just relieved. “Aye; damaged it with my hook last night, and the laces need repair.” (That part was true—some of them had gotten a bit stretched.)

“Darn; I thought maybe you were actually going to join the modern world and get some new clothes,” she teased.

“Not yet,” he countered, but it wasn’t a bad idea—not a total wardrobe change, but perhaps something a bit…roomier, or more forgiving. “I should get to it, though.”

Emma blinked and looked back up at him, having seemingly been lost in a daydream. (Perhaps buying modern clothes did need to be added to his docket at some point; just not today.) “Yeah, and I need to get moving. Have fun.”

“Thanks, and good luck,” he farewelled; Emma headed the opposite way down the hall with a casual wave.

He waited until she was out of sight and then relaxed with a sigh; he could feel his belly press against the laces of his trousers as soon as he did, and indulged in a brief massage of his lower abdominal muscles. At least the ruse had worked—but he was definitely seeking out pants with an elastic waist.

The supermarket was aptly named; it was indeed massive and overwhelming. But it had everything—fresh vegetables and meat, bulk rations, even perishables and fresh-baked goods. It was astounding. He was easily able to gather enough provisions (healthy ones at that) for the next several days. He also grabbed some items at random that simply sounded appealing—mostly sweets, but he’d learned that cravings were a customary part of the process and this little one certainly had a sweet tooth.

(Thankfully, he also found the section with flexible clothing with ease. He purchased a couple pairs of what were labeled “sweatpants” and a few long-sleeved tops in varying sizes and colors; he just hoped he’d selected ones big enough.)

Odds were he overpaid for the lot of goods, given that the lad working the checkout didn’t know the gold conversion rate offhand, but he didn’t rightly care if it also bought the boy’s discretion. Thankfully, he also had his enchanted tote bag with him—the one with the hidden expansion charm he’d picked up…gods, he couldn’t even remember where anymore, it’d been so long—so he wasn’t spotted carrying half a dozen overladen sacks into Granny’s.

He spent the rest of the afternoon unpacking his newfound treasures, grateful to finally have a use for the seemingly magical ice box in his room. He stashed the nonperishables on his small table, and his new clothing in a dresser drawer.

One last thing remained, and admittedly, he hadn’t paid for it: a tiny outfit intended for a baby, covered with illustrations of sailboats. He’d slipped it into a pocket before paying for everything else, not wanting to draw the raised eyebrows such a purchase would attract, even if he could have passed it off as being for the Charming’s infant.

He held it up with just his thumb and forefinger; the label on it suggested it was sized for a newborn, but it still seemed impossibly small. At least, until he laid it atop the steadily increasing curve of his belly; then he wondered if it would even be large enough (though the books told him the babe was only yet the size of an aubergine, which he had stared at in the produce section for an extended period of time).

Bloody hell, what was he doing? He couldn’t get attached; if he failed to help Emma and the others defeat Zelena, it would spell doom for this child. And given that he was increasingly running out of ideas, it seemed imminent. He’d already suffered two terrible heartbreaks in his life; he wasn’t sure he could survive another (which would undoubtedly be harsher).

He yanked open an empty drawer and threw the onesie inside, then shoved it shut. Best not to continue that train of thought; only if they actually managed to defeat the witch.

Sighing, he plopped down in the dining chair and tore (literally) into a package of something called Oreos. They were delicious, but did nothing to assuage his fears or guilt. For the umpteenth time, his hand instinctively drifted to his stomach, as if his touch alone could protect the babe.

Hopefully that, and his trust in the heroes, would be enough.

—--------------------------------------------------------------

Killian awoke the next day to something touching him. In his sleep-addled mind, he lashed out towards whatever it was, fully intending to let it (or them) get acquainted with the sharp end of his hook.

However, he’d taken his prosthesis off last night, lest he do anything to injure his ever-expanding midsection, so all he did was hit it away with his brace. An annoyed yelp followed his impact.

“Bloody hell, I was just checking on the baby,” Zelena scolded. He blinked a few times, urging the sleep away from his eyes, to see the witch standing over him, scowling.

“What the hell do you want?” he demanded as he tried (and failed) to sit up, eventually settling for propping himself on his elbows.

“I’m simply making sure that my investment is paying off. I’ve kept up my part of the deal—those sickly-sweet Charmings are just fine. But I’ve got to make sure everything is going well here, too; pregnancy is tricky business, you know.” She turned her gaze to his exposed belly; despite the shirt he’d worn to bed, it had ridden up overnight. “Oh, is that a stretch mark I see?” she declared, leaning back towards him.

He yanked the hem of his shirt down, both to cut off her view and at the wound to his vanity.

“You’re no fun,” she pouted. “I thought most expectant parents were basking in the glow of creating life, or whatever?”

“When it’s something they’ve wanted, aye; not when it’s been forced on them,” he spat. He hadn’t truly understood the concept of glowing until his time spent with Snow lately; however, he felt more washed out than anything incandescent.

But speaking of glowing—as she stood upright and folded her arms, light from the window glinted off the jewel at her neck. He remembered what the Charmings had been told about it being the source of her power, and without any further thought (moving faster than he thought he could), he lunged for the pendant, hoping that it might be just that simple to defeat her.

No sooner had his fingers brushed the surface of the gem than he was thrown back forcefully against the headboard; he groaned in pain. Bollocks.

“Ah-ah-ah,” she chastised. “Did you really think it’d be that easy? Especially when you’ve been touched not once, but twice by my own magic?”

“Had to try,” he panted out as he tried to catch his breath. His hand flew to his stomach as its inhabitant also protested the blow.

“You really ought to be more careful; a fall like that isn’t good for the little one,” she warned.

“Why do I give a shit what happens to your demon offspring?” he countered.

She scoffed. “Oh, it’s not mine. The spell would never work with my own blood. But,” she started, coming closer and leaning over him again. “It is yours.”

“What?” he gasped. He’d certainly wondered, but hadn’t expected that it was actually his child. How could she expect him to hand over his own flesh and blood? What he did to Bae all those years ago still haunted him; this would be even worse.

“Indeed. All the more reason for you to be careful, hm?” The way she caressed his bump again felt more like a threat than any sort of endearment. “If this child doesn’t survive, our deal is off. And maybe you should read the part of that book over there on just what that will do to you.”

(He swallowed, because he already had, of course; he couldn’t imagine anything more traumatic than carrying a child that didn’t survive—especially now knowing this one was truly his.)

“Then who’s the mum?” he asked, trying to distract himself. He needed to know that, too, especially if it wasn’t Zelena. “Is there one?” (Biologically, he knew there should be…but, biologically, she would be the one with child.)

“There is. Magic can’t circumvent that,” she confirmed as she set herself to rights. “But as for who…I’ll tell you when it’s all said and done.”

“You’re a bastard,” he growled.

“Something me and that baby will have in common,” she laughed.

She abruptly moved away and turned around, so he closed his eyes and took another deep breath to recover, at least physically, while she was distracted. He hadn’t realized how much the babe was pressing on his lungs until now.

“Oh, isn’t this sweet?” Zelena cooed. He opened his eyes to see her holding up the onesie. “Not my color scheme, but it certainly suits your aesthetic. Too bad they won’t get to wear it.”

Angrily, he stood from his bed to rush at her—he didn’t know why, exactly, just that he was suddenly filled with rage—but it was for nought, as she merely threw the garment at him before disappearing in her signature green smoke.

He caught it against his chest and sighed. He’d failed, hadn’t he? There was no way he could do anything to keep this child from Zelena’s clutches now, unless Emma managed to defeat her in the next few days. He sniffled, suddenly overcome by emotion—because wasn’t this so typical for him? To lose the things he loved?

(Because, much as he had tried not to, he did love the babe—even before he knew it was his; that was just his nature. But as with all things he loved, it was going to be taken from him—and their mum likely had no clue. Shit.)

His gaze was still on the outfit, vision blurring with tears, when a knock rapped at his door. He froze, hoping whoever it was would go away, but it sounded again. “Hook? Are you there?”

Of course it was Emma. Despite everything, he couldn’t say no to her. “Coming,” he called out, and quickly tossed the onesie aside, wiped his eyes, and strode to the door.

But then he glanced down; there was no hiding his belly, especially while wearing just the shirt and sweatpants he’d changed into (which, while exceedingly comfortable, did nothing to disguise the curve of his waistline). So he awkwardly angled himself, and opened the door just enough to peek his upper body around.

“Morning, Swan,” he greeted, though it was nowhere near as smooth as he usually was. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

Her brow furrowed as she looked him over, then tried to look past him into his room. “I thought I heard something weird; is everything okay?”

“Right as rain,” he lied. “I did have a run-in with my bed frame, though,” he said, hoping she would believe him if he at least partially told the truth.

“What, stub your toe?” she teased.

“Aye, something like that,” he agreed.

She briefly narrowed her gaze, but seemed to accept his answer. “Well, do you want to get breakfast? Henry was asking if you wanted to spar again, too; I think he’s gunning to be your first mate.”

He had to smile at that, but it didn’t hold. “Ah, I’m dealing with a fair bit of fatigue at the moment; can I take a rain bill?”

Emma tilted her head. “You mean a rain check?”

“That, yes.”

“I suppose, but that’s only going to mean he’ll want more later.”

“I endeavor to make it up to him in full.”

She grinned, but hers too didn’t last. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I just haven’t been sleeping well,” he told her—which was true, given that the babe was treating his internal organs as playthings.

“Alright, well, rest up; you’ve been missed around here.” There was a steadiness in her gaze that suggested she was speaking personally rather than generally.

“I’ll try,” he said, though his voice was almost a whisper.

“See you,” she farewelled; he repeated it and shut the door, perhaps a bit too forcefully.

The next few days were going to be interminable, weren’t they?

The lone blessing was that Belle had lent him a few books from the library, so he had the means of entertainment, and obviously had bought more than enough food. (Those Pop-Tart pastries that Emma seemed to favor were indeed delicious.)

He felt like an arse when he had to feign sleep during Emma’s next attempt to drag him from his room, around dinner time. The woman was bloody stubborn. But, as he was being reminded by the insistent little foot digging into his ribs, there was truly nothing to be done until they were out. He’d extend his apologies then—once they’d defeated the witch.

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thanks for reading! tagging a few: @wyntereyez @jennjenn615 @superadam54 @ashley-knightingale @justsomewhump @teamhook @mathiaskejseren @88infinity88

#cs ff #killian mpreg #killian jones ff #expecting a secret #my ff

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grimmswan · 1 month ago

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Love Bites (But So Do I) ch 8

Final Chapter

@cssns

Once Upon A Time: Captain Swan: Emma Swan/Killian Jones

For Captain Swan Supernatural Summer

“Zelena of the West has actually been on the agency’s radar for some time.” Nemo said when Emma and Killian updated him on their latest findings. “Her temper, constantly prone to jealousy, and excessive lack of reason makes her a danger to society. Before, there was nothing substantial we could bind and imprison her for. But with the proof that she is dealing in the forbidden spells, we may finally end her wicked ways once and for all.”

“The tricky part will be catching the witch.” Killian theorized. “I doubt she will just come along willingly.”

“We also need to find out just who she is working with. We know that it has to be a pirate, it’s the only way the stolen goods can be smuggled to willing buyers. But we don’t know if it’s the cyborg Silver, or Blackbeard.” Emma said. “We have to catch them in the act when they exchange goods.”

“That will be tricky.” Nemo nodded. “A cyborg certainly has the strength to cause the same amount of destruction as a werewolf. A disguise and the cover of darkness could have easily fooled witnesses who claimed it was a beast. Then again, a potion could have allowed a human to become a beast temporarily, allowing the human the abilities of a supernatural creature for that length of time. Either way, the person has to be found and dealt with.”

“We know for a fact now that Neal has made bargains with this witch as well. Has the council granted me permission to deal with him, permanently?” Killian asked, voice full of menacing hope.

“They have.” Nemo’s tone spoke of exactly the outcome they were expecting. “The council know the trouble Neal will cause if he continues on the path he has chosen. He signed his death sentence when he tried to kill and enslave the two of you. They have given the warrant allowing for you to dispose of him in any way you wish.”

“In any way we wish?” Killian questioned.

“Yes, Jones.” Nemo answered the werewolf. “You are allowed to make his death as slow and painful as you like.”

A wicked grin spread wide on Killian’s face. That clarification was like music to his ears.

“There’s a good chance that Neal might try to go back to Zelena.” Emma’s sweet voice cut through Killians imagining on how best to torture her former sire. “He knows that she has the potions that will do what he wants. Just because he failed with them once doesn’t mean he won’t try them again. He’ll be healed by now, his strength returned. By now he might have gathered something of value in exchange for more potions.”

Nemo nodded in agreement. Looking at Killian, he asked, “You’ve torn Neal apart enough times to catch his scent. Do you think you could track it down and see where he’s been?”

“I know his foul stench. I’ll be able to track him anywhere.” Killian said with a sneer.

Emma remembered the types of places Neal liked to frequent.

It didn’t take long to catch a strong whiff of his scent around an old building covered in wolfsbane.

“It’s an apartment complex that rents only to vampires.” Emma said. “The plants growing everywhere are supposed to keep werewolves from breaking in and messing with the residents.” Emma shrugged. “I stayed in a place like this when I was newly turned. Before I was hired by Nemo,” She turned to Killian, placed her hand over his heart and smiled up at him. “And before I knew how pleasurable it could be to have a werewolf mess with me.”

“Only one werewolf gives you pleasure.” Killian growled, pulling Emma against him. “I will kill any other being, werewolf or whatever, who tries to be with you the way that I do.”

She allowed him to take her lips in a kiss that was nothing short of possession. It was a claim, and she melted into it until he chose to let her go.

The darker side of her would admit that she loved to get him jealous and riled up. But that was because it always led to him doing the most wickedly delicious things to her.

“Save that energy for later.” Emma said breathily. “When we’re celebrating getting rid of my ex for good. But right now, we have work to do.”

Killian agreed. With reluctance, he pulled away from Emma and focused once again on Neal’s scent. He quieted his disappointment with the reminder that soon he would dispose of the idiot and then be certain that Emma would be safe in his arms for the rest of eternity.

Keeping their faces hidden by staying close together and standing by a shop on the corner of the street, they watched and listened for any sign of Neal.

Fortune was on their side. After just twenty minutes, they saw him emerge from the vampire apartment building.

He adjusted a satchel that seemed to be filled with something heavy, then started on his way down the street.

Emma and Killian soon followed, staying behind their target at about thirty paces.

Neal was not very observant. He never paid much attention to his surroundings. Too often obsessed with his own desires to realize things may not be as they seem.

Emma recalled more than one event where she, still human, had to warn Neal not to antagonize a being who he perceived as being smaller and weaker than himself.

“Goblins are stronger and more fierce than their size shows them to be.” She had told Neal, pulling him away from the creatures that he was saying cruel remarks about.

They may have been foul mouthed, and their scents unpleasant, they were only speaking with vulgar language to one another. So Emma had thought it was best for her and Neal to mind their own business, and allow the goblins to mind theirs.

Later, she found out that Neal had returned to the goblins gathering place and had called them vile and disgusting.

He spent the next three days at a healer’s, having the toxic acid that the goblins infected him with during their retaliatory attack drained from his body.

Neal had wanted the goblins punished for such behavior. But the counsel had declined the request. They stated that since Neal had gone out of his way to insult the goblins, then he should have anticipated the repercussions.

Neal never did learn his lesson. Which was why the counsel had had enough of him and his annoying behavior.

His lack of awareness did prove to be fortunate for Emma and Killian as they were able to follow him easily without being detected.

Neal turned down a dark alley filled with shops that did not advertise the name of the business printed anywhere.

When he opened the door, there was no bell to signal his arrival, but yet a red haired woman with green skin came out of a back room as soon as he entered.

Emma and Killian were able to watch and listen from outside the shop. The complete lack of light in the area easily obscured their presence.

“You, again? I thought you would be living happily with your bride.”

“Things didn’t go as planned.” Neal explained. “They had security that I didn’t anticipate. The bottles got broken. I need them replaced.” He reached into his satchel and pulled out a large leather bound book. “I’ve found this old book of spells. I want to trade this for more of those potions.”

“That book only buys you some of my time and patience. There are dozens like it already in my possession. And I know for a fact you got that book by stealing it from a witch. It’s the only way something like you could have obtained such a thing.” Zelena sneered. “I’m not just going to give you more potions. I have a business to run. If you had planned better, the potions would have worked.”

Neal sighed in frustration. “I can’t give you anymore of my vampire power. Is there anything else you would except? What if I promised to bring the werewolf to you. Certainly you can take all of his powers? Or enslave him? It might be useful for you to have a werewolf minion. And once I’ve taken back my bride, I’ll bring her to you and you can take all of her powers. She won’t need them when she’s with me.”

“As tempting as your offer is. I don’t trust you to be able to do anything you plan to do. But.., I may require werewolf strength to accomplish what I need. If I accomplish my task, you’ll get the benefit of having your werewolf rival out of your hair. And of course, out of the life of the woman you desire.” Zelena thought it over a moment. “Let’s set a trap for the two you want power over. Then maybe we both can have our desires fulfilled.”

Unbeknownst to Zelena and Neal, Emma and Kiillian could hear every word of their diabolical plan. As they listened, they made plans of their own.

Zelena told Neal about a pirate who was in her employ. The man had gotten on the wrong side of a sorcerer and was in need of her help.”

“He’ll be of use to take down that werewolf.” Zelena explained. “He has tremendous strength. He likes that part of his problem. But it has made him disfigured. He came to be in hope I can make him appear as his true self, but still keep the power that goes with his deformity.”

“He can do whatever he wants with the werewolf, but the vampire, Emma, is mine. No one touches her. The only thing you get to do to her is take her strength and speed away. Her eternal beauty and immortality are off limits.”

“Yes, yes.” Zelena waved her hand in dismissal. “Your preferred lover will keep what you like most about her. Just get them to the black steel castle on the edge of the cliffs by Poppy Lane. My associate and I will take care of the rest.”

Neal nodded and left the shop, eager to get his business settled.

He was in such a hurry that he never noticed the two figures standing nearby in the shadows.

Killian was about to go after Neal until Emma stopped him. She directed his attention to Zelena, who had a wicked smirk on her face.

“What a fool. I’m going to enjoy taking the rest of his powers, and draining the beauty from his precious vampire while he watches.”

After watching the witch for a little while longer and seeing nothing, Emma and Killian left the alley and made their way to a nearby park.

Through their mobile communication device, Emma and Killian updated Nemo on the case and its latest findings.

“It doesn’t surprise me that Zelena is looking for a way to reverse her curse. The jealousy she had caused her skin to become as green as the envy that possessed her heart. And from what I know about sorcery, it will stay that way until she mends her ways.”

“So her magic can’t reverse the effects of curses?” Killian asked.

“Few have the power to use magic to reverse a curse. While any curse can be lifted, it is normally through an action, because the spell has to be tied to a behavior or feeling.

Magic powerful enough to lift a curse would have to be wielded by a massive and highly disciplined coven, or by an elder who has spent centuries studying the craft.”

“It sounds like Zelena’s quest was always bound to end badly.” Emma said. “She can’t help herself, or the pirate that’s under some kind of curse. He’s been helping her so that he can get whatever's wrong with him reversed. He’s not going to be happy when he finds out he’s been helping her all this time, for nothing.”

“She might prefer us catching her. We’ll treat her better, make her punishment less painful than that pirate will when he finds out she deceived him. Pirates are not exactly known for their compassion, understanding, and forgiveness.” Killian said.

“Any witch who practices forbidden magic is automatically stripped of their powers.” Nemo recited. “The counsel of magic wielders and the High Counsel that represents all supernatural beings have made that law. As for the cursed pirate, we have to find out who he is first. If he is know to have taken a life, or several, then he will have to be disposed of. At the very least, he will be imprisoned, just like Zelena. However, if they refuse to surrender peacefully and/or try to take your lives, you are well within your rights to take theirs.”

“I still get to dispose of Neal, regardless of what his behavior when we confront him will be, correct?”

“Yes, Killian.” Nemo rolled his eyes. “Once you are done using Neal to track the maker of the forbidden potions, you may deal with him in any way you wish.”

“We could deal with him after we capture Zelena and the pirate she’s working with?” Emma suggested. “Once we have the witch and the pirate apprehended, we can put our entire focus onto disposing of Neal.”

“Love, I often struggle with what’s sexier about you; your mind, or your body.” Killian breathed every word gazing at Emma adoringly.

Nemo cleared his throat. “I believe the two of you have responsibilities to the law you are supposed to be taking care of at the moment. All recreational activities must wait until you have completed your assignment. Preferably when you are out of the earshot of your boss.”

After assuring Nemo that they would refocus on the job, they said goodbye and hung up.

Already knowing the location for the would-be trap, Emma and Killian made their way to the place, with the plan to take the criminals by surprise.

“I wonder how Neal thought he was going to lure us to this castle?” Emma wondered out loud.

“Most likely with something idiotic.” Killian shook his head. “I’m willing to bet he’s heading toward our home now, probably with the plan to wait for us until we return, then annoy us into chasing him at the castle.”

Emma laughed. “Or maybe he’s planning on stealing something from our front stoop, then leaving a note saying we can have the item back if we meet him at the castle.” An idea entered her mind, “I’ll send him a message that I wish to speak with him and ask him to meet me at the council house, tomorrow. Since it has union registries and bonding ceremony licenses there, it won’t occur to him that there are rooms in the underground where supernatural beings are executed.”

“That will certainly save us time and energy we would use to track him down.” Killian nodded.

Surprise was on their side, as well as speed and stealth. Vampires were naturally quiet. Werewolves could move in silence when they wanted to. Besides their supernatural abilities, they also had other skills that aided them in investigations.

Like lock picking.

When they reached the castle, they stood on the outside, listening for which room the witch and her cohort might be residing in at that moment.

Once they located the room, they searched for a way inside. That was when their lock picking skills came in handy.

Luck was on their side when the door they found opened without a squeak.

They quickly moved through the halls in total darkness easily, thanks to their supernatural sight.

Locating the room they wanted again, they stopped for a moment for Killian to shift into his wolf form, in case the man they heard with Zelena was either a beast or a cyborg with superhuman strength.

Together, they kicked the door in, splintering it into pieces and taking the occupants of the room off guard.

“Zelena of the West, by order of the supernatural council, you are under arrest for dealing in forbidden magic.” Emma shouted.

“Don’t just stand there!” Zelena shouted at the other being in the room. “They’ll arrest you too unless we kill them.”

Killian found himself face to face with a large boar. The creature’s height while standing was just short of Killlian’s snout when in werewolf form. Short black wiry fur covered its entire form, except for long curly hair trailing from the top of his head and going down its back, and black curly hair framing and hanging from its snout and chin. Large tusks stained nearly brown protrude from its mouth.

The beast charged toward Killian with its head lowered. Obviously with the intent to gore him. But Killian’s beast form was faster, and stronger. A simple leap over the pig, swiping its flesh with his razor sharp talons over his face and down his back as he went, incapacitated it enough for Killian to have the upper hand in battle. The pig swung around, its hard hoof raised toward Killian’s face. But once again, Killian saw it coming and with a quick swipe of his paw, soon had the creature squealing in pain.

While Killian dealt with the creature, Emma focused on Zelena. The witch tried to throw several fireballs at Emma, but the vampire easily dodged them. Zelena screamed in frustration as she continually missed her target. Her furry increased when she realized she was setting fire to her potions and spellbooks.

All of her hard work and research was destroyed. And it was her own doing.

When she ran to her research, hoping to salvage something, she was distracted enough for Emma to pounce and place cuffs on her, binding her powers and making it possible to get her to the council, to face punishment.

Killian had to knock the pig unconscious before he was able to get cuffs on him.

“Whoever this boar is, he’s a fighter.” Killian commented. “Even severely injured, he wouldn’t stop fighting me.”

“If I had to hazard a guess,” Emma said, “I’d say that’s Blackbeard. We had two pirates as suspects, and one of them was a cyborg. Since we know silver is a cyborg and that pig is not, then he must be Blackbeard.”

“I’ve always said you were a clever lass.” Killian, who had shifted back to his human form, smiled with pride at her.

Emma and Killian transported their captives to The Dungeons, which were magical holding cells for supernatural beings. They would be kept there until they could be seen by the wesen council, and given their sentences.

Emma then sent a message to Neal, requesting to meet him at the Council house the next day.

The following day, they were brought before the high council. Since the crime was committed by multiple types of supernatural creatures, it had to be the council that oversaw all that had to decide their fate.

A truth spell placed on the seats ensured that the accused made a full and honest confession.

The pirate admitted that he was in fact known as Blackbeard. He also explained that he was cursed to transform into a large pig every night.

“Turns out old Flint was a sorcerer. It’s what made him so good at being a pirate. No other could catch him thanks to his magic making his ship faster than all others. And his ability to make it invisible when need be. He placed this curse on me when he caught my men and I trying to steal from him. That witch promised she could break the curse. But it turns out, she’s not as skilled as she believes.”

“You ungrateful bastard!” Zelena screamed. “After everything I’ve done for you! You would be rolling in mud and muck if it wasn’t for me.”

“I would be sailing the sea’s if it weren’t for you!” Blackbeard yelled back. “You promised to make me richer and more powerful than my wildest dreams.”

“You promised to steal the boots and cloak that allowed Flint to travel anywhere and make himself invisible. It was how he was able to know the plans of the royal ships carrying high valued items. Because you failed to get me what I required, and got yourself cursed in the process, I’ve been stuck searching through the homes of inferior beings, looking for items to aid in my vengeance.”

“I wish I had never encountered you, you green bitch.”

“Likewise, you filthy, greedy, drunken pig!”

Considering that both beings had been committing heinous acts for years, been punished, yet had never learned their lesson, the council that it best to sentence both beings to death. A sentence that was carried out immediately.

It was relatively painless. A simple wave of crystal by a powerful sorcerer and the lifeforce of both beings were drained from them.

Neal had tried to get a hold of Zelena about the change of venue for the trap they had planned. When he had not heard back from her, he just assumed she was busy doing witchy things, or was too stuck up and full of herself to bother to reply.

He had no concern about anything. He was under the full belief that Emma had finally come to her senses and was willing to return to him and forget all about her werewolf.

He still planned on taking Emma’s powers away. As well as get rid of Killian. He wouldn’t want to risk Emma changing her mind, again.

Entering the room where Emma had requested they meet, Neal stopped short when instead of seeing Emma, he saw her boss, and her werewolf lover.

“What’s going on, here!” Neal demanded. “Where’s Emma?”

“You are a great fool.” Nemo said with a pitying look. “Time and again you have been warned to stay away. That you do not have a claim on Emma. I’m afraid now, you have reached beyond the amount of patience that is expected.”

Neal didn’t understand what the water demon was talking about, until he realized that Killian was shifting into his wolf beast form.

“The council has made it clear.” Nemo spoke as if giving a declaration. “When one supernatural being has gone past the expected limits of tolerance and patience, that being may be put down by the one who it has offended most. The council has also stated that if any being is a threat to a beast being’s mate, the beast being may do as they like with the offending creature.”

Neal realized with terrifying clarity that Killian was now allowed to kill him.

And by the menacing look in his eyes, the wolf creature was going to make it as painful as possible.

Neal tried to flee. But it was no use. The understanding of what was about to happen came too late. Killian was too close. Too fast. Too strong.

And the rage he felt toward Neal only made Killian more powerful.

Teeth and claws were all Neal could see. The knowledge that his end would only come after a great length of tremendous pain crossed his mind.

With one paw, Killian dug his claws deep into Neal’s head, holding it in place as he tore away flesh and bone.

First his arms, and then his legs were ripped from his body. Blood spurted everywhere, painting the area in crimson.

Neal was forced to watch in horror as the werewolf’s large clawed foot came up and kicked into his middle. He was split open so deep that his organs tumbled out of his body. The clawed foot swiped down, once again ripping away every inch of sensitive flesh, including the organ that had only just grown back.

Thumbs went into the eye sockets, rupturing the soft orbs within.

His scream of anguish was soon muffled when a large talon entered his mouth. His tongue was torn away, leaving behind a gaping socket that quickly filled with crimson liquid.

Gurgling, choking on his own blood, Neal could no longer attempt to beg for his life. And though he couldn’t see what the wolf was doing, he could feel every swipe and drag of razor sharp claws. His bottom jaw was torn from his skull. Finally, what was left of his head was severed from his spine.

His task completed, Killian shifted back to his human form.

Nemo brought for waves of water to wash the bloody remnants down the provided drain, and wash blood and tissue off of Killian.

“That’s one problem gone from yours and Emma’s lives.” Nemo said. “It must be a relief to you both.”

Killian nodded. “He’s no longer a threat to Emma. Her being safe and happy is all I’ve ever cared about.”

“Now you have that certainty that she will be.” Nemo padded Killian on the back. “The two of you have done well. You can have the week off. That should give you enough time to get the celebration out of your system.”

Killian grinned. “There is no getting Emma out of my system. But I thank you for the time off anyway.”

Emma had chosen to return home once she had escorted Zelena and Blackbeard to the council. Any and all feelings she had toward Neal were in the past and she felt content in just knowing Killian would deal with him.

Emma wanted to focus on how she and Killian would be spending their night. And she wanted to reward Killian for always being so good to her.

When Killian entered their home, Emma called to him that she was waiting for him in their bedroom.

Wearing a white garment so sheer he could see every line and curve of her sensuous body, Killian was certain she was an ethereal being, and that he had somehow entered Heaven.

“Nemo said we had the week off.” He said as he approached. “I intend to spend every second of it with you in this bed.”

“It’s a good thing I thought to stock up our pantry while you were handling things. I wouldn’t want us to have to leave our home for anything.”

“Such a clever lass.” Killian growled as he pounced on Emma, elongating his claws to tear the garment away. Too eager to get at her body to bother with pulling it off of her.

Turned on further by Killian’s aggression, Emma wrapped her arms and legs around him, and met his lips in a savage kiss.

Their last coherent thought before succumbing to passion was that they were going to enjoy their week off.

#once upon a time #captain swan #emma swan #killian jones #ouat #supernatural #cssns23 #cssns24 #grimmswanfic

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chessuga · 10 months ago

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Good Witch Zelena AU where she was raised by her stepmother instead of her stepfather! She still has her anger issues and envy but is learning to cope in a healthy way! Don’t be fooled though, she’s definitely still got some darkness in her..

#idk why but she gives off art teacher vibes #art #fanart #my art #artists on tumblr #digital art #ouat #ouat fandom #ouat zelena #zelena mills #ouat regina #regina mills #ouat fanart #ouat au #alternate universe #once upon a time

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whimsicallyenchantedrose · 8 months ago

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Season 3 Rewatch Drabble: 3x15 Quiet Minds

Summary: A series of 100-500 word drabbles to accompany my rewatch of season 3 of Once Upon a Time. There will be a drabble–either a deleted scene, a “fix it” fic or a character musing for each episode of the season. Focus will be on Emma, Henry, the Charmings and Killian–with an emphasis on Captain Swan’s epic love story.

Word Count: 674

Other Chapters: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) (11) (12) (13) (14) (15) (16) (18) (19) (20) (21) (22) (23) (24) (25) (26) (27) (28)

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Okay, so what’s the plan?” Emma asked as she stepped out of Baelfire’s hospital room and rejoined her parents and Hook.

Killian saw the hints of agitation on her face and wondered just what had transpired between her and Bae after he’d asked for a moment of privacy with her.

Nothing pleasant, that was for sure.

The selfish part of him felt a kind of sick satisfaction at the fact, but his better nature–blessedly the part that was firmly in control at the moment–felt only concern for her, and even some manner of concern for Bae.

“Is everything alright, Swan?” he asked gently.

She looked at him, and for the briefest of seconds, she let him see her agitation and discomfort before firmly shutting it down. “It’s fine,” she bit out, “but time’s wasting. We need to find Gold. Now. So again, what’s the plan?”

Killian wanted to argue, knowing everything clearly wasn’t alright, but he knew Swan well enough by now to realize any further insistence would be met with intractable denial.

“Well, your mom and I figured the best place to start the search would be the woods,” David said. “No real reason to think he’s there, but we know he didn’t go to his shop or his house, and the last place we know he was was in Zelena’s cellar, so…” He shrugged.

“Great,” Emma said. “Dad, you and I will head there. Mom?”

Snow White sighed. “I know,” she said. “I’ll be no help on the search in my very pregnant state. I guess I’ll…stay with Belle and watch over the homefront. I can still wield my bow and arrow.”

“Sounds good, and Hook?” She said turning to him.

“I’ll accompany you,” he said, his look encompassing both Swan and the prince. “After all, we can’t be too careful with the witch about.”

Snow and David shared a look. “Actually, Hook,” David said, “we were thinking it might be better if you stayed here.”

He protested vehemently at the suggestion, but Swan stopped him with a gentle hand to his arm. “He’s right,” she said. “We need someone here with Neal.”

“You think he needs protection?”

She snorted. “Well that, and there’s also the fact that he needs someone to stop him in case he does something stupid. Not like that’s unusual for him.”

“Emma!” her mother chided.

“I just mean something like leaving the hospital against medical advice,” she said. “You know, trying to come after his dad himself.”

“Aye,” Killian agreed, as a new possibility occurred to him, “not to mention the fact that we don’t know how much we can trust him.”

Snow White gave him a look that was so reminiscent of his own mother rebuking him when he was a small lad that he nearly squirmed.

“Consider what little we know thus far,” he said. “I’ve no doubt Bae is sincere in his allegiance to the side of the heroes, but we’ve yet to learn what precisely he did to resurrect his father. It is a safe bet that it was both exceedingly reckless and at least marginally unsavory. It would not hurt to have someone about to protect him when the price he undoubtedly owes for such dark magic comes due.”

“Okay, sounds good,” Swan said after a moment. “Let’s get to it, then.”

“Swan,”he called after her as she and her parents started toward the hospital entrance. She turned back to look at him. “Be safe,” he answered, unable to stop the slight hint of concern for her welfare from his voice.

Her eyes softened, and she smiled slightly at him. “Always am.”

With that, they were off, and Killian was left standing alone in the hospital corridor. He took a step toward the cafeteria in search of that “jell-o” he’d been served. It had been far too sweet for his taste and the texture was…unusual to say the least, but he gathered it had great medicinal properties and as such it would be as good an offering to Bae as anything.

NEXT CHAPTER->

#season 3 rewatch drabbles #ouat fanfiction #my fanfiction #cs fanfiction #3x15 quiet minds

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eirian-houpe · 5 months ago

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Dies Irae - Chapter 1

Fandom: Once Upon a Time (TV) Rating: Explicit Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Belle/Rumplestiltskin | Mr. Gold Characters: Belle (Once Upon a Time), Rumplestiltskin | Mr. Gold, Mad Hatter | Jefferson, Evil Queen | Regina Mills, Wicked Witch of the West | Zelena, Red Riding Hood | Ruby, Grumpy | Leroy, Captain Hook | Killian Jones, Grace | Paige (Once Upon a Time) Additional Tags: AU, Angst, Violence, archeology, psychic questing, Religion, spirituality, Magic, Supernatural - Freeform, Romance, Smut Summary:

A strange man confronts Doctor Belle French after one of her lectures, and claims to need her help. He also claims to know that she is troubled, and can offer her protection. When events transpire that lead Belle to take up that offer, a desperate search begins to find a series of ancient artifacts, and Belle and her friends - both old and new - face increasing danger as they try to secure the artifacts for the powers of good before they can fall into very wrong hands, and possibly threaten every living thing in Storybrooke and beyond!

Chapter One: Ēvincere

Etymology of the English word evince (v.) c. 1600, "disprove, confute," from French évincer "disprove, confute," from Latin evincere "conquer, overcome subdue, vanquish, prevail over; elicit by argument, prove," from assimilated form of ex "out" (see ex-) + vincere "to overcome" (from nasalized form of PIE root *weik- (3) "to fight, conquer"). Meaning "show clearly" is late 18c. Not clearly distinguished from its doublet, evict, until 18c. Related: Evinced; evinces; evincing; evincible.

"And I cannot stress hard enough…”

He didn’t move. While all around him in the lecture hall, those gathered in unspoken conspiracy seemed to squirm and shift uncomfortably in their places on the long, hard wooden benches, he remained immobile.

“…that if you are coming into archeology with dreams of… fame and fortune; of glory even, then you have been sadly misinformed.”

He sighed - perhaps the first sign of life since he entered the hall - and moved his hands with slow, measured precision, to turn to collar of his black, woolen trench coat up as if to defend against a unwelcome draft. He’d heard this before, several times, and as she continued, almost syllable for syllable, matched her litany.

“Treasure comes in many forms,” he muttered as she spoke, “and it isn’t always - is rarely as a matter of fact - gold or precious artifacts.” He recitation was lifeless and without the passionate inflection with which she spoke.

“But is something more precious still…” She gave a pause then, and in his line of sight, the watcher could separate those that had been caught in her spell, and those that were merely along for the ride. The former leaned, slightly, toward the front of the lecture hall, where the diminutive Doctor Belle French held court, and finished with all the mysteriousness it seemed that she could muster, “Knowledge.”

If she might have continued, he would never know, as the bell signaling the end of the alloted time sounded, and the ever impatient students began stuffing backpacks and tote bags with notebooks and textbooks; wooden boxes full of sharpened pencils and depleted ink pens, and hurried to rise and leave.

Still, he sat immobile, one booted foot up on the desk-like shelf in front of him, the other splayed slight to the side, toward the aisle. Others along his row shifted impatiently; pointedly waiting for him to take his foot down at least, so they could sidle, inconvenienced, past this apparent miscreant. He didn’t move. He didn’t even respond to the irritated murmuring; never once took his eyes off French as she too began packing away the lecture notes into folders, then the folders into piles on a table already replete with books and other papers.

“Are you gonna move y’foot, mate?”

Apparently, the patience of the nearby attendees had worn thin, or at least their courage had thickened, one or the other.

“Go around,” he said, his voice low and full of gravel, as well as gravitas. It was all he said, and neither did he make any attempt to remove his foot from blocking the way.

After another moment of immobility, and with the press of other students behind him, the one that had spoken tried again, more threatening this time as he grumbled, “I said move yer foot.”

With the grace of a highly trained dancer, and turning as he did indeed move his foot to stand, he turned to face the student, towering over the younger man as he said quietly, and with patience that somehow held a deadly quality, “And I said, go. Around.”

The student opened his mouth to make a third protest, but as he shifted slightly, something seemed to change the younger man’s mind and, muttering something not quite audible, but he was certain was unlikely to be very complementary, did indeed turn, and pushing the other students ahead of him, moved and exited the row from the other side.

The students were already forgotten though, and he turned his attention back to Doctor French. She was slowly clearing the table in front of the podium of all the books and papers littered there, packing them away in her already overstuffed messenger bag, paying absolutely no heed to the room around her, nor - he guessed - the energies in it.

When he felt the moment was right, just as the light descended enough to case a beam across the lecture hall and illuminate the dust that had yet to settle, he spoke.

“It isn’t true, you know?” he said. Though his voice was still soft he pitched it so that the acoustics of the hall carried it clearly to the professor. She started slightly, then looked up at him, raising a hand to shield her eyes from the light that concealed him.

“I beg your pardon?” she shot back, her voice terse, a challenge.

“Granted,” he said, and began to slowly descend the steps that flanked the tiers of seats.

“No, that’s not—” she began, slightly flustered, before annoyance got the better of her and she demanded, “I’m sorry - who are you?”

Once he reached the floor, he strode across to her, his trench coat almost billowing, cloak-like behind him, and once close enough held out a hand in her direction.

“My name is Jefferson,” he told her, “And I need your help to do something that I can’t.”

-------------

Belle blinked, then with a slight scoff, and ignoring his still outstretched hand said, “Well you have a very strange way of showing it!” Then she returned to packing her bag.

“In return,” he continued, apparently unmoved by her response, “I may be able to assist you.”

“I don’t need your help,” she snapped. The tone in his voice made the small hairs on the nape of her neck stand on end. Had he been watching her?

“There are powers in this world, Doctor French, who have no regard for the living, nor respect for the dead. I suspect you know the type, if not the very ones of whom I speak.”

She looked up at that, fixing her eyes first on his face, undeniably handsome, but clearly more than a little haunted behind the seriousness of his expression, and then traveling the length of the sombre-clad figure that stood before her, seeming to know more about her than a stranger should.

She couldn’t help but notice the small pin that graced his otherwise unadorned lapel: an equal armed, red cross, their width narrower at the center than they were at the ends, set against a white background that was stark against the black of his coat.

“Now you listen, Mister Je—.”

“Just Jefferson,” he corrected.

“I don’t know who you are, or where you came from,” she tried for indignation, but even to her own ears, the tone spoke more of fear, “or even why you’re here, but—”

“I told you,” he said, his voice soft, “I need your help.”

She frowned, and couldn’t muster an answer, just stood and shook her head.

He raised his long forgotten, outstretched hand to her again, and as if by magic, though she was certain it was slight of hand, he produced a velum business card and held it out to her, clasped between his index and middle finger.

“There’s a man, his name is Mister Gold,” he said. “If you have cause to change your mind, all you have to do is go to him. It’s very important you tell him what’s been going on. He can protect you, but you must tell him exactly what’s been happening. He’ll know what to do.”

He nodded then, just once, to the business card he still held, and hesitantly, she reached for it, and glancing down at it, saw the words that graced the center of the otherwise unadorned card.

“Gold - Antiquarian,” it said, and then in relief around the edges, words that she had to turn the card one way and then the other in order to read. Latin words.

Non nobis Domine, non nobis, sed nomini tuo da gloriam.

When she looked up, Jefferson was already gone.

#Rumbelle #fic #AU #Dies Irae

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countrymusiclover · 12 days ago

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21 - Through the Looking Glass

Part 22

Princess Red Thief

Tag list - just ask to be added @mystrey101 @melvia-ito @kmc1989 @tallrock35 @onentaien-kwar

Lifting my head up from the dirt ground I groaned feeling some of the muscles in my body were sore from the fall. I froze my movements feeling the tip of something poking me underneath my chin. “Don’t make another move if you know what is good for you.”

“Miss I mean no harm.” I gulped meeting the deep blue eyes of a curly blonde haired woman bent down on a knee with a dagger to my throat.

The woman sent me a curious expression across her face. “I’ve never seen you before. So who are you and what are you doing in Wonderland?”

“My name is Everly, Everly Gold. It’s a long story but a giant forced me through a portal and now I have ended up here. Can I know your name and could you possibly consider lowering your weapon?”

“I'm just pulling your leg.” She snorted, raising herself to her feet, ditching the weapon in her hands into the dirt. “I ain’t going to hurt you. We are friends after all. I’m Alice.”

“Friends?” I knitted my brows together in confusion. “I’m sorry but I don’t understand. I’ve never met you until now.”

Alice offered me a hand helping me up from the dirt. “You’ll meet me the same day I meet Arch..”

“Arch. Who’s Arch?”

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear embarrassed. “Apologies. I meant Archer. Archer Gold.”

“My son. What’s Archer have to do with us?” I shook my head eyeing the abandoned dagger in the dirt at the end of my boots where I recognized the design all too well. Lowering myself down on one knee I brushed the leaves off of it seeing my husband’s name engraved across it. “The Dark One dagger. How in the realm did you get your hands on this? I - I’m - I’ve never been so confused more than at this very moment.”

“It’s a very long and sad ongoing story. Archer gave me the dagger and said if anyone could fix what happened to us it was you and his father Rumplestilskin.” Alice explained as if I knew what she was talking about but I had honestly no clue.

Holding the dagger in my hands I needed more clarification from the girl in Wonderland. “Alice, I’m sorry but I don’t know what you mean. My son Archer is only an infant back in Storybrooke. And you're much older than he is at the moment.”

“In your realm yes. But not in this one.” She responded. “Archer is hopeful in finding a cure so we can be together. But that’s not what I want to talk with you about.”

I questioned the young girl before me. “Then what do you want to talk about?”

“I want to warn you about what is keeping me and Archer apart. I want you to prevent that from happening to the other version of us.”

Sliding the dagger into the belt loop on my hip I dropped my hands to my sides. “What exactly is keeping you apart?”

“It’s called The Curse of the Poisoned Heart.” She rolled up her left sleeve revealing a circle burn mark on the middle of her arm. “It appears when you’re touched by the one you can��t be with. A witch cursed Archer and I’ll never forget her name.”

“What’s the witch’s name?” I asked her.

Alice simply replied. “Zelena.”

“I have to find a way home and warn my husband. I’ve heard that name before and now I know that can't be for a good reason.” I began frantically walking back and forth so unsure of how I would get home from here. Running my hands through my hair I began breathing heavily until Alice touched my arm.

“Don’t worry, Everly.” She reassured me with a weak smile. “We’re in a land filled with magic. There’s more than one way to access portals to other lands here. I’ll get you home to prevent this curse.”

Alice began skipping through the forest while I stood in my current spot for a few seconds still adjusting to whatever reality the portal had transported me into. “Alice, where exactly is it we are going to?”

“We’re going to see Valerie and the other Eve. They’ll want to meet you.” She began skipping away from me causing me to chase after the girl who knew of conflicting realities.

“Are we really going to see another me and my grown up daughter!”

New York City

Emma Swan and Rumplestilskin entered his son’s apartment with Henry who was asked to go sit in the bathroom while they started talking when Emma was holding a dreamcatcher in her hands. "Did he tell you something?"

She tried but he cut her off. "Gold-"

"Did he tell you something?!" Rumple raised his voice.

Emma barked back "Nothing. He didn't say anything."

"But you talked to him, right-" He pointed his index finger, seeing her back away towards the corner.

Emma raised her voice feeling uneasy that he could read her so well. "Don't put words in my mouth."

"Tell me! You tell me, or I'm going to make you tell me." Rumple threatened her stepping closer.

Emma gestures to his bandages on his hand from the airport. "You don't have magic here."

"Oh, I don't need magic." He chuckled through a smirk still walking towards her. "Do not push me."

Emma fought back trying to stand up to him. "Don't push me."

"We had a deal! A deal! No one! No one breaks deals with me!" Rumple knocked over a tower of books in anger shouting in the blonde's face.

Suddenly the apartment door bursts opened and the pair saw a man with dark brown hair in a sweatshirt hoodie staring at them. "Hey! Leave her alone." He warned locking gazes with Rumple who had moved into the corner.

"Bae... You came back for me." Rumple shutters in awe at finally the reunion he wanted.

The guy shakes his head no. "No. I came to make sure you didn't hurt her. I've seen what you do to people who break deals."

"Please, Bae, just let me talk."Rumple begged, releasing some tears.

The boy shouted pointing towards the door. "Get out of my apartment!"

Emma tries to stop him calling him a different name. "Neal..."

Neal glanced her direction. "Emma, I got this."

"You two know each other...How?" Rumple snapped his fingers glancing between the pair for an answer. "How do you two know each other?!"

Footsteps came into the room with Henry confused. "Mom? W-what's going on?

"Who's this?" Neal asked, pointing a finger at Henry.

"My son." My sister simply said trying to get him out of the room.

Henry looks to Neal wanting to know if we found the guy. "Is that Baelfire?"

Emma and Neal started yelling so he called to Henry. "How old are you, kid?"

"Eleven! Now, why is everyone yelling?" Henry threw his arms up tired of all the commotion going on. "Mom?"

Neal raised a hand to his forehead looking at the boy before him. "Is this my son?"

"No. My dad was a fireman. He... He died. That's what you told me. You said..." Henry panicked, not wanting to believe that his mother lied to him.

Rumple backed into the nearest wall unsure of what to say next with the new information that had been revealed to the group. He felt something vibrating in his suit pocket causing him to take out his phone seeing his beloved Eve’s name appearing on the screen. “Everly, love. I’ll have to call you back-“

But her voice isn’t the one that responded back to him. “Rumplestilskin, I’m so sorry. It all happened so fast - I didn’t have time to stop the giant.”

“Abigail! I - I don’t understand. What - has something happened to my family?” Rumple questions his princess mother in law if he was ever to marry Everly.

Abigail explains in a panicked tone. “The kids are fine. But uh - my daughter - Everly got pushed into an open portal by a giant.”

“How did she open a portal in Storybrooke?” The Dark One asked racking his brain around how it would be possible.

“She used a golden mirror that was meant for the giant to fall into before he destroyed the town.” She answered his question.

Rumple lifted his head up to the ceiling recalling that his lover was formerly the inventory person when they were under the curse. “The Looking Glass to Wonderland. Clever girl, she is.” Everly knew the shop almost as well as he did.

“So what should we do? Do we reopen the portal and go looking for her?”

The Dark One shook his head no, wishing he could be there to rescue his lover. But he knew two things : one he couldn’t abandon his mission now that he had his son around him again and two : Everly was more resourceful than most thought, meaning she could find a way home rather than rely on someone else. “No, no, she’ll find her way back home I promise you. I taught her everything she’ll ever need to know. I do have one question for you. Who was she protecting when she fell in the portal?”

“Snow, Charming and Grumpy.” Abigail simply replied back.

Rumple shut his eyes growling under his breath furious with the Charming’s but he didn’t lose his composure. “Thank you for calling me, Abigail. Keep my children safe until I’m back home.” He hung up the phone, putting it back in his pocket. From that moment on he vowed to make them pay once he returned to Storybrooke and knew his princess was out of danger.

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sentenceme-leni · 7 months ago

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Wednesday. Minimum 3 sentences.

---

Zelena's eyes bugged out in shock, and a furious sneer twisted her lips when her magic remained useless against Rumpelstiltskin's protections. "This is impossible," she hissed, glaring at Belle.

Incredulity gave way to anger. "You are insane," Belle snapped, stepping away from the redhead. Her hand came up to rub at her chest, trying to soothe away the awful sensation of a witch's darkness rooting around for her heart. "Did you actually believe I would cast my own protections?"

Belle had thought to be catering to her husband's paranoia when she told that little lie. Zelena was a newcomer into a very tangled community, and her first attempts to contact her sister had been frankly a pain in the ass.

However, Belle knew of lonely souls who were inept at making meaningful connections with people they loved without the other person making the first (and second, and often third) step. Belle even knew that attachment to power often hid a yearning for warmth and friendship.

She had been honest in her attempts to befriend Zelena, and Rumple's warnings has fallen on deaf ears.

Oh, she had compromised in not telling the true extent of the protections around her, but only because the Dark One had too many enemies to make the truth common knowledge.

Every spell could be twisted and broken, after all. No need to give every upstart sorcerer a hint on how to harm the Dark One's wife.

Zelena's power would have broken through the strongest defenses Belle was able to cast.

This two-faced woman would have stolen her heart and used her to hurt her husband. She might even tried to take the Dark One's dagger.

"I would have helped you, you know," she told Zelena, still feeling silly but never sorry for trying to see something good in people who gave themselves to their darker side. "I don't need you to be perfect. Just to try to be better."

Zelena scoffed. "I'm already the best, and I'll prove it!" Her right hand twisted to summon power. "Let's see what Rumpelstiltskin thinks after I deliver your body."

True Love wouldn't be defeated by a witch in a snit.

However, Belle wasn't in the mood to witness another selfish tantrum. Zelena wanted to match her strength against the Dark One's? Well, then.

She rubbed her wedding ring three times and whispered her husband's name.

Then she smiled at Zelena's face when Rumple's anger broke through whatever protection had been cast around the farmhouse.

"Uh-oh," she said happily as Zelena paled. "I believe that's my husband come to pick me up."

The End

24/04/24

#background rumbelle #belle (ouat)#zelena #ar: the long haul

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rebelbyrdie · 2 months ago

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The Evil Twin Effect

Lacey is back and Zelena is in for a shock. Do they have a ship name? WickedLace?

Here is some silliness.

Regina had two babies, a pile of paperwork the size of a dwarf and a screaming headache. How had she double-booked herself for babysitting both Neal and Robyn was beyond her.

What did everyone have that kept them so busy on a Tuesday afternoon?

She looked over at the children. They were playing together with the same toys that Henry had when he'd been their age. They were both just shy of two years old and adorable. They didn't know or care about curses, fueds, family trees or anything that wasn't related to juiceboxes, or the Mickey Mouse cartoons.

"Madam Mayor."

Her unflappable assistant (and former spymaster) Aggie's voice came from the small intercom on her desk phone. She sounded very stressed.

"Sheriff Swan is here and she brought-"

Aggie paused.

"-guests. I'm going to block off the rest of your day."

She sighed.

"Possibly the rest of the week."

Well that certainly didn't bode well for her headache. Her office door opened and Emma popped her head inside.

"Hey-"

The way she dragged out the word betrayed Emma's anxiety.

"So remember how Belle said she found some old magical books at the library?"

Emma pushed the door open and came inside.

"There has been an incident and since Gold is not really doing the magic thing anymore-"

Regina raised her brow.

"Emma what is going-"

"Oh for goodness sake!"

Belle pushed by Emma and entered the office. Whatever she was about to say died on her tongue when she saw the two babies.

"Oh no.”

She tuned to look over her shoulder.

A second Belle walked through the door.

Regina knew who she was looking at immediately.

“Hello Lacey.”

Belle’s cursed persona had only been enacted for a short time, but she’d left an impression.

Belle wore a conservitivly cut blouse, a knee length skirt, tights and heels. Her wardrobe was very Mary Margaret but couture.

Lacey, on the other hand, was anything but conservative. Her dress was short, clingy, and stop-light red. She had on dark thigh-high boots with heels higher than Regina's own. Her hair was tousled and her makeup dark.

Sharp crystal blue eyes met her own.

“Hello Madam Mayor.”

Those eyes were cold, calculating, and clever.

“Or is it Your Majesty?”

Belle hovered anxiously between her doppelganger and the children.

Emma stood by the door, leaned against the wall. No help at all.

Lacey came closer, like a shark gliding through the water. Lacey was as intelligent as Belle, but lacked her gentle nature. She was all angles, arrogance, and ambition.

Regina regarded her.

“This is interesting.”

She was almost certain that she'd seen this on an episode of Star Trek. Next Generation or Voyager? Both? She couldn't quite recall.

There were splitting spells too, But Regina doubted it was that simple. Belle and Lacey weren’t strictly good and evil pieces of a whole. They were each a full blown individual person with memories and opinions.

“Make her go away!”

Belle Was borderline hysterical.

“Make her stop whining.”

Lacey sat on the edge of Regina's desk and crossed one leg over the other. Closer to her than anyone else in the room. She clearly expected Regina to be on “her side” of whatever this was.

Regina's headache was getting worse by the second.

Neal, the cutest of the Charming brood, toddled over to Emma and demanded her attention.

Robyn, however, was fascinated by Belle and Lacey.

Regina wasn’t sure if the little witch could sense the magic or was just fascinated by seeing two Belles instead of one.

“And where is Rumple?”

Even if he wasn’t going to help magically, Belle was his wife.

“I don’t-”

Belle pinched her nose between two fingers.

“-He doesn't need to know about her.”

“A little trouble-”

Lacey chuckled darkly.

“-in paradise already? Do you think he’s bored of the good little book worm act?”

Belle’s face went red and she sputtered, but she did not reply.

Regina could not handle this alone.

She twisted her wrist. A small gold bracelet with two cards, a Ruby apple and an emerald apple, was warm against her skin.

She tapped the small emerald with a single finger.

“Can you come to my office now.”

A moment later there was a curl of green smoke.

Zelena, half-dressed and fully panicked, appeared.

“Regina? Robyn?”

She was wearing a very short silk robe and her hair was dripping wet. Regina had called her out of the bath.

In hindsight, she should have texted instead of using their communication bracelet.

“What in Ozma’s name is going on here?”

Since she saw that Robyn was okay, Zelena’s mood snapped from panic to anger in an instant.

It took only a moment for Zelena to see.

“There’s two of them now!”

Zelena huffed and picked up her daughter. She kissed Robyn on the cheek then rolled her eyes.

“Keep whatever sexual shenanigans the imp and his bookworm are in to away from me.”

“And who”

Lacey’s voice was a low purr. Her eyes traveled up Zelena’s form. Starting at her polished toes, lingering on her hips and breast's, until finally meeting her eyes.

“-are you?”

Lacey slid off her desk. Her bootheels clicked on the marble floor. The boots boosted her height so she was almost eye-to-eye with Zelena.

“Even cursed I would remember you. I mean how could anyone forget?”

Regina had never seen her sister at a loss for words. Well, except when she'd taken her voice.

“I-”

Zelena's cheeks were suddenly flushed. Her eyes were wide and she stood stock-still. She was like a deer in headlights.

Lacey came closer and ran a single finger along the flowers embroidered on Zelena's robe.

“I'm Lacey French.”

She reached put a single finger to Robyn. The little girl took it with a grin.

“and I assure you that I want nothing to do with that imp or my stuck up sister.”

A smile, so much like her daughter's, spread across Zelena's face.

“You can call me Zelena. This is my daughter Robyn, and-"

Her voice dropped a little.

"Don't get me started on sisters.”

Zelena spared her a glance and a smirk.

“Can't live with them. Can't successfully erase them from history.”

Lacey threw her head back and laughed. It was party and whole-bodied. Nothing like Belle’s little snickers and giggles.

“Why don't I buy you a glass of wine and a juicebox and we can chat all about it?”

Zelena flicked Her wrist and instantly changed into a black dress. Even Royn’s clothes changed to match.

“You have magic?”

Lacey cocked a brow.

"Beauty, power and a built in mini-me? And they say there is no such thing as a perfect woman.”

Belle and Regina watched their sisters leave together silently.

Emma summed up the spectacle perfectly.

“What the fuck!”

“Fuck!”

Her brother screamed the obscenity.

Belle dropped onto the couch.

“What he said. God I need a drink.”

Regina just rested her head in her hands, at a loss.

She looked up at Emma and inwardly sighed. At least one of the Mills sisters had a shot at getting the girl.

#ouat

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rems-writing · 8 months ago

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Alternative Remedies

Pairing: fwb idol!San × witch gn!reader

Summary: One fuck up after another and the youngest Mills child is officially fed up. Good thing San is in town. And he has certain ways to make his lover relax

Warning(s): Cursing, yelling, a teeny bit of violence, mentions of stress, cockwarming, size kink, homeboy is playing with your ass a lot lol

Genre: Angst with a supposed fluffy ending and definitely smut

Nets: @mirohs-aurora-society

Thank you to @bunnliix for giving me the drabble title

Done.

That's what you were.

Just utterly fucking done.

You were just supposed to relax and help Mr. Gold and Belle take care of baby Gideon but nope! You had to go on a small quest with Snow White and David Charming. Emma and Hook were taking care of baby Neal and you couldn't use Henry as an excuse to opt out of this quest since the young boy was with Zelena. She wanted to bond with him a bit more and Regina volunteered to take care of baby Robin. So now here you were.

Sitting in the back of a cop car

With the Seven Dwarves

And they were yapping about such damn nonsense. You forgot your earbuds at home so you couldn't ignore their endless bickering about whatever the fuck they were on about. When it was time to catch the bad guy, you teleported out of the car and in between Emma's parents.

The quest was easy. You took out the bad guys with ease. So why were you so fed up? Simple.

Dopey swung his pickaxe and tried to hit the bad guy but they dodged at the last second and the tip of the axe slashed your arm. What was worse was that it was laced with magic.

Light magic.

And you dealt with dark magic for the main part.

When you screamed, or screeched in pain, random bursts of spells were expelled from your palms and everyone was blown backwards.

Which leads us to now.

You were yelling at Dopey for being stupid and not paying attention to where the axe was thrown and Grumpy stood up for him. Poorly may I add.

Snow and David swore they say smoke come out of your ears as you cussed out Grumpy. The angry dwarf remained stoic but the couple could tell he was afraid for his life.

"SCREW THIS! SCREW ALL OF YOU! FUCK THIS SHIT! I'M DONE!"

You threw Dopey's pickaxe to the side and teleported out of the forest in a puff of smoke. You were now in your apartment, sighing to yourself as you laid on the bed. Then, a notification appeared on your phone and you were about to tell whoever texted you to fuck off when a look of pleasant surprise appeared on your face.

San: Hey, baby

San: I'm in town

San: Well, technically I'm in New York lol anyways

San: My group finished the first concert for our American tour and I told them that I was gonna stay behind since they wanted to go out. Told them I wasn't feeling too well.

San: Wanna come over? We don't have to fuck. I just want you close to me.

You didn't think twice about responding back. Choi San was definitely someone that could help you with your stress. It's even better since he knows you're a witch so you didn't feel the need to cover up your words if you were going to rant to him plus you can poof in front of him anytime you'd like

You: Sure. I'll be there in a bit. Lemme get ready.

San: I'm in the same hotel as last time. I'll be waiting, kitten.

And that's how you ended up in his room, straddling him and kissing him fiercely. He matched your ferocity and grabbed your ass a lot. He squeezed your hips and played with both of your cheeks for a bit before pulling away.

"Bad day today?"

"Oh you don't know the half of it, Sannie."

As you ranted about your day, he mindlessly played with the hem of your jacket and listened to your words tentatively. He cradled your face and kissed your forehead softly.

"I know you put a spell on this jacket so your memory doesn't get fucked up since you're outside of Storybrooke. But may I remove it for now? I want to feel you." He asked gently. "I thought you didn't want to have sex." You were confused. "I don't but still. I need you with me. Do you catch my drift?" He clarified and it dawned on you. "Yeah you can remove it for now. I need you as well." He smiled at your confirmation before slowly shrugging off your jacket and setting it on the nightstand. You took off your leggings and San brought you into a deep kiss before licking his fingers and plunging them into your hole. While he was doing that, you took off your shirt and so did he.

You forgot how wide he was and you almost came on the spot.

As you were admiring his strong build, he sunk you down onto his equally thick cock and you moaned loudly. He chuckled smoothly and leaned in to nip, kiss, and lick at your neck. He missed marking you up. You tried your best not to squirm around since you were just cockwarming him, but with the way he was smacking and grabbing your ass, you couldn't help but wiggle in his strong hold. He pressed you against his semi naked form and just held you. He may have been shirtless, but his sweats and boxers were just pulled down to the middle of his thighs.

You mindlessly ran your hands over his broad shoulders and gawked at his firm chest, tiny waist, sculpted abs, pretty collarbone, muscular arms, and his face.

Oh his face was to die for.

Sharp jawline, sharper eyes, a pretty nose, pretty lips, high cheekbones, and

Was that an eyebrow slit?

"Nice brow slit." You commented randomly and he smiled. You found it endearing when his smile made his eyes crinkle and almost close up. "Thank you. I wanted to try something new." He explained. "Well you look nice."

For the rest of the time, you were just sitting on his cock, moving every now and then to keep him firm so he doesn't go limp and slip out. You definitely needed this. You felt all your stress wash away and you sighed in content as you looked down at the man that was holding you down onto his cock.

Choi San will be the death of you.

#mirohsaurorasociety #ateez #ateez fanfic #ateez imagines #ateez x reader #ateez smut

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mystical-flute · 1 year ago

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Moments: Swanfire Week Day 2

Also on AO3

Prompt: Neal and Emma spend the night on the perfect hill for stargazing.

Summary: On Princess Emma's eighteenth birthday, the dashing rogue Baelfire shows her a place to relax after the celebratory ball.

Misthaven Kingdom was finally in an era of peace. No longer did they have to worry about Regina gathering followers to rise up against them. No longer did they have to worry about Emma being swayed by dark magic, with it threatening to swallow her whole. No longer did they have to worry about her younger siblings being kidnapped, threatening to be sacrificed because a witch wanted to go back and change the past.

No, now, the world was quiet and peaceful. Even the Dark Ones had finally been tamed, after a hard-fought battle between love and darkness. She never would have thought that Rumplestiltskin had a son, and that said son would be so forgiving after everything he’d told her about his childhood.

“Emma, come on, it’s time to get ready for the ball!” her mother called, and she groaned a little, rolling her eyes. As much as she liked attending balls, the process of getting ready for said balls could be… a lot, and rather annoying with everyone fluttering around her, making sure she was perfectly presentable, even though many of the invitees had seen her bloody and bruised on the battlefield during the war.

Oh well.

Snow White practically fluttered into the room, much like the birds she so loved to care for, followed by Emma’s personal stylist carrying the dress she’d picked out ages ago.

She was eighteen now, and this ball was a birthday party doubled as her big debut to the eligible bachelors in the area. She wasn’t forced into a betrothal, thank goodness, but her parents wanted her to begin looking for suitors.

Ugh.

She sat comfortably in front of the mirror, hands folded in front of her as her mother set a small flower crown on top with a smile.

“No royal jewels tonight, mother?” Emma asked with a curious look. “With tonight being for me to find a husband I would have thought…”

Her mother shook her head. “I thought this would go better with your dress.”

Emma couldn’t deny that, and she smiled. “I’m glad we got here, and that Regina and Zelena aren’t issues for us anymore.”

“I am too. Now then, your father has a special gift to give to you. Come in, Charming.”

Her father entered then, dressed in a deep blue outfit and holding a small box in his hand. “Emma… you look beautiful. Are you ready for tonight?”

She nodded. “I get to celebrate my birthday. What could be better than that?”

He laughed a little. “Yeah, of course. I just wanted to give you one more gift before we go downstairs and greet our guests.”

Emma took the box into her hands and pulled it open, finding a small pendant inside. It was less spectacular than most of her jewelry, but she honestly loved that. It looked almost homemade or at the very least, not made by one of the royal jewelers.

“It’s beautiful, father… where did you get it?”

“It belonged to my mother. Your grandmother.”

Emma’s eyes widened. She knew her paternal grandmother had been killed by King George before she’d been born, but she didn’t know her father had kept this necklace. “I love it even more, knowing it belonged to her,” she said with a smile. “Mother, can you put it on me?”

Her mother nodded, carefully doing so. “You know, Emma, this pendant is enchanted by magic. If you hold it above your hand it’ll tell you the gender of your firstborn child.”

“Really?”

“I don’t know if that’s true. It was wrong for your mother,” her father replied as they left the room and started making their way to the staircase, where they were announced as the royal family and joined the party below.

Her mother rolled her eyes and shook her head as she leaned to whisper in Emma’s ear. “It was right, I just let him think it was wrong. North to south is a boy, east to west for a girl.”

Emma concealed a giggle behind her hand as the family was finally introduced to the rest of the hall.

Emma took a deep breath and tried to put on a brave face as she danced with one potential suitor after another. Prince Philip the Second, Prince Ali of Agrabah, Prince Jack of Tintagel… all of them were nice, she supposed, but she just wasn’t sure. So, once dinner was over and the dancing wore on, Emma stepped outside for some fresh air.

“I’m surprised to see the birthday girl out here all by herself,” a voice said.

She looked over in surprise. “Bae! I was wondering if you were here!”

Bae stepped out from behind a statue. “Of course I’m here. I couldn’t let you celebrate your birthday without me, right?” he teased with a grin. “Papa and Belle are here too, with Gideon. Don’t worry, you won’t have to worry about being set up with him, he’s too young.”

Emma laughed. “Yeah, I know. He’s only five. Eva though…”

Neal threw his head back and laughed as well. “So why is the birthday girl all alone? One of your suitors couldn’t keep you company?”

“I don’t want them to, ugh. And they aren’t suitors… just potential suitors,” she replied with a frown. “I just needed some space to breathe, that’s all.”

He hummed. “Ah, I see. And the ball’s still going for a few hours, right?”

Emma nodded.

“I think I can help you. I know a great place to watch the stars. Once the ball is over, meet me outside the palace gates and I’ll take you there.”

Emma could only grin. “It better be worth it.”

“Oh, trust me, it will be.”

She grinned, and felt her heart skip a beat, anticipation rising in her, but renewed with energy to see the ball through so she could see what he meant.

When the ball concluded, Emma sneaked through the servant’s quarters - an old trick she’d learned long ago as a way to sneak through the castle to avoid her parents, and made her way outside, cloaked and dressed in riding gear. Baelfire met her outside the gates as he said, with his horse, and she climbed on behind him, before they galloped away, to a large hill overlooking Mishaven’s largest village of Grimsund.

The stars were bright and clear, the only trees were behind them, the rest of the hill full of tall wildflowers and grasses.

“Oh wow…” she whispered. “What a beautiful area. How did you even find this place?”

Bae laid out a blanket on the ground, taking a seat on it and staring out at the stars above them. “This was the area where I grew up, before your ancestor’s managed to take it over from the corrupt officials. It’s the only thing that hasn’t changed in three-hundred years.”

Emma took a seat next to him. “Oh, wow… so you probably come here a lot, huh?”

“I used to, when I first came back from the Land Without Magic. It was the only place that felt familiar enough,” he said with a frown. “But now I think I’m getting used to all the changes that have happened.”

“I’m glad,” she said with a smile. “What was it like? The Land Without Magic?”

He smiled a little. “It was… amazing. There was a giant sundial - no, wait, Wendy called it a clock - there to help the whole city tell time. And there were so many people, not like in these little villages too. The clothes were a little more comfortable too, honestly. And so were the people there.” He had a faraway look in his eye that made her a little sad.

“That’s good, I suppose.”

“Yeah, it was good,” he agreed. “So where’d you get that necklace? It’s enchanted, isn’t it?”

Emma blinked in surprise, one hand coming up to grasp the pendant. “Father gave it to me for my birthday. It was my grandmother’s. How’d you guess it was enchanted?”

“Papa taught me to sense enchanted objects,” he said with a shrug. “What’s it do?”

“It tells you the sex of your firstborn child.”

“Did you do it?”

Emma snorted. “Of course not! I’m not thinking of having a kid yet!”

He wrapped an arm around her, and she almost instinctively leaned into him. “Yea, of course not. You only just started getting suitors after all. Did you find your one true love tonight?”

“Ugh, don’t remind me. No, not out of the guys that were there tonight, I don’t think,” she sighed, looking up at the sky.

“You don’t think?” he asked with a raised brow.

Emma shrugged. “I like spending time with you, y’know?”

He grinned down at her. “I like spending time with you too. But are you sure it’s a good idea for you to catch feelings for me? I mean, I’m not a prince.”

“That didn’t stop my mom,” she said with a smirk.

He leaned closer, lips brushing against hers. “Mm, that’s very true.”

And with that, he swept her into a kiss, under Misthaven’s starlit sky.

#sfweek2023 #swanfire #emma swan #neal cassidy #ouat #once upon a time #fanfiction

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walviemort · 8 months ago

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Expecting a Secret [1/3]

Summary: After the events of 3x19, Killian is at his lowest after being rejected by Emma. When Snow's labor turns out to be a false alarm, Zelena offers Killian a deal: she'll leave the Charmings alone…if he gives her the baby she needs for her spell instead. There's just one hitch: he has to keep it a secret. At least it will only take 10 days, right? a/n: (slightly belated) HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY SWEET FRIEND @sancocnutclub !!! This is the full fic from the manip I posted last week. I meant to get this done in time for you bday, but it kind of ran away from me…and ended up being a three-parter instead of the one-shot I thought it would be! Hope you (and everyone else) likes it! I just really liked the idea of him trying to keep a whole entire pregnancy hidden. rated T | AO3 | 3.1k

Killian left the hospital feeling—-well, the worst he had in a long while. Perhaps he’d been rash in trying to get Henry out of town without his mother’s permission, but it was the only way he could think of to get around Zelena’s curse on his lips.

Worse, though, was the fact that he’d lost the trust of not just Emma, but her family. It wasn’t entirely his fault—but some of it was.

It’d been clear he wasn’t needed or wanted at the hospital after it appeared Snow was going into labor, but it ended up being a false alarm; thank goodness, as they were far from prepared to protect the babe from the witch.

After a rather long moment of self-flagellation—in the form of watching the family take a well-deserved breath together in Snow’s hospital room, something he’d never be part of now—he shuffled off without goodbye, into the night.

His feet found him instinctively wandering toward the docks—further reminder of his shame, but he wanted to wallow in it tonight, punish himself further; it was what he deserved.

The vacant berth that had once held his ship was a fairly accurate metaphor for how he felt: empty, adrift, far from port, with only the churning sea to match his jumbled emotional state. He took a swig of rum, but the familiar burn did nothing for him.

“I warned you.”

He didn’t even flinch when he heard Zelena’s voice behind him; honestly, he expected it.

“It was pure luck they all showed up when they did. Otherwise, you’d have some more blood on your hands,” she went on, heeled footsteps sounding as she approached his side.

“The bloody hell do you want?” He was annoyed, but his reply had none of its usual bite.

“I want what I came here for. But now that you’ve told all the Charmings what my intention for you was, and now that they have their memories back, that’s all been dashed. Highly doubt the Savior is letting you get anywhere near her now.”

His heart somehow fell further, and it had already been near his feet. “No, I don’t imagine she will,” he concurred; were he and Emma’s situations reversed, he couldn’t say he wouldn’t do the same.

“That said, I still need your help to continue my plans.”

“Like hell,” he spat, then began to walk away—but she was suddenly in his path.

“Let me put it this way, Captain—you have two choices,” Zelena told him. “Either you can help me, and I leave Emma’s family alone,” she started, holding up one hand, “or I continue to go after all of them, no holds barred,” she finished, holding up the other. “It’s entirely your choice.”

Neither option was ideal. Knowing that Zelena basically wanted to wipe out the existence of Regina and Snow (and, consequently, Emma and Henry), he was loath to aid her in any way, shape, or form—especially considering she had no leverage anymore.

But perhaps, if he did take her offer, he’d be able to find a way to subvert it—and redeem himself in their eyes.

“Fine,” he replied, albeit reluctantly. “I’ll help. Do whatever you need with me. But you must leave Snow, Emma, and their family alone.”

The wicked grin that took over her face should have been his warning. “Then we have a deal, contingent on one thing: you’re to actually keep it a secret this time.”

“Done.” It’s not like they’d listen to him, anyway.

She offered her hand to him to shake on it; he moved closer and took it. “It’ll be a pleasure doing business with you, Captain,” she said slyly.

He tried to let go of her hand, but she held tight. And her other hand began to glow that awful garish green, now held outstretched in front of her.

“What are you doing?” he asked, suddenly worried.

“What we just agreed on,” she answered, her eyes wide and seeming slightly unhinged. “Using you to get what I need.”

Then she swiftly stepped forward and shoved the ball of magic into his stomach. He hunched over for a moment, a slight cramping taking over, but then it dissipated, merely leaving him slightly sore. “What did you do?” he demanded, slightly out of breath.

“I still need a baby,” she said matter-of-factly. “So now you’re going to provide it.”

He wasn’t sure he’d heard her right. “That’s impossible,” he breathed, though his hand immediately flew to his stomach once she let go. “I’m—I’m a man.”

“Anything’s possible with magic,” she sing-songed.

His insides certainly felt different; that could be anything, though. “But won’t that take a while?” he asked, trying to call her bluff. “You’ve always struck me as the impatient type.”

“I am. Which is why this is going to go just a bit faster than usual. You only have to keep that under wraps for about 10 days.”

Shit—he’d already forgotten about that part, he’d been so distracted by the absolute insanity of what she’d apparently done. “How the bloody hell am I supposed to keep something like that hidden?” His mind immediately went to Snow and the very obvious protrusion of her stomach.

“You’re resourceful; you’ll figure it out.”

“Where did it even come from?” he nearly shouted, incredulous.

“The same place they all do,” she shrugged, but there was a glint of something else in her eye. “See you soon!” she farewelled, then disappeared in a cloud of green smoke, leaving him alone to figure out just what he’d gotten himself into—and what to do next.

——————————-

Part of Killian was convinced Zelena had been lying, playing some kind of cruel trick on him. Magic aside, it just didn’t seem possible. He fell into a deep slumber that night in his rented room, and the following morning, just chalked it up to an incredibly vivid dream, or perhaps the result of too much rum.

But at some point that day, he noticed a bit of nausea settle over him. He wanted to attribute it to something slightly off in Granny’s seafood special, especially when he found himself making a mad dash for the toilet around midday (making sure to take his meals at off times—hours he knew he wouldn’t see Emma there, mainly to avoid both her ire and his shame). But he’d been through his fair share of food poisoning—and this wasn’t it.

For starters, food poisoning usually ended. This, however, kept going. All that night and into the next morning. He left his room long enough to try to get something simple from Granny’s—just some bread or oatmeal—but even that wouldn’t stay down. Oddly, the only thing that sounded even vaguely palatable was sardines, of all things; he thought longingly back to the store of them on the Jolly Roger, but they were obviously inaccessible at the moment.

(He did manage to keep his stomach calm enough to run out to the convenience store and purchase some, as well as some ginger tea—and took a long, hard look at the devices that apparently verified pregnancy. However, he moved on from them; time would surely tell.)

The nausea continued to follow him through the afternoon, but the ginger tea helped a bit. Still, though, he was surprised by the urgent knock at his door that evening—the end of the second day of the 10 that Zelena had foretold—as he flushed the latest bit of bile down the toilet.

“Hook? What’s wrong?”

He blinked and stared at the door before he answered; it was Emma—and she sounded concerned. That was a far cry from their last interaction.

Slowly, he opened the door; she looked like she’d been about to knock again, and indeed, there was a worried furrow to her brow. “‘M fine, love,” he told her, though his voice tiredly betrayed him.

“Please; I’ve heard you puking all day. These walls are thin. What’s up?”

“Just drank a bit too much,” he lied, staring at the floor. (Even the thought of rum made his stomach churn.)

“You know I know that’s not true.” He had no counter to that. “Well, whatever you have going on, just—take care of yourself, okay?”

“I always do,” he threw back.

“I know.” It looked like there were a multitude of things on the tip of her tongue, but she hesitated too long to say them. “Get some rest, okay? Have a good night.”

“You too, Swan.”

She headed back into her room across the hall, but he closed his door before she went away. He didn’t know how to interpret her care versus her statements to the contrary the other day.

Besides, his stomach turned again, so he had to make another mad dash off.

Not much later, another knock came to his door; Ruby had brought him some soup. “Heard you might need it,” she said; he had to wonder whether that was her own preternaturally strong hearing or some other voice whispering in her ear, but he was just grateful for the gesture.

Amazingly, it finally stayed down, and though the nausea lingered, he at least didn’t find himself losing anything else in the toilet.

His sleep that night was the deepest it had been since he had arrived back in Storybrooke.

————————————-

He felt surprisingly well rested the next morning—almost normal, though there seemed to be a weight that had settled in his stomach deep within, not unlike the guilty feeling he was used to carrying around for all these centuries. Perhaps the previous days had merely been an anomaly? A stomach illness?

David stopped by during the morning and invited him out on some rounds. He had no reason to refuse, regardless of whatever Zelena may or may not have done to him, so he joined in—especially because he could see it for the olive branch it was, even if it was never specifically stated as one.

David did seem a bit lighter than he had in days past; he said Snow and the baby were still doing well, and the fact that no one had seen the witch had them somewhat worried, but also finally felt like they could breathe for a bit.

If that was the case, then Killian had few regrets in his deal with the witch—though he hadn’t yet figured out a way to thwart her plans, especially without seeking help.

If he still needed to, at least. He wasn’t wholly convinced that she’d actually done anything to him. The only real difference he noticed in anything that day was the return of his appetite, in dramatic fashion; he was never one for gluttony, and propriety (as well as manners lessons back in the naval academy) demanded he never overindulge and eat politely, but he devoured his breakfast and lunch in record time. He was getting over a stomach bug, though—right?

Were it not for that, and the persistent dense feeling in his gut, he’d still think Zelena was messing with his head. A man giving birth? Preposterous.

However, after bathing that night, he caught something in his reflection that likely confirmed he was with child: it wasn’t significantly noticeable, but when viewed in profile, there was a curve to his belly that hadn’t been there earlier, just behind his navel. And while he could partly attribute it to the copious french fries with his dinner, the very tiny wiggles he felt inside were definitely not from digestion.

“Fuck,” he cursed. He gently traced it, knowing that this was only the beginning of what was to come. But—it would still be worth it if it meant Emma’s family was left alone.

———————————

The next morning, after another rather large breakfast, he headed to the library; Belle was still doing research on ways to thwart Zelena’s plans, so he decided to offer his aid. They’d come to a tenuous peace in the time since Neal had passed away—and, really, it was his only plan so far towards defeating the witch without revealing the reason for her sudden pause in assault.

(He may have had to loosen the laces of his vest a bit in order to avoid revealing it in other ways; his stomach was somewhat larger in the morning, but one would still have to look very closely to notice the difference.)

Belle did seem a bit surprised at his offer of help when he arrived—she said she assumed he’d be out doing reconnaissance with the Charmings—but seemed glad to have another set of eyes on the ancient tomes she’d been poring through.

After a couple hours of fruitless searching—having no particular theory on how to stop the spell, they were casting a wider net when it came to neutralizing magic—he got up to stretch his legs (and ease the bit of ache that had settled in his hips). He wandered the stacks a bit, the naval officer in him still in awe of all the knowledge they held. Perhaps someday, he’d have the time to more thoroughly peruse their contents, but he did have a somewhat ulterior motive for heading to the library today.

“The pregnancy books?” He jumped when Belle found him skimming a volume entitled What to Expect When You’re Expecting; shit.

“I’ve been…curious, is all,” he replied, quickly and bashfully. “We never had this kind of information in our realm, and with Snow…”

“I get it,” Belle replied, thankfully. “It’s overwhelming how much more they know here, isn’t it?”

“Aye,” he sighed, glad she believed his quick cover.

She just smiled when he brought it back to the table. He didn’t read it too in-depth—gods only knew he was about to devour it later, probably far too late into the night—but he did skim it and—oh no.

It just got worse and worse. He finally got to the chapter on labor, and all it entailed; all he could say was “bloody hell.” Oh, he was in for it.

Belle was reshelving books and glanced over his shoulder—and laughed. “Yeah, that was my reaction the first time I looked through it,” she told him. “What? I was curious too,” she added when he raised an eyebrow at her in question. “Good thing you won’t ever be pregnant, eh?”

He swallowed, and paused for probably too long a moment before muttering out a “Yeah, thank goodness.” Then quickly reached for another magic book and shoved the medical manual aside.

(He didn’t see Belle’s furrowed brow at the delay in his answer—or the sidelong glances at how quickly he ate his lunch.)

Sometime that afternoon, Henry popped in, inviting him to join in a sparring session with him and David out behind Granny’s. Again, he was touched, and hoped the lad didn’t notice the sudden wetness of his eyes. Were it not for that book, he’d wonder where that had come from, but apparently heightened emotions were a thing he had to look forward to.

It felt nice to get a workout, and the verbal battle between him and David as they taught Henry differing styles of fighting was just as entertaining. They were sharing a laugh when they were suddenly asked, “What’s so funny?”

He stiffened and turned, to see Emma standing off to the side, smiling at them—though it didn’t fully reach her eyes.

“David’s idea of properly blocking a parry,” he replied. “It works fine if you’re fighting someone who plays by the rules.”

“Which I’m guessing you don’t?”

“What fun is that?” he flirted back.

Her subsequent smile (and blush) was genuine. The sudden southward rush of his blood, though, was caused by something far different—and he just hoped no one noticed it.

They put away the practice weapons and headed into the diner, but Emma grabbed his arm and held him back. “Hey, I just wanted to say—I’m sorry for what I said the other day.”

He tilted his head, confused. “Beg your pardon?”

“About not trusting you,” she clarified. “I was upset at what had just happened. You haven’t really given us any reason to doubt you; I was just jarred by everything that had happened with the witch there, and you were an easy target. But you didn’t deserve that.”

“I…” he started, but found himself speechless—and attempting to hold back tears once more. “Thank you, love,” he finally said, sounding a bit more emotional than he’d like. “I’m…I’m glad to hear that, and I hope you never have reason to doubt my intentions again.”

“I know I won’t,” she said confidently, and there was a confidence to that statement that had him in awe.

Which made it all the worse that he was holding in—quite literally—an actual, fairly large secret.

(Well, only about the size of a grapefruit yet, according to the book, but—semantics.)

They invited him to dine with him—not taking his weak excuse at being tired—and conversation over their meal seemed to focus on future plans, even though Snow’s imminent birth still loomed. The oddest part, though, was they seemed to automatically include him in these plans. Gods above, he appreciated it, but hopefully they wouldn’t think it too odd when he had to inevitably bow out in a couple days, if not sooner.

He decided to get some practice in that by making an early exit from dinner. “You okay?” Emma asked, seemingly worried.

“What, is that tap Henry gave you on the shoulder acting up?” David joked.

“Indeed,” he played along, rubbing his left bicep in feigned emphasis. “Best rest it up.” (In truth, he was sore, but not there—more around his midsection—and he needed to get back to the book to find out why).

“See you tomorrow,” Emma said with a soft smile; he could only nod back.

Guilt was yet again plaguing him when he returned to his room. That didn’t stop his sigh of relief, though, when he undid his vest; he felt around his stomach, and it was definitely bigger than it was this morning, though still fairly small (and therefore easy to hide).

Perhaps he had indeed been too rash when he made this deal with Zelena. As much as Emma and her family had written him off in the moment, he too had underestimated their capacity for forgiveness. But no—anything that kept them out of danger was worth it, even if he still wasn’t wholly confident in what lay ahead of him, or how to ensure the witch didn’t succeed.

As if sensing his worries, the small life within gave a strong kick, one he could almost feel from the outside. It was a solid reminder that there was no going back on this.

He just hoped he could get through it with little issue.

—————————————————–

thank you so much for reading! tagging a few: @wyntereyez @jennjenn615 @superadam54 @ashley-knightingale @justsomewhump @teamhook @mathiaskejseren @88infinity88

#cs ff #killian mpreg #expecting a secret #my ff

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overlordofthelollipopguild · 28 days ago

Text

Broken Souls Mend Hearts -- Chapter 97: Going Home Again

Read on AO3 or ff.net.

Chapter notes:

Warning: Character death imminent. Sorry....

So this chapter is Enchanted Forest heavy and very Emma light. I was planning on the CS reunion being chapter 100 but so much of chapter 97-99 would have to be filler and I think I've kept y'all on the hook long enough. Season 3B here we come.

Also, Rumple is taking a lot of Neal's role. I just don't like Neal or writing for him. Rumple's easier and this is canon divergent enough that it flows better for Rumple to be more active than Neal.

Also next chapter is the CS reunion.

Chapter 97: Going Home Again

They appeared near the castle, which was kind of Zelena to send them so close to home, so she definitely wasn’t heartless.

August’s own heart was racing and his mind a mess of thoughts. Zelena wasn’t completely evil; he could see it in her eyes. She wanted to open up to him, to come to their side. He wasn’t sure why she rejected his offer, but they’d been so close to convincing her. August needed to see her again and talk. If only he stood up for her after the fire; if he did, maybe they wouldn’t be on opposite sides and she’d be with him.

August swallowed. Did he want that? Be with Zelena? Did he even know her? What if everything she ever said to him was a lie? He wanted to find out for sure, but actually being with her, pursuing a relationship, was something for him to think over.

“We have to go back.” Grace said. “I don’t think she’s evil, Uncle August.” In fact, Zelena seemed wrecked over the whole situation. It was clear to Grace at least that Zelena felt something for August, and she truly was upset that they hadn’t believed her about the fire.

“I don’t think so either, Gracie.” August sighed. “But we can’t go back. She doesn’t want us there right now.” Zelena gave him a lot to think about and he needed time to process. He figured Zelena also wanted to be alone for a reason.

Grace opened her mouth to protect, but August quickly cut her off.

“You know how sometimes you’re feeling bad about something and you don’t want to talk about it?” August asked.

Grace nodded. After all, she went through her lack of contact with her friends and losing Henry. Those were some rough months.

“Well, I think Zelena is struggling with something.” August said. “I think she needs time, okay?” Struggling with being good, maybe? Or was there something else? Zelena was so close to coming back with him, but something changed her mind.

“I just don’t want to give up on her.” Grace said. Zelena was her friend and friends were supposed to be there for support. Maybe August had a point, but Grace still didn’t like it.

“Grace!” Jefferson called out, catching their attention.

Jefferson and Belle walked closer to them.

“We’ve been looking all over for you.” Jefferson said. “Where have you been?” His expression was a mixture of concern and sternness. He definitely wanted answers.

Grace looked to August at a loss as to what to say.

Great, it’s time to be a responsible adult. August thought, though he hoped Grace wouldn’t be mad at him. He wasn’t going to lie to Jefferson. “Don’t be mad, but Grace wanted to talk with Zelena, and I went with her.”

Grace winced. Okay, so no lying this time. Papa was going to be mad.

“What?” Jefferson glared. “You took my daughter to see the Wicked Witch?” What the hell was August thinking? Didn’t he have any idea how dangerous that was?

“No, Papa.” Grace said, stepping in to defend August. “I ran off and Uncle August followed. He tried to bring me home, but I wanted to get answers. Zelena was my friend.”

Jefferson regarded his daughter for a moment, before sighing. Grace struggled since their return to the Enchanted Forest, and Jefferson knew that Lena, or Zelena, really bonded with Grace and helped her get through it, but she was still evil and was plotting against them. “I understand that, but you can’t run off and confront someone with the magic she has. I’m glad August was with you, but neither of you have enough means to defend yourselves against her.”

Grace looked down at her father’s disappointed tone. “I know. I wasn’t thinking about that. I didn’t think she would attack us, and she didn’t. She sent us back here.”

Belle and Jefferson shared a look. That was interesting. At least, they were both safe, but why wouldn’t Zelena harm them?

“She just sent you back?” Belle asked. Holding them hostage would’ve been incredibly beneficial to Zelena. Grace said she hadn’t attacked them either. Belle wondered what that meant.

Jefferson was curious too, and seeing August’s contrite expression, he figured that maybe Zelena had a heart after all. He’d talk more with August later, and they’d have to discuss not letting a twelve-year-old convince him to run off to a witch’s lair. “Be that as it may, we still need to talk about your independent streak. Come on, let’s go find your mom and we’ll talk about your punishment.”

Grace pouted but understood it. She hugged August tightly. “Thanks for going with me, Uncle August.”

August returned the hug. “You can always count on me, Gracie.”

As Grace walked over to her father, Jefferson sent a look which told August that they were going to talk more later. August nodded in response. It wasn’t a lecture he was looking forward to having, but he understood. He was the adult after all.

Belle walked over to him after father and daughter headed into the castle. “How are you doing?”

August shrugged. “Shouldn’t I be asking you that?” Belle was the one who’d been through recent trauma. What he was going through with Zelena didn’t hold a candle to that. He’d eventually deal with his own issues, but whatever Belle went through, she needed all the support she could get from them.

“I’m…doing better.” Belle said uncertain. “Slow progress, you know?” She grimaced at her words, unsure of how to discuss her own situation. Not talking about it was too much, but talking about it at all wasn’t something that she was ready for and she doubted she’d ever be ready for it.

“That’s good.” August sighed. His heart wanted to reach out to Zelena, to get her side, but his head couldn’t trust it. He wasn’t sure he could trust her, even though she hadn’t attacked them and seemed so uncertain about her own villainy. After a moment of silence between them, August voiced his thoughts. “When we went to see Zelena, it was like she didn’t want to be our enemy. Do you think she has changed? I just…I don’t want to be played again.”

Belle considered his words. It was odd that Zelena seemed so unwilling to attack August and Grace or use them for her own gain, but could it be that Zelena had a change of heart? “I don’t know, August. I wasn’t around. I do know that villains are capable of change. Look at Killian, Rumple, and Regina. They all changed for those they loved.” Rumple tried so hard for her. Even when he had his setbacks, he still attempted to be a better man. It wasn’t until his passing that she realized that three-hundred-years of being the Dark One was a hard habit to break. “Rumple even sacrificed his own life for us.”

August froze. Didn’t anyone tell Belle about Rumple? Crap. “Uh, Belle, did…did anyone tell you?” Why did it have to be him?

“Tell me what?” Belle didn’t like how August paled.

“We think Rumple is alive.” August said carefully. “He sent a note about Zelena and Regina recognized his handwriting.” He braced himself for her reaction, knowing that it wasn’t going to be a good one.

Belle’s blood froze, a chill settled over her. That wasn’t possible. It couldn’t be unless…had Neal succeeded? Had he resurrected his father? If he had, then…a price was paid. Did that mean Neal was dead?

“Belle?” August worried about the shock on her face. Great, I broke her, again.

“If Rumple is alive, then…” Belle swallowed. “Neal resurrected him, which means Neal is dead.” She shook her head. “I need to find Regina.” She hurried off, leaving a shocked August in her wake.

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

David considered Snow’s words for a long moment. She told him everything Regina said about the Land Without Magic and the Dark Curse. Worse, how the Dark Curse was there only option to bring Emma and Henry home. He wasn’t sure what to think other than, of course they’d have such rotten luck.

Why did there always have to be a Curse?

“If the Curse is the only way to open up the realms,” David started. “Then someone is going to have to sacrifice themselves.” It wasn’t something they could ask anyone to do. It was their daughter who was the Savior. Could they rightfully ask Jefferson or Ruby to sacrifice each other? Aurora or Mulan? Marco or August? It wouldn’t be right.

Unfortunately, that would mean… David swallowed. He’d have to be the one.

Snow sighed. “We have to figure out who. It’s a lot to ask someone.” Though it didn’t seem fair to ask anyone to do it, but after everything their family had been through, she didn’t want to lose David. Was that selfish? Absolutely, but she’d had enough loss for a lifetime. Emma grew up without them, they missed out on raising Emma, but Snow would not allow this baby to miss either their mother, father, or sister. Their family would be whole.

David paused, knowing he needed to broach this carefully. “Snow,” He started, kneeling in front of where she sat in an armchair. “We can’t ask anyone to make such a choice for us.” He hated it; hated the very idea of dying. But they needed Emma. They needed her a lot more than they needed him.

“No.” Snow shook her head. “I’m not going to crush your heart.” She wouldn’t, couldn’t, do it. “Our baby, Emma, Henry, Liam, and Killian need you. I need you. We missed out raising Emma and our family being together. I won’t have our next child missing out on anything.” Snow pushed herself up out of the chair, slowly, but she got to her feet and walked away from David. Her feet carried her to the open window. A hot breeze blew in, the August heat would normally be stifling if the castle wasn’t always so cold.

There was a silence before David walked over to her side. “We can’t ask our friends to make this kind of sacrifice. I know it’s not fair to us, but it wouldn’t be fair to them either.” David said. “I know we’ve been through it, the Curse, losing Emma twice, losing Henry, you losing your parents when you were so young, everything Regina put us through, it’s been so much. But we’ve also been so lucky to have our epic love story, and two children and grandchildren. We’re well ahead of everyone else we know. Shouldn’t they be able to have those opportunities?”

Snow sighed, tears forming in her eyes. Though he had good points, sometimes Snow hated how noble her husband was, even if it was also one of the traits she loved the most about him. “Well, I know where Emma gets her selflessness from.” She shook her head. “Why is it always us, Charming?” Why did it have to be again?

“I wish I had an answer for that.” David wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close as her tears fell, hating himself for making her cry.

“I don’t know if I can do this.” Snow sniffed. “Crushing your heart would be like killing myself.”

David held tightly, not sure how to comfort her. He didn’t want to die. He wanted to be there for their baby, wanted to reunite with Emma and Henry, wanted to see their child and Liam grow up together, but this was their path. They couldn’t let anyone else cast the curse, no matter how unfair it was to them. “I know.”

Snow cried into his chest as their decision was made.

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

“Regina.”

Regina winced hearing Robin call out to her. They hadn’t talked since he kissed her, which was by Regina’s design. She refused to be alone with him again.

It wasn’t a bad kiss; in fact, it was incredible. It awoke long dormant feelings that scared the shit out of her. Regina knew she was undeserving of love and Robin, and Roland for that matter, deserved better than her. She didn’t want Robin to get ideas.

“Regina, hey.” Robin caught up with her.

Surely he wouldn’t want to discuss this while they were walking down the hallway where anyway could hear their conversation. “Hi, Robin.” Regina greeted, keeping her eyes forward. What excuse could she come up with to avoid him? “I was just on my way to gather ingredients.” Not entirely a lie.

“Could we talk a moment?” Robin implored, his expression pleading.

“I really should…” Regina stopped herself. What could it hurt to hear him out? So long as she shot him down, then they could put their kiss behind them. “All right,” she stopped and turned to face him. “What is it?”

Robin felt triumph. He knew she’d been avoiding him since their kiss; he’d take the small victories. “I wanted to talk.”

Regina’s lips twitched. “Yes, you mentioned that.”

“About our kiss…” Robin started. Come on, Locksley, be brave. He took a breath and spoke his truth. “I just wanted to tell you that it meant more to me than just being a kiss.”

Her heart skipped. What exactly did he mean by that? Regina shook her head. “It can’t be more than just a kiss.” She couldn’t let him think there were feelings there. There were, of course, and Regina knew she’d come a long way after all these months back in the Enchanted Forest, but there were people who still feared her or suspected the worst. She didn’t want Robin and Roland affected by her reputation.

“Why not?” Robin asked. “Don’t tell me you don’t feel the same as I do. I know you do.” Robin stepped closer to her.

Regina sighed. “Robin, I just don’t think us being together is a good idea.” How could she convince him that she was bad for him?

“I think you’re just trying to protect yourself.” Robin said. “You’ve shut away your own heart for so long, you’re afraid to trust someone else with it.”

Oof. Well, he was hitting the nail on the head. Regina truly did want to protect Robin and Roland from her reputation, but was that all? After Daniel, when Tink came to her to help her find her True Love, Regina let her anger, grief, and fear rule her decisions. She lived in her bitter emotions for so long. She remembered standing outside the tavern, seeing the lion tattoo, her heart in her throat, thinking how could her True Love ever love her?

She tried to earn her mother’s love, only receiving cruelty. She tried to be a good wife to Leopold, only to be ignored. Even Snow, while kind, was more often with her father. Regina was all alone.

Her father showed her what love he could, though he cowered to her mother’s power. Daniel showed her love and a taste of freedom, but her mother proved that love was a weakness and it certainly wasn’t meant to last.

How could she explain all of that to Robin? As much as she felt for him too, what would happen if her True Love ever showed up again? She couldn’t hurt Robin like that. What if Marian hadn’t been Robin’s True Love? What if someone better was out there for him?

“I’m poison, Robin.” Regina sighed. “I destroy everything I touch. I ruined Henry’s life, my first love died because of me, I took away everyone’s happy endings…”

“You’re not that person anymore.” Robin said, hands coming to her forearms, gently pulling her to him. “You’ve changed for the better. You’ve worked so hard. Don’t let your past decide your future.”

Regina looked down at her feet, shaking her head. “You might believe that, but not everyone else is as kind.” As her eyes moved up to look at him, they caught sight of something on Robin’s wrist. Regina turned her head slightly to get a better look and froze.

On Robin’s wrist was the same lion tattoo of her True Love. Her soulmate. In the exact same place.

How many people in the Enchanted Forest had that lion tattoo?

Regina swallowed, finding her voice. “I didn’t know you had a tattoo.”

A little confused about the abrupt change of subject, Robin looked at his tattoo. “Yes, it’s a simplified version of the Locksley family crest. A reminder of where I come from and why I left my titles and noble life behind.”

His family crest? Regina took a step back, Robin’s hands dropping from her. If it was his family crest, it was very unlikely anyone else had the same tattoo, which meant… Her heart raced.

Robin was her True Love.

Holy shit.

“Regina!” Belle ran towards her, thankfully interrupting any further conversation with Robin.

Shaking away her shock, Regina turned to her best friend. “Belle, what’s wrong?”

“August just told me that Rumple might be alive.” Belle was a bit out of breath, red-faced from running.

Regina grimaced. “After everything you’ve been through, I was hoping to prove Rumple was alive for certain before telling you. I mean, he sent a note and I believe it was his handwriting, but that’s not foolproof evidence.”

“Neal planned to resurrect his father.” Belle said. “We haven’t heard from Neal since he left for his father’s castle. I can only assume that if Rumple is alive…”

Regina’s expression turned grim. “Then Neal must’ve succeeded.”

“What does that mean?” Robin asked. “Is Neal all right?” Though he didn’t really care for Neal after the stunts the man pulled in Neverland, but he didn’t wish ill on the man…okay, he didn’t wish death on the man. If Neal paid a price for magic, then perhaps he deserved it.

“Unfortunately, I don’t think so.” Regina admitted. “Resurrection magic is dark magic. The darkest and most impossible magic. If Neal succeeded then the price was very likely his own life.”

Her words only distressed Belle. “I should’ve stopped him.” Tears came to her eyes.

“Belle, Neal made his choice.” Regina put her arm comfortingly around her friend. “Neal was a grown man. If he wanted his father back, I doubt you could’ve stopped him.”

“Regina’s right.” Robin reassured. “Neal’s choices were his own.” Damn him for making Belle feel at fault. After everything the poor woman suffered, she didn’t need unnecessary guilt on her conscience.

Belle wanted to take comfort in her friends’ reassurances, but she couldn’t help putting the blame on herself. She was with Neal. She should’ve stopped him. That was on her.

“Hey, stop thinking like that.” Regina saw the guilt weighing Belle down. “You couldn’t stop him, okay?” Wanting to distract Belle from thoughts of Neal, Regina changed the subject. “Come on, I need some ingredients for the Curse. Some help would be nice.”

Belle reluctantly nodded, still lost in her thoughts.

Regina turned to Robin. “We’ll talk later.”

As the women walked away, Robin sensed that later wasn’t going to come unless he kept confronting her. Though should he? Should he keep pursuing her or give her time? His heart told him to go after what he wanted, but he didn’t want to pressure her. Regina was a one of a kind woman and he didn’t want to push her away by wanting more than she was ready for; perhaps patience was the best course of action. He could be patient for her.

He only hoped that he wouldn’t have to wait too much longer.

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

“Hey.” Jefferson appeared at his side.

August winced. Time for that talk then. “Hey, look, I know I should’ve been the responsible adult and brought Grace back, but…”

“But you wanted answers.” Jefferson said. He understood that much. August felt something for Zelena and her betrayal stung. While he was mad, after a long talk with Grace and Ruby, in which it was agreed that Grace was grounded for a month, meaning helping Granny with any and all chores, Jefferson came to understand how affected Grace was by Zelena's ruse. August's moping clued him in to how much it bothered his friend. At least August was sorry for being an idiot. Jefferson couldn't fault him for wanting to see Zelena and find out the truth. “I get that. You really like her, don’t you?”

“I’m not sure.” August admitted. “I liked Lena, I liked her a lot and thought...but I don’t know how real Lena was, or if everything was a lie.” He turned towards Jefferson, quickly changing the subject, not wanting to lament his love life. "I still shouldn't have gone along with Grace. I wanted to drag her back to the castle." He would never let Grace walk all over him again...he hoped.

"You shouldn't have." Jefferson agreed. "But I'm learning my daughter is a strong-willed, independent girl. I'm already terrified of what the teenage years will bring if the preteen ones are this difficult." He shuddered slightly at the idea. Grace was going to make him go grey before he reached his forties. "To be honest, I'm glad you found her. Even though you don't have magic, you being with her was better than her being alone." Jefferson crossed his arms over his chest, a stern expression in place. "That being said, if Grace ever attempts something like this again..."

"I will take her to you, Ruby, or Granny kicking and screaming even if she hates me for it." August nodded in agreement. "Mostly because I don't want to be werewolf chow."

Jefferson smirked. "Good man." He relaxed his stance and patted August on the back. "Now let's talk about Zelena." His friend wasn't getting out of this talk that easy.

August grimaced. What was there to talk about? Zelena lied and August was confused as hell over it.

"Come on, man." Jefferson said. "You can't keep moping. Talk it out, and let's figure out what you want to do." After a pause, Jefferson added, "Don't make me get Killian involved."

"You're going to rat to my brother?" August huffed. "What are you going to do? Get Regina to magic him back here from his mission to reunite with his soulmate to solve his brother's small problems?"

"Maybe." Jefferson said. "He's good at advice, particularly with love. I'm lucky I managed to get Ruby's attention." Jefferson leaned against the window frame. "I mean would you rather me get David? He's more accessible, but he's more..."

"True Love must be fought for?" August sighed. "Killian would probably tell me to figure out if I want to find out if Zelena wasn't entirely lying. If she was, forget her, lean on your family for support. If she wasn't, and she feels something for me, then..."

"A man unwilling to fight for what he wants, deserves what he gets." Jefferson quoted, hearing that phrase many a time during intense pool matches at The Rabbit Hole. Really, he said it often enough, Jefferson figured they needed to make t-shirts and sell them. Not a bad idea for extra cash. Maybe after the next Curse, he could start a graphic tee business with all of his friends' annoying quotes. "Well, I guess you need to figure out if it's True Love or not before you pick which advice to follow."

August looked out the window, wondering the best course of action. When he and Grace confronted Zelena though, he could've sworn that she wasn't acting. "Zelena said that maybe she was playing us at first. I think it became real for her at some point." His heart hoped it was real for her. He really liked her and before the fire, he was going to ask to court her. He wanted so badly to see her again.

"Then fight for her." Jefferson said. "At least if you convince her to be with you, then we won't have to worry about casting the Dark Curse and getting Emma back to defeat her."

"Ah, so that's why your pro-Zelena?" August joked. "Love conquers all, even wickedness?"

"I wouldn't say that." Jefferson shrugged. "But hey, Regina changed her stripes. Rumplestiltskin pulled a heroic sacrifice, though he's back now. Hook is one of the biggest heroes around. Villains can change. Though it also would be nice to not have one of our friends die for the Curse."

August nodded. "Did anyone volunteer?"

Jefferson sighed. "Not yet, but the meeting is in a couple of hours. I'm sure someone will and we can argue with them all we want, but if Zelena still plans to act against us, then what choice do we have?" He stood straighter. "I'm going to leave you to brood. Though careful about how much you do that, otherwise your really will start looking like Killian."

"Killian doesn't own the trademark on brooding." August huffed, though he couldn't help a small smile appearing on his face.

"Ha, right." Jefferson said. "Tell him that. You two really are brothers." He shook his head, walking away, leaving August to his thoughts.

August wondered about Jefferson's words. Could he really convince Zelena to side with them? Could he be the one to stop her and save someone's life in the process?

It was quite a burden to carry, and August wondered if Emma felt like this when acting as the Savior. It wasn't fair to do all of this just to bring her back because of her destiny. It should be done to bring her back to their family. To bring back just Emma and Henry, not the Savior.

August needed to figure out what to do and fast.

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

Zelena kept replaying August’s words over and over. Had he meant it? Did he really want her side of the story? He said he wanted another chance, but did he mean he wanted to be her friend or something more? Her heart fluttered at the thought. Did he feel something for her?

She scoffed at her own thoughts. Why would he want something more? He couldn't feel more than possibly friendship for her. She was the Wicked Witch, which meant she was entirely unlovable. Her adopted father hated her, Cora abandoned her, Regina rejected her. No one loved her. It didn't matter that she loved August, he could only ever see her as a villain.

Zelena froze mid-stride, almost losing her footing, her entire being jolting as if struck by lightning. Did she just think that? She loved August? No, no, she couldn't possibly...

Her heart raced at the thought. Did she love him? Thinking about him sent butterflies dancing in her stomach. He made her smile and laugh so much when they'd spend time together. But love? Was that love? Zelena smiled widely. She did love him. She loved August Booth. Pure giddiness filled her being. She was in love. Oh, this is why love was so wanted. It felt so good.

Crap. Zelena shook herself. What was she doing? She was the Wicked Witch. She terrorized Oz for years. She...oh who was she kidding. Being Lena was the happiest she'd ever been, and part of that was due to the friendships she made and the man she loved.

What was she still doing here?

Zelena turned around, determined to leave this castle and go to August, only to come face to face with King George. Scowling, Zelena crossed her arms. "What are you doing here?"

"I've come to deliver news." George said, looking none too happy. Whether it was because of his news or Zelena, she didn't know. "The heroes think that only the Savior can stop you." He watched her reaction carefully.

"So what?" Zelena shrugged. "The Savior is in the Land Without Magic. There isn't a portal they can use to get to her." Though she figured eventually they'd figure out that getting to the Land Without Magic via Neverland was a workaround, but they'd need a pegasus sail without Pan's shadow and fairy dust was dying out, so she doubted the fairies would offer it.

"They plan on casting the Dark Curse." George said. Her lack of concern irritated him. He knew she was weak; why did no one understand that love was a weakness and power was all that mattered? He was glad he planned for this. After seeing her interactions with the puppet and the Mad Hatter's brat, George just knew that Zelena would be too weak to aid him further. It was time to get her out of the way. "They want to return everyone to Storybrooke. We can use this to our advantage."

"Oh, you think so?" Zelena arched a brow. Just what was he playing at?

“If we intercept the Dark Curse, we could make it our own.” George said, ignoring the shadowed figured moving silently behind her. “You and I can have all of the power.”

“You’d share power?” Zelena asked, unconvinced. “Please, you and I both know you’ve been using me for my magic and to get to the Dark One. You’re a pathetic, bitter old man, who can’t get over losing your throne.”

George reined in his temper. How dare this witch speak to him that way? He was and will always be a King. “All I need from you is to alter the Curse. Let them do the work, but change it so that we're in charge of the town and they are nothing more than our slaves.” Nottingham needed to hurry. He didn't want Zelena to realize the ambush.

“No.” Zelena said. “In fact, I think you’ve been enough of a thorn in…” Something hard hit her head and Zelena fell to the ground, unconscious.

Nottingham dropped the scepter he found lying around. “Now what?”

George held his tongue of criticism. He didn't need Nottingham going against him too. George smirked. “Now, we find the Dark One dagger.”

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

David entered the Council room, gripping Snow’s hand. He didn’t want to do this; he didn’t want to die. However, he couldn’t in good conscience let anyone else make the necessary sacrifice. Even if it meant never meeting his second born, or seeing Emma, Henry, Killian, and Liam again. Leaving Snow alone to raise their child made him sick to his stomach, but he knew she’d have the support she’d need.

He just missed out on so much already. He wasn’t ready to die.

Everyone was sitting, waiting for him and Snow to join, all ready to discuss the plan. He pulled Snow’s chair out for her. He looked around at his friends, his family.

Jefferson and Ruby sat across from him, ready to draw up battle plans if necessary. He adored his dearest friends and hoped they would back his decision.

Next to Ruby, Granny looked both stern and worried. Marco was next to her, his expression contemplative. Both were the supportive parental figures they all needed as most of them were orphans just trying to figure out their lives.

Then there was August, who David couldn’t help but grow to like as August did all he could to make up for leaving Emma.

Regina was grim yet determined. Her turn around truly amazed David and he was so proud of her.

Mulan was stoic as ever, though she glanced worriedly at Aurora, who appeared exhausted and rather frail. They helped everyone so much, opening their homes to refugees, even though it resulted in them losing so much.

Robin, who’d become such a good friend and counsel with Killian away, looking ready to follow orders.

Belle, who’d been through so much, but who was still determined to give her aid.

David took a breath and started. “So we all know that we need Emma to stop Zelena and that means casting another Dark Curse…”

“No.” Ruby interrupted. “You are not sacrificing yourself.” Her green eyes pierced him. There was no way she was letting David be a self-sacrificing hero.

Damn her for knowing him so well. “Yes, I am.”

“Oh great, you’re being noble.” Jefferson groaned. “Someone go get Killian to knock some sense into him.” Though Killian would probably yell first and then punch David. Jefferson seriously considered punching David if it meant knocking out the self-sacrificing part of his personality.

Regina was sorely tempted to do just that, but first, maybe they could convince David without resorting to Killian. “David, there’s no way we can let you do this.”

“Who else can?” David snapped. “I’m not going to ask any of you to sacrifice yourselves or your loved ones.”

“You shouldn’t assume you’re the only one willing to make that sacrifice.” Regina huffed. “I would if I was the person someone loved the most, but I don’t have anyone. You have a baby on the way and how do you think Emma would feel about you dying just for her to be able to come home?”

“She’s right.” Ruby said. “David, you’re an important part of this family. We can’t lose you. We can figure this out together.”

“I don’t want anyone else to die for us.” David said. Why couldn't they just let this go? He'd made his decision.

Snow, unusually quiet today, spoke up. “David, they’re right. This should be a family decision. Jefferson also has a point. We should tell Killian what’s going on.” Snow knew Killian was probably still angry with her, but he’d come home for this. She knew he would, and he wouldn’t let David sacrifice himself either.

“Someone still needs to die for the Curse to work.” David protested. “Who else would be willing?”

“Me.” Marco spoke up, surprising everyone.

“Papa…” August started, but Marco cut him off.

“No.” Marco stood, shoulders set. “I have lived a long life. I’ve raised my sons. I’ve had grandchildren. I found love.” He looked to Granny then, taking her hand in his. His eyes moved back to David. “It’s my fault that Emma grew up alone. I’m to blame for that. Let me do this for our family.”

Everyone sat silent, considering his words.

David felt gratitude and relief for Marco’s offer, but could he really let him die?

“Papa, are you really sure about this?” August asked, quietly, tears in his eyes.

“I am.” Marco said. “I will die a lot sooner than any of you anyway. To die for my family, so they can be reunited? There is no better death than that.”

“I’ll do it.” Granny said, saddened by Marco’s impending death, but pride for the man she loved shining in her eyes.

Marco squeezed her hand tightly, knowing she was doing it, not just for him, but to save August from the pain and guilt of killing his father.

“Marco,” David choked. “Thank you.” Because what else was there to say? Marco was giving his life so that David could live and be with his family.

Marco nodded. “There is no need for thanks. I’m happy to do it.” He sighed deeply. “I only want to see Killian and Liam one last time.”

Regina stood, her own eyes wet. “I’ll go get them. Killian needs to know what’s happening anyway.” With that, she teleported away.

“Now that it is settled,” Granny spoke, her voice thick with grief. “We need to prepare everyone to return to Storybrooke.”

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

Killian gathered his crew, his family really, on the deck of the Jolly Roger.

Eric leaned against a barrel with Ariel in his arms. Alice and Tink sat on crates, Liam sitting between them, the eight-month-old happily playing with his aunts’ hands. Will and Blackbeard stood by the mast, both eyeing Killian with worry and curiosity.

He internally laughed at how much father and son looked alike in that moment.

“So fearless leader, why are we having a family meeting?” Will asked.

Killian chuckled at the title. "Well, to be honest, I think it's time to go home." He sighed. "I'm not giving up, but I was thinking over it last night. We haven't been back to visit the family, and perhaps consulting with Regina might give us fresh insights." More than that, he knew something was coming. Anticipation buzzed in his veins.

"Are you sure, brother?" Blackbeard asked. "They might not let us go off again."

"It's a risk I'm willing to take." Killian said. "Besides, I still feel like something is happening. I think they have answers." He couldn't explain it, but his gut knew that this was the right decision.

Blackbeard narrowed his eyes, still not entirely convinced Killian's powers weren't trying to break through. He needed to ask Killian if he ever died and was resuscitated. Then he'd know if the binding was still mostly intact or not.

"It might be good for us to take a bit of a break." Tink said. "After eight months of traveling, it will be good to stay in place for a little while."

Purple smoke startled everyone as Regina appeared.

"Regina!" Killian yelped in surprise.

Regina smiled brightly, hugging her friend. "It's so good to see you, Killian." She pulled away, taking in the others. "It's good to see all of you."

"You have perfect timing." Alice said. "We were just headed back to the Enchanted Forest."

"You were?" Regina asked, shocked. Did they know about the Curse? No, they just now made a decision about the Curse. There was no way they'd know already. Her dark eyes looked to Killian for an answer.

Killian shrugged. "I just had a feeling something was happening. That it was time to come home."

Regina scrutinized him, wondering, not for the first time, if the pirate was precognitive on some level. "You're not wrong." Taking a breath, she prepared herself for the negative reaction she was about to get telling Killian her news. "We have a way to get to the Land Without Magic."

"You do?" Alice asked. "When did you figure it out?"

Seeing Regina wince, Killian's blood ran cold. There was only one option that he knew for sure, and Regina's reaction told him all he needed to know. "No."

Perceptive pirate. Regina sighed. "It's the only way."

"No." Killian snapped. "I'm not letting anyone die."

"That's not your choice." Regina crossed her arms, prepared to stand off against him. "We're casting the Curse. Then magic will be back in the Land Without Magic, and you can get Emma and Henry."

"Wait, hold on," Tink spoke up. "The Dark Curse? The one where you have to kill the person you love most? That Curse?"

"As I explained to the others," Regina began. "It's not called the Land Without Magic because there isn’t magic, there's just not enough there to make it accessible. The whole reason the Curse was created was for Rumple to bring over magic so he could remain the Dark One. Casting the Curse will weaken the barriers of the realm, and since you have Ariel here, she could open a portal to the Land Without Magic."

"So the Dark Curse gets cast," Ariel started. "Storybrooke and magic would return to the realm. If you teleported me and Killian far enough away, once the Curse is cast, then I can get us to the Land Without Magic, no problem."

Killian still didn't like the idea. "Who's volunteered to die for this cause?"

Regina grimaced. "Look, let me transport everyone to the castle and we can finalize plans. Then, like Ariel said, I can teleport the two of you away from the range of the Curse. If you get caught up in it, you won't be able to leave Storybrooke to find Emma and Henry."

"Regina, who's dying?" Killian demanded. "David's not being a noble idiot again, is he?"

"He tried." Regina admitted with a watery chuckle. Killian knew his best friend so well. “But no, David isn’t pulling the noble sacrifice card. We wouldn't let him."

“Okay, let’s get back to the castle then.” Tink said. “We can debate and argue over the details when we’re there.”

Killian wasn’t happy about Regina withholding details and being rather shifty about the plan, but Tink was right. They needed to get back home. The sooner they did then the sooner they’d figure out whether or not the Curse was worth it, and then he’d find a way back to Emma and Henry.

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

While he wasn’t too happy about George and Nottingham roaming his castle, Rumple had work to do. The memory potion for Miss Swan was almost ready and he needed to send it off before George and Nottingham discovered his whereabouts.

Having overheard George’s plan, Rumple only hoped that the heroes would cast the Curse before George could find the dagger or worse: find the dagger and control Rumple into altering the Curse.

When he defeated his father and sacrificed himself, Rumple was at peace with his decision and knew Belle and Neal had a support system to get them through their grief.

His sacrifice felt like an apology to Neal for everything that he did as the Dark One. More than that, death freed him from the Darkness. He never imagined his son would go as far as to resurrect him considering they never truly resolved all of their issues. Even now with Neal in his head, it was only a matter of time before one of them took control permanently. There couldn’t be two of them. Resurrection magic came with a price and that price would be the death of one of them. He just had to figure out how to make it so Neal lived and he died.

But that would be for another time. The memory potion was ready.

Rumple worked quickly to bottle the potion and hide evidence of his actions before heading to a window and summoning a bird. Of course it was a messenger pigeon. Rumple quickly wrote a note explaining what the potion was for and tied it to the pigeon’s leg. “Take this to Killian Jones.”

As the bird flew off, Rumple felt a pull in his gut. The Dark One dagger had been found. Answering the summons, Rumple disappeared in a puff of scarlet smoke and reappeared in another room of the castle in front of King George and Nottingham.

The dagger was in George’s hand.

George smirked. “Hello, Dark One. I have a job for you.”

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

Regina first teleported all of them and the Jolly close enough to her castle so that the Jolly would get caught up in the Curse. She knew how important it was for Killian and his family to keep the ship. After that, they teleported to the castle, appearing in the war council room where only David and Snow awaited them.

“Killian!” David beamed at the sight of his best friend and quickly moved to embrace him.

“What are we?” Will whined. “Chopped liver?”

“Hello to you too, Will.” David said as he pulled away from Killian.

“He’s just sore because everyone likes me best.” Killian chuckled. As David hugged and greeted most of the others, Killian walked over to where a very heavily pregnant Snow sat. “I see that congratulations are in order.”

Snow’s smile fell, and she immediately bursted into tears. “Oh Killian, I’m so sorry. I was so horrible to you and you didn’t deserve it. I’m sorry.”

Startled at his friend’s tearful outburst, Killian sat next to her and took her hand in his. “It’s all right, Snow. Emotions were still running high.”

“No, it’s not.” Snow sniffled. “There is no excuse for how I acted and the words that I said.”

“Would it make you feel any better if I was still angry?” Killian asked. “Or if I said I didn’t forgive you?”

“No.” Snow wiped away her tears.

“Exactly.” Killian squeezed her hand reassuringly. “Let’s just leave it all in the past. Fair?”

“Okay.” Snow sniffed a final time before throwing her arms around him. “We’ve missed you so much.”

David walked over with little Liam in his arms. “Look how big he’s gotten. Is he crawling yet?”

“Oh all over the ship.” Killian grinned. “Teleporting too. Likes to give us a scare from time to time doing that.” His eyes lit up with pride taking in his son.

“He looks so much like you.” Snow reached up to brush Liam’s hair away from his face.

“Aye, but most of his expressions are pure Emma.” Killian said. “Particularly when he’s mad.”

David laughed at that, knowing the exact expressions Killian meant.

“I know this reunion is overdue, but we have a Curse to cast.” Regina spoke up. “I’m going to get started.” She gave David a significant look as she left.

David winced. Why did he have a feeling Regina didn’t tell them who was sacrificing themselves? How kind of her to leave the hard part to him…

“So who’s the ritualistic human sacrifice?” Will asked.

Alice smacked him on the shoulder. “Will, really?”

Will shrugged as if to say that his description was rather accurate.

“Uh, yeah, about that.” David grimaced. He turned to Killian. “Look, I was going to do it, but everyone was against it…”

“Rightfully so.” Tink said. “You have a baby on the way, and a full life to live.”

“I know.” David said. “I was trying to be noble. I didn’t think it was right to ask anyone else to make this kind of sacrifice.” He sighed. He really thought his sacrifice would be for the better until everyone set him straight. Marco made his points clear as well.

“So who’s is?” Alice asked.

Snow squeezed Killian’s hand again. “Marco.”

Killian whipped his head towards her. “What?” He couldn’t have heard that correctly. Not Marco. No, Pop needed to be around to watch Henry and Liam grow up. He needed to see Killian and Emma get married. What about August? Marco needed to be here for his milestones too.

“That’s why Regina went to get you.” David gave Liam to his father. “Marco wants to say goodbye to you and Liam. He and August are in the garden.”

Killian sat there a moment, stunned by the news. “Wait, hold on. There’s still got to be another way. The Dark Curse can’t be our only option.”

“We’ve already been over this with Regina.” David said, giving Killian’s shoulder a comforting squeeze. “Regina consulted with Blue. The Curse is all we have, Killian. It’s our only chance to reunite with Emma and Henry. Marco wants to be the one to do this for our family.”

“Go say goodbye.” Snow urged softly.

Killian swallowed, not sure what else to say. He got up and glanced at the rest of his family. None of them knew Marco as well as he had, but their sympathy for him and the situation was clear on their faces. He looked away, not able to stand it, before he left the war room with Liam in his arms.

The garden was in bloom despite the August heat. Killian found his father and brother sitting on a stone bench across from a black marble fountain. He approached quietly as Marco and August were deep in conversation. August clearly upset o er whatever his father was saying kept shaking his head.

“Papa, give me a chance to go to Zelena." August said. "Maybe I can get her on our side."

"If you can't?" Marco argued. "Besides, this is the only way to get Emma and Henry back."

August ran a frustrated hair through his hand. "Then let someone else do this. I know why you want to do this, but can’t you reconsider?” August pleaded.

“No.” Marco’s tone was resolute. “This is my choice. You won’t change my mind.”

“Could I?” Killian asked, surprising the two men.

“Killy!” Marco stood up and pulled Killian, Liam still in his arms, into a hug. “My boy, it is so good to see you. Welcome home.”

“Hi, Pop.” Killian returned the hug as best he could with the baby.

Marco pulled back and took in little Liam. “Look at how big you’ve gotten, little one.” Carefully, he took the baby in his arms. “Oh, you’re a heavy one now, aren’t you?” He tickled the baby’s tummy earning a giggle from Liam, who wriggled in his hold.

“Pop, can we talk about this?” Killian asked. “Why do you want to die?”

“Killy, I have lived a full life.” Marco said. “Fuller than most. Everyone else here still have long lives ahead of them. It would be unfair for any of them to die instead. As I told everyone, it isn’t just about that, but I feel it is necessary to make up for past mistakes.”

“Past mistakes?” Killian asked, but the answer came quickly enough. “You mean Emma? Pop, Emma forgave you for that.”

“That’s what I told him.” August said. “He’s not listening to reason.”

“I haven’t forgiven myself.” Marco said simply. “Killian, I love you and August. I love all of our family. Did I want to see you boys married and raising your families? Yes, I did. But for you, Killian, it won’t happen unless I do this. Please, let me do this for our family.”

Killian swallowed, pushing back tears. He looked to August, who appeared as defeated as Killian felt. “There’s nothing we can say to change your mind?”

"You can't be serious." August stood and began pacing the garden. "We can find another way to Emma and Henry. I know if I get a chance to talk to Zelena, she'll come to our side. Then we can all scour the realms until we find another way."

"You heard Regina." Marco said. "There is no other way. Even if we tried to look, Henry and Liam could be grown. I am an old man. My time will come soon enough." Marco patted Liam's little head as the baby watched his uncle pace. “Now, let me say goodbye to you boys properly, yeah?”

Breathing shakily, Killian nodded. “Okay.”

August reluctantly agreed as well, tears falling down his cheeks. "Okay, Papa."

Marco knew they would grieve, knew he’d miss out on so much, but he was at peace with his decision. To die was only the next adventure after all.

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

Her head pounded as she came to awareness. Zelena slowly opened her eyes, finding herself facing metal bars. She pushed herself up finding that she was in a cage of some sort. She remembered George speaking with her then...someone hit her from behind.

“You’ve got us into a bind, dearie.” Rumple said from behind her.

Turning, Zelena found the Dark One scowling at her. “What happened?”

“King George and his crony Nottingham happened.” Rumple said. He was leaning against a table covered in gold straw. “They knocked you out and found my dagger.” His teeth clenched in a snarl. “I’m under his control now.”

Zelena swallowed back her fear. “Does that mean you’ll kill me now?” She needed to get out of here. Her magic reached out to unlock the cage, only to bounce off of more powerful magic.

“No.” Rumple said. “Luckily for us both, George thinks you’ll be useful as a hostage.” Rumple walked closer to the cage. “Your magic won’t work either. He ordered me to create a cage that you couldn’t magic your way out of, so that he could keep you in his possession.” He leaned down to whisper. “But this could work in our favor. You figure a way out without magic, get my dagger, and then we can kill George.” Rumple’s teeth baring grin held mania behind it.

“You’re more sane for the moment.” Zelena said. “Or have you been playing me this entire time?” She wondered about his outbursts and why he was so calm now.

“I can silence my son when needed.” Rumple said. “He’s asleep for now. No doubt he’ll wake up soon enough.” Though Rumple knew the real reason. The Darkness and past Dark Ones didn’t like his son holding him back. They wanted to expel Neal and get back to full power. Rumple silenced him as much as he could to protect him. He needed to figure out how to save Neal before the Dark Ones grew even more impatient.

Zelena couldn’t tell if Rumple was lying or not. She’d take him at his word for now. “How am I supposed to escape?”

“That’s for you to figure out.” Rumple snapped. He stiffened. Anger flashed in his amber eyes. If Zelena hid the dagger better, they wouldn’t be in this situation. “I’m being summoned.”

Once left alone, Zelena turned her focus to the cage. She couldn’t use magic to get out, but he didn’t say anything about picking the lock. Though Zelena didn’t know how to pick locks, it couldn’t be that hard, could it?

Combing through her hair for a hairpin, Zelena decided the sooner she escaped, the better.

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

The Curse was ready.

Regina teleported Killian and Ariel to the Southern Isles, where they’d be out of range of the Curse, but still able to keep an eye on the Enchanted Forest’s coast.

Most everyone else was somewhere in the castle hunkering down. Only David, Granny, Ruby, Jefferson, Marco, and August elected to stay in the room. August wanted to be with his father as he died, especially since Killian couldn’t be, and Ruby and Jefferson stayed to support Granny. David stayed for support as well, but he was ready for a fight in case Zelena or Rumple showed up.

“Okay, it’s time.” Regina said. She beckoned Marco and Granny over to the cauldron. “I’m sorry for this.” She genuinely felt horrible for Marco’s fate, but this was the only way.

“It’s all right.” Marco assured with a sad smile.

Regina reached out, hand plunging into his chest, and pulled out his red, beating heart. Gingerly, she gave the heart to Granny. “All you have to do is squeeze it over the cauldron until it turns to ash. Once the ashes fall in, then the Curse is enacted.”

Granny nodded, not trusting herself to speak. She walked over to the cauldron, Marco at her side. August and Ruby joined them. August put an arm around his father, ready to catch him when he fell. Ruby stayed by Granny’s side.

Granny looked into Marco’s eyes, and with a final nod from him, she held his heart over the cauldron and squeezed.

Marco gasped at the pain, staggering a bit as August held him firmly.

Granny closed her eyes, unable to watch, squeezing harder, hoping for it to work faster to end Marco’s suffering.

As Marco’s knees gave out, August helped lower his father to the floor, holding him tightly. Marco whispered a final “I love you” as his heart turned to ashes.

August hugged his father to him as Marco took his last breath.

A sob escaped August, unable to hold it in now that his father was gone.

Once all of the ashes fell into the potion, purple smoke seeped out of the cauldron. As the smoke creeped along, Granny, with Ruby right behind her, went to August’s side. Granny hugged August, who refused to let his father go, his body wracked with sobs.

Regina stood off to the side with Jefferson and David, all of them tearful.

“How long will the Curse take?” Jefferson asked quietly, turning away from the grieving family. He hoped they’d be taken soon so that Marco could have a proper funeral.

“It will take some time.” Regina said. “It’s not a fast curse, so we should be in Storybrooke by morning.”

“Do you think Zelena or Rumple will interfere?” David asked.

“Even if they did, I spelled the cauldron to only respond to my magic.” Regina said. It was foresight on her part, sensing that either or both would want to manipulate the Curse in Zelena’s favor. That is, if her sister still held possession of the Dark One dagger. Her sister. Perhaps if she received the news better that she had a long lost sister, then they wouldn’t need the Savior and Marco would be alive. Then again, they’d likely never seen Emma and Henry again, and a very selfish part of Regina was glad for the Curse. She’d get her son and a woman she considered family back. As horrible as it was, in the long run, this truly was best for everyone And Marco’s sacrifice would be remembered.

“Will the spell hold against them?” David knew Regina was a powerful witch, but Zelena and Rumple were more powerful. It wouldn’t surprise him if they broke through it.

Regina’s silence was telling. “Let’s hope not.”

“Hope not what, dearies?” Rumple’s high-pitched voice startled them. The imp appeared out of the smoke. “That I won’t change your Curse?”

“Rumple.” Regina stepped forward. “I know you’re under her control…”

“Not hers.” Rumple said. “Someone else controls me now.” He grinned without humor. “Unfortunately, I’ve been ordered not to say.” He waved his hand, magically tossing Regina back into Jefferson and David, knocking all of them to the stone floor.

“You bastard!” Ruby snarled, pouncing for the Dark One, only to be pushed back with his magic, disappearing into the smoke of the Curse.

Granny screamed out Ruby’s name, rushing to her granddaughter.

August couldn’t see through the smoke as he sat clutching his father’s body, though the tears didn’t help his vision any.

Regina used the smoke as cover to get behind Rumple. Lightly twirling her hand, she knew a vial of squid ink appeared in David’s hand. “Rumple, you don’t have to do this.”

“On the contrary,” Rumple snarled. “I have my orders.”

Calling upon her magic, Regina threw her hands out, pushing Rumple into the far wall, away from the cauldron. “Fight it, damn you! You know if you alter the Curse, there’s no Savior to break it.”

“True Love abounds now.” Rumple said, hiding in the smoke. “Plenty of givers and receivers of True Love’s Kiss.” He came up behind Regina. “My master,” His tone was laced with disgusted sarcasm, “craves power and revenge. I’m to help him achieve that.”

Good, good, give me clues. Regina thought. Master of loopholes as always. “You can still fight it. I know you can.” They just needed to stall him long enough for the Curse to finish. Come on, David. She knew the squid ink wouldn’t last too long on Rumple, but it would last long enough to get past the point of no return for the Curse. “You’re stronger than the dagger.”

“That’s where you’re wrong.” Rumple walked slowly in front of of her, eyes piercing. “Play time is over.”

Okay, he can’t fight it much longer. Regina thought. Where was David? “Rumple, wait…”

The Dark One froze.

Regina glanced down to see David on the floor, having army crawled under the smoke to hide, an empty vial of squid ink poised over Rumple’s foot. “Finally.”

“Sorry.” David said, pushing himself up. “I wanted to make sure he was fully distracted.”

“He was fighting it.” Regina said. “His new master is a guy out for revenge. Any idea who?” Since they were back in the Enchanted Forest, it could be a number of people, not just ones who were victims of the first Curse, though it wouldn’t surprise her if it was a victim of the first Curse.

“Depends on who he wants revenge on.” David said. “You, me, Snow, Rumple, we all have a number of enemies.” Whoever controlled Rumple now was the most dangerous enemy they’d face yet; they needed to get the Dark One dagger back and soon. “How long will this hold him?”

“Maybe a few hours.” Regina said. “The Curse can’t be altered after a couple of hours, so when he gets free, there’s nothing he can do.”

“That’s a relief.” Ruby said, appearing out of the smoke with Jefferson. She favored her left arm, having landed on it, breaking her ulna.

“Here.” Regina waved her hand, healing Ruby quickly.

“Thanks.” Ruby said. “Now we wait?”

Regina nodded. “Now, we wait.”

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

With his spyglass, Killian could see the Curse off in the distance. Purple smoke and lightning creeped through the Enchanted Forest as the deep inky sky started greying along the horizon. They hadn’t slept, worried that the Curse would reach them, though he hoped Regina’s calculations were correct and that the northern most coast of the Southern Isles was out of range.

“Do you see it yet?” Ariel asked from her perch on the small cliffside. She stretched as she yawned, eager for the Curse to be over and done with so they could all be reunited again.

“Aye.” Killian said. “It’s still far off, so it will take some time for it to finish.” He sat next to her, worry gnawing at his gut. He know leaving Liam with his brother and Tink was the right move, since he didn’t know how long it would take to get to Emma and Henry, but he hadn’t been away from Liam more than an hour or two in the boy’s entire life. Leaving him for who knows how long with villains amok ate away at him. “Once it’s finished, we’ll try your portal. Likely we’ll end up in Storybrooke, so I’ll need your help to get to the edge of the town and escape.”

Ariel nodded, stifling another yawn, when she saw something. “What’s that bird doing?” Ariel asked, squinting off in the distance.

Killian watched the pigeon flapping it’s wings vigorously, almost as though it was outrunning the Curse. “I don’t know. Is there something attached to it’s leg?”

The bird drew closer, clearly intending on them being its destination. It landed next to Killian, practically collapsing onto the ground.

Gingerly, Killian picked up the bird in one hand. There was a note and potion attached to its leg. “Here, take the potion and note.” He maneuvered the bird so that Ariel could untie it. Once that was done, he released the pigeon and took the note from her.

“What is it?” Ariel held the blue bottle carefully.

“A memory potion.” Killian said. “For Emma.” If the Curse didn’t return their memories, then why didn’t Regina give him the memory potion earlier? Why send a bird? Unless she hadn’t realized the Curse wouldn’t return their memories and someone else sent it, but who? Killian looked over the note, but it wasn’t handwriting he recognized. Could he trust that this potion was a memory potion? He pocketed the note and took the potion bottle from Ariel, eyeing it despite not being versed in potions to even know what he was looking at. Shaking his head, he pocketed it too just to be on the safe side.

The sun slowly ascended above the horizon.

Killian took out his spyglass once again to see the progress. A thrill crawled up his spine when he saw the purple smoke clearing. “I think it’s done.”

“Okay.” Ariel said. “Let’s see if I can make a portal.” She removed her bracelet, her legs quickly joining together, creating her fishtail once more. She handed it to Killian. “Hang on to this for me.” Then she pushed herself the ledge, diving into the water. Once she hit the cool blue waters, she stretched out her hand and twirled it in a clockwise motion. A blue portal opened and Ariel darted through.

As Killian awaited her return, he pushed himself up, preferring to walk down the cliff to a more level space, not wanting to risk shattering a bone. As he walked, the memory potion and who might’ve sent it nagged at him. Uncertain as to its origins, Killian decided that it would be a last resort when he found Emma. He’d do what he could to make her remember him and their life.

Ariel was waiting in the shallows when he reached the beach. “It’s there.” She said excitedly as he approached. “I came out about fifty yards from the coast. It looks just as it did before.”

“That’s a relief.” Killian said as he waded through the shallow waters. “Did you figure out where the edge of town is along the coast?”

“Yeah, it’s two leagues south of the docks,” Ariel said. She took Killian’s hand. “Ready?”

“Aye.” Killian said. “Let’s go home.”

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

“Killian.” Emma gasped, waking up, looking around the room. She could’ve sworn…

Wait, something happened. Her bedroom looked and felt the same, but everything was off. Or she was off kilter.

Emma saw nothing different in her bedroom, but her instincts were screaming that something was different. Egged on by her gut, Emma hurried out of her bedroom, anticipating finding something changed. After scouring her apartment, finding Henry still asleep, Emma was at a loss.

This was certainly all the fault of her silly, stupid dream.

She dreamed that Killian was here. That they were so close to touching and being together. Her nostrils filled with the smell of him, leather, sea, and his Opium cologne.

God, she was going crazy wasn’t she? Killian wasn’t real. Or was he? After all, there was no such thing as Storybrooke, Maine, but she’d been there. She raised Henry, yet there were adoption records. She worked as a bail bonds person in Boston, then disappeared for over a year.

There were things that didn’t add up; things that couldn’t be explained. Storybrooke had the answers, and she planned on going. However, now, everything in her was telling to stay put and wait.

But wait for what?

A live-wire crawled under her skin. Life as she knew it was changing. Something big was coming.

Her bones, heart, head, and soul knew that before long, she’d be seeing Killian Jones.

#bsmh #broken souls mend hearts #cs ff #cs fanfic #cs fanfiction #cs au #captain swan

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spartanguard · 2 years ago

Text

green with envy

Summary: Being back in Storybrooke brought up a lot of emotions in Emma—some forgotten, some new, and mostly unpleasant. Is that why she literally seems to be turning green with envy? And what can she do about it? (canon-divergent-ish from 3x14)

A/N: Hello! I am still here! This is just a kind of silly idea I've had floating around for a while, and finally finished. All the thanks to @optomisticgirl for looking it over! Hope you enjoy it!

rated T | 5.7k | AO3

Emma was wired with nervous energy as she and her dad shuffled into the loft. Finding the Witch’s hideout—and apparently that she had been holding the supposedly-dead Dark One captive—was definitely jarring, but it wasn’t the only thing that had her on edge.

That moment with Hook in the woods was still playing through her mind.

“If it can be broken, that means it still works.”

Despite the distance she’d put between them after it (even though she came dangerously close to closing it), the idea lingered. She hated that he wasn’t as wrong as she wanted him to be, but mostly, she was envious that he could still have such an optimistic outlook, especially knowing that he’d been through as much shit as her, if not more, in the heartbreak department.

Jealousy wasn’t a good look on anyone, but that hadn’t stopped her from metaphorically taking on the same pallor as the forest around her. So she was going to try to ignore that—and him—as much as she could. There were much bigger issues at hand. But for now, she’d settle with a nap and a drink.

Cruelly, though, this new curse had taken her mother’s expectant condition into account, and upon inspection of the cabinets and fridge, there wasn’t a drop of anything harder than ginger ale in the loft. She was making a mental note to bug Granny for the good stuff once she got back to the inn, but her mom had a different idea.

“Well, Zelena left this tea here,” Snow offered, holding what looked like a homemade tea bag. “It’s green, so it’s got too much caffeine for me, and your father doesn’t like it. Why don’t you take it?”

Eh, what the hell; it would do in a pinch. And Emma did have to admit, as she sipped it from one of the mugs she’d favored before the first curse had broken, that it was probably the best green tea she’d had in a while, even better than from her favorite sushi place in New York.

It worked, for a bit, even though it made her a little homesick for the Big Apple. (The shot of whiskey she eventually got from Granny helped, too.)

And, like she was prone to, she swallowed down all those difficult feelings as she drifted off to sleep that night.

═══════════════

The alarm on her phone came way too early the next morning, even if it was one of her favorite songs. She started to groan and curl inward, until she remembered that Henry was still asleep, and quickly silenced both her phone and herself. She shivered a bit as she got out from under the thick covers, wishing she could stay in the warmth but knowing she had stuff to do.

That didn’t stop the brief pang of jealousy as she looked over at Henry, still asleep and snug in his bed. But that was why she was doing this, right? To make sure he stayed safe and comfortable? She’d take a nap this afternoon or something.

As quietly as she could manage, she grabbed some clothes and headed into the bathroom to get dressed and ready. Except—was it just her, or were the lights in there terrible? She knew she was probably a little pasty after having spent most of the last year indoors, but she didn’t think she looked…green.

It looked better after she put on her foundation, though, so she finished her makeup, pressed a kiss on Henry’s head, grabbed her coat, and headed downstairs to meet her parents and the rest of their motley witch-hunting crew.

She blatantly ignored the flip of her stomach when she saw Killian was already in the sitting room, quickly jumping into business with her parents, who were also expectedly punctual. They set a plan for the day, and if Killian noticed that she intentionally put distance between them—both during their meeting and in their plan of action—he made no effort to breach it, thankfully.

Though even that was its own kind of torture—that he knew her so well as to give her space. Ugh.

Anyways. The rest of the day went without event—no progress, but no setbacks, either. She’d take that as its own kind of win, and couldn’t wait for one of Granny’s grilled cheeses for dinner.

At least, she had been, until she walked into the diner and saw Killian seated at the counter, leaning across it with a lascivious smirk on his face as he apparently flirted with Ruby. That jealous feeling from this morning turned her stomach again, so badly that she made a dash for the restroom. She thought she heard a “Swan” spoken on her breeze as she crossed the dining room, but she didn’t want to stop.

In the privacy of the ladies’ room, she took a deep breath. The nauseous feeling dissipated, but the longing didn’t quite. She splashed some water on her face to cool the flush that had arisen, and put a bit on her neck, too—but when she brought her hand back, it wasn’t red on her throat…it was more green, all along the left side. Not anything dramatic, but a noticeable change from her normal skin tone, and she couldn’t blame it on the lighting this time..

What the hell? Was there something wrong with the water? Maybe she should shower at her parents’ tomorrow.

But for now, she just tied her scarf tighter around her neck and decided to call it a night; there were some Pop-Tarts in the room that would have to suffice (goodness knew she’d had worse meals in the past).

She hit something warm, solid, and wrapped in leather when she emerged, though. “Love, are you alright?” Killian had a steadying hand on her shoulder and worry in his brow.

“I’m fine; just tired,” she said quickly, stepping away from him—and pointedly avoiding his eyes.

“Swan, I know that’s not the whole of it,” he protested as she started to move for the stairs.

“Well, it’s certainly part,” she tossed back. “I’ll see you tomorrow; tell Ruby I said hi.”

She probably didn’t need to say that last part, but the jab felt good as she took the stairs two at a time. (The fact that he had no response—and knowing it was a low blow—wasn’t something she’d think about until she was safe in her room. She also may have feigned a headache as a reason to dim the lights, lest Henry notice the odd spot on her neck.)

═══════════════

It seemed like the spot had faded the next day; or, at least, she’d done a good job of convincing herself it had. She still needed her scarf to cover it, though; winter in Storybrooke necessitated one, so no one would really notice.

In fact, she was feeling totally fine until she got down to the dining room. Henry had headed down first (only after promising not to talk to strangers, which was still most of town) and she saw him across the way, seated at a booth, laughing. For a minute, she was confused, until she saw David was sitting across from him.

She should have been happy to see that, even without Henry’s memories, he was still getting on well with his grandfather, and how good David was with him regardless. She may still have a hard time accepting David as her father, but there was no denying the man’s paternal leanings.

The longer she watched, the more that sour, jealous feeling stirred in her stomach again. Henry didn’t have a complicated relationship with his father—not that he knew about, anyway; and he didn’t have to grapple with all the fairytale BS in his background. (She may have told him that he came via stork when he asked when he was 5, but that was still more probable than being shoved through an intra-realm portal in a tree.)

But at the same time, she didn’t want to rain on their good time with her descending mood, so she took the last seat on the counter instead. Granny almost immediately noticed the way she was slouching in her seat. “Hot chocolate and bear claw?” she called out from the other end of the bar.

“Please,” Emma gratefully replied.

It only took her a minute to get the necessary sustenance to Emma, and she expertly slid them across the counter. But before Emma could even pick up the mug, Granny’s firm grip was holding her chin. “Hold on there, girl; you have something on your nose.”

Emma had never known the feeling of a grandparent tending to her; it was simultaneously touching and embarrassing—especially when Granny used a little too much force trying to wipe away whatever was on her face. “Huh; it’s not budging. How did you get green on there, anyway?” she asked, narrowing her eyes and peering closer.

Shit—more of that? What the hell? “Oh, I must have knocked into something and bruised it,” she quickly lied, hopping up off her stool and out of Granny’s grasp, covering her nose with her hand. “I should…probably go look at it; I’ll bring the dishes back,” she blurted out, grabbing her plate and mug, and hurrying back upstairs (well, as fast as she dared with a mug of steaming hot cocoa).

Once back in her room, she set the food items aside and ran to the bathroom, flicking on the light. Sure enough, there was a greenish smudge on the side of her nose—not terribly dark, but noticeable.

Quickly, she grabbed her concealer stick and attacked her nose. A few times. That seemed to moderately cover it up. But this was getting weird; just what was in the water here that was causing—whatever this was? A rash, maybe? She’d gotten hives from nerves a couple of times; maybe this was related?

She stared for one more minute, but then just sighed and put her concealer in her pocket. There were bigger things to worry about than some weird blemish.

To her dismay, she ended up needing it more often than she expected. It seemed like every time she was in the restroom, she was reapplying makeup on some new spot. The rest of her nose changed color after a meeting in the mayor’s office, where Regina and Robin were shamelessly flirting (and honestly, they should just get together—but she envied that they both seemed so comfortable together); she had to cover up a spot on her chin after patrolling the woods with Robin and Roland and being in awe of how great a dad Robin was (she was jealous of how confident he was, and maybe a bit that Henry didn’t have any positive male role models like Roland did in abundance); and nearly caked it on the back of her hand during another stop at Granny’s, just after seeing a mouthwatering-looking grilled cheese on someone else’s plate.

As she frowned at her pallor in Granny’s washroom, still coveting that sandwich, she had to remind herself that envy didn’t look good on anyone, even though that was all she’d been feeling all day.

Wait—was that it?

Was she literally turning green with envy?

This was Storybrooke; stranger things had certainly happened. (Flying monkeys, anyone?)

But…this seemed like a step too far. No, it was just a weird rash or something. She’d just make a dermatologist appointment when they got back to New York, she’d get some cream, and it’d go away in a couple weeks. Yup, that was all.

And everything was fine until she went back out to meet Henry for dinner. She glanced around the dining room for him, only for her stomach to turn more than once.

First, when she saw Killian seated at the counter with Tink, deep in what seemed like a friendly, light conversation. There was a salacious smirk on his face, but Tink looked to be giving it right back to him—especially when he threw his head back and laughed, showing off the cords of his neck and that constantly teasing bit of chest hair that seemed to become even more exposed as his body heaved and shook. She’d love to have something like that with him, but her damn walls and worries kept that from happening.

Forcing herself to look away, her gaze settled on her parents, seated together on one side of a booth. The way they were cuddled together was almost sickly sweet, but what really got to her was the way David’s hand rested high on Snow’s so-round baby bump, likely feeling her future little sibling move around. God, was Granny chopping onions? She wiped some mist from her eyes, but it was hard to ignore the overwhelming jealousy she felt—both that her baby sibling would always know they were loved and wanted, and that she had to go through her own pregnancy just like she’d done everything else in life: alone.

God, she was queasy from how much it stung—both of those sights. Hopefully no one had seen her yet because, oh god—she was gonna be sick.

Fast as she could, she ran back to her room, just making the toilet in time before bile came up. She felt flushed and angry and bitter, even if she really had no reason to feel those things—or every reason to, and had just been triggered too many times in one day.

She turned back to the sink and ran the cold water, splashing a bit on her face to hopefully cool her overheated skin. She closed her eyes and did briefly enjoy the sensation; it helped a bit. At least, until she opened her eyes.

Because when she did, it became blatantly obvious that her hands were green.

And so were her forearms, when she pushed up her sleeves.

And then she looked in the mirror—and let out a yelp. Because whatever this new skin condition was had covered her entire face and neck now—even her scalp, when she moved her hair a bit to check. It wasn’t an ugly green, at least—kind of a light fern-y color—but still, so wrong.

What the fuck was going on?

She felt her face; her skin didn’t have any different texture than it usually had, so maybe the rash idea was out.

Algae in the water, maybe? No; that didn’t do…this, whatever this was.

She’d look perfect if she wanted to audition for Wicked once they got back to New York, but there wasn’t enough concealer in the whole town to cover this up until then.

For a moment, she was envious of the way she looked when she woke up that morning—and, to her horror, watched herself turn a shade of green darker as that jealous feeling overcame her.

Fuck. She hadn’t been wrong—she was literally turning green with envy.

She groaned and hung her head. This. This was why she wanted to go back to New York. Where none of this stupid magical shit happened. At least, she had to assume that was the cause; she’d worry about the ‘how’ later; for now, she just had to not make it worse.

Maybe if she just stayed away from the stuff that seemed to be triggering it, it might reverse itself? With all the other crap going on, she didn’t want to pile this on—but at the same time, she knew trying to go out and about would inevitably draw attention to it, and her mom or someone would want to fix it.

But mainly—how the hell would she explain it to Henry?

So yeah, trying to resolve on her own was the best plan of action.

She called down to Granny to see if she could run up some food; the old wolf was confused by the request but complied, and Emma was careful to make sure she’d gone back downstairs before opening the door to grab the (perfect, beautiful, delicious) plate of grilled cheese and onion rings.

Playing the headache card again bought her another night in the dark with Henry, but she’d have to come up with a valid reason for that tomorrow. (Was it logical to say there was a power surge and the room was out of electricity? Even though there were other empty rooms on the floor? Eh, that was a tomorrow Emma problem.)

Thankfully, he didn’t question it again, and she was able to chalk up the hoodie wrapped tight around her head to the room being drafty.

But the next morning was another story. She woke before he did and tiptoed to the bathroom, but there was no change in her complexion. Damn.

She managed to get back under the covers and wrap them around her head before Henry stirred. Bless her caring boy, he figured she was still asleep and moved quietly around the room as he got ready before gently shaking her “awake”. “Hey Mom, you want to get some breakfast?”

She had to feign sounding ill. “Sorry, kid; I’m not feeling the best,” she said weakly. “Maybe go see if Killian wants to go with you? And ask if you can hang out with him today?”

“What’s wrong?”

“Just a stomach bug; I’m feeling a little green around the gills,” she said, then winced at the accuracy. “Give me a day and I should be fine.”

“Are you sure? Want me to get you some ginger ale?”

“Mm, maybe later; I just want to sleep right now.” Thank god her internal lie detector wasn’t hereditary.

“Alright,” he said, though he sounded uncertain. “I’ll check on you later, okay?”

“Okay,” she chuckled. “Have fun.”

She felt him press a kiss to the blanket wrapped around her head, then waited until she heard the door click shut to remove it. Hopefully, she could convince Granny to do delivery again.

Several minutes later, she was still sitting on the edge of the bed, scrolling her phone absentmindedly (she’d been about to call Granny when she got distracted by a Facebook notification) when a sudden, insistent knock on the door made her jump and drop the device in her lap.

“Swan? Are you alright, love?”

Dammit. She should have known Hook would want to check up on her after Henry talked to him. Though, based on the way he’d been flirting with every other woman in town the last two days, she was mildly surprised.

“I’m fine,” she called back. “Just a stomach thing; I’ll be good by tomorrow. Can you watch Henry today?”

“Of course, but who’s going to look after you?”

She scoffed. “Me. I can take care of myself.”

“You don’t have to, you know,” he said softly; she almost didn’t hear it through the thin door.

“I’ve made it this far,” she bit back. “I’ll survive another day.”

“Can I bring you anything, then?”

“No!” she yelled, mostly out of panic; knowing him, he wouldn't be satisfied to leave her something without actually seeing her. “I’ll be fine; just—go.”

He sighed, and it wasn’t hard to imagine him hanging his head in frustration. “Can you at least open the door for a moment? Assuage my worries?”

She rolled her eyes. “You have nothing to worry about. Besides, I look super gross.” That part wasn’t entirely a lie, at least.

“I find that very hard to believe.”

“Trust me,” she lamented, looking over her chartreuse hand. “Seriously, just—take Henry fishing or something, or go hang out with Tink; I know you’d be happier hanging out with her.”

“Swan, you do realize that by insisting on my absence, I’m far more likely to want to stay?”

Emma groaned at his persistence and flopped back on the mattress, making her phone clatter to the floor.

“What was that? Hold on; I’m coming in.”

“No!” she shouted again, jumping up and running for the door. Henry hadn’t locked it so Hook had no trouble turning the knob. But she was on her feet immediately, and he’d only opened the door a few inches before she was slamming her whole body against it, forcing it shut.

“Emma, what the bloody hell is going on?”

“Nothing! Can’t I just have a day to myself?”

“If it were that simple, then why feign illness?”

“Well, I thought that meant people would leave me alone, but I guess I was wrong.” Who knew she’d long for the days when she didn’t have people looking out for her—but, more importantly, expecting her to save the day? She held her hand up, and sure enough, it turned another shade of green darker. At least she’d have good camouflage the next time she went into the forest.

“Perhaps it’s because people care about you,” Killian snapped. He may not have said it specifically, but they both knew he was referring to himself. “Have you considered that?”

“Yeah, well, maybe they care too much. The sooner they figure that out, the better.” She was being dramatic, she knew, but until she got over this thing, it’d be better to keep people at arm’s length.

“Swan,” he nearly whined. “You can’t possibly still think so little of yourself. There are so many people here who—”

“Don’t even start,” she cut off. “I’ve heard that hope speech before. But it’s not exactly something you can easily accept when your whole life, you’ve been some orphan freak. No one wants that.”

Well, now it was getting personal, it seemed. Why did he always have that way of cutting to the deep of her issues?

“You are not some ‘orphan freak’, love,” he replied, almost indignantly. “You are a fierce, strong—”

Okay. It was time to shut him up. Without even thinking, she swung the door open and finished his sentence for him. “Green-skinned weirdo?”

It was rare she was able to render him speechless; this situation wasn’t quite the confidence boost it normally would be, though. His jaw hung slack and she could see his eyes roving over what skin he could see (not much outside of her hoodie and sweats).

After an eternal several seconds, he closed his mouth and swallowed. Then, to her surprise, he gave her a smirk. “That’s quite the look, Swan—it rather complements your eyes.”

She rolled her eyes; of course he’d turn this into flirting, so she tried to close the door on him. But he stopped it with his hand. “Hold on, darling—might I come in? I suspect you don’t want to draw any wandering eyes into our forthcoming conversation.”

She hung her head; he was right—they needed to talk, but she didn’t want anyone else to see her. “Where’s Henry?”

“He’s downstairs with Ruby.”

She snorted. “Surprised you’re not there to properly teach him how to flirt.” It slipped out automatically.

“Beg your pardon?” Killian sounded slightly offended.

“You heard me,” she scoffed. “I saw you with her yesterday; I know you can’t resist her charms,” she replied, mimicking his accent (poorly).

His brow furrowed, but not in anything resembling the shame she wanted to see on his face; no, his eyes were wandering over her own face and neck in a way that made her feel exposed. She looked away, down at her feet, but that was when she noticed that the skin of her hand was yet darker. Dammit.

She just sighed and stepped aside, extending an arm to invite him in. He slipped into the room swiftly and quietly with a grace that she was doing her damnedest to not be envious of; surely there was a maximum on this thing? (Plants could only turn so green, right? Maybe this was a…chloroform? No, chlorophyll—thing. She’d never paid much attention in science class.)

She closed the door quickly behind him, and he turned to face her, his jacket swishing distractingly around his legs and making it seem like he was taking up more of the room than he actually did. Or maybe it was just the overall immensity of his presence in the room, or the weight of the tension between them.

“Is it safe to assume that this isn’t a cosmetics choice?” he started, gesturing at her face.

“Obviously,” she confirmed, rolling her eyes. “And last I checked, my foundation hadn’t gotten moldy.” Though she did need some more—she’d just about used hers up with all of this.

“Am I to gather, then, that it’s something a bit more…supernatural in its occurrence?”

“If that’s your fancy way of asking if it’s magic, then yeah; at least—I think so,” she shrugged. “I don’t know how or why it started all of a sudden, but every time I feel jealous, I get a little more…like this. Looking like the freaking Wicked Witch herself.”

“Do you think it was her?”

“I don’t know; maybe,” she huffed, then flopped down on the end of the bed. “I hadn’t exactly gotten that far. It’s not like I’ve really had a chance to think about the things happening to me. It’s as good a guess as any, but it doesn’t solve a damn thing.”

“No, it doesn’t,” he concurred, his voice gentle, and she could almost cry—it was the first time anyone had just simply agreed with her in nearly a week and let her vent. “What started it?”

She recounted as much as she could remember over the last couple of days—the little things, like wanting to sleep in or coveting a sandwich, and the bigger emotions from last night when it came to her parents and Henry. She couldn’t bring herself to mention anything regarding her emotions towards him, though.

He listened, but tilted his head when she was done. “That doesn’t seem like everything, love. I’m no expert on magic, but I know it involves emotion, and you haven’t described anything particularly deep.”

“What, seeing my parents getting ready to have the perfect life with their new baby isn’t a deep enough emotion? Why would they still want me around when they’ll have everything they ever wanted with that one?”

It was a cathartic release of everything she’d been holding in on that subject pretty much ever since they got back to town. Killian said nothing, just stared intently, seemingly inviting her to go on—so she did.

“And Henry—I’m so jealous of the fact that he doesn’t have to deal with all this magical bullshit, but even the fact that he’s missing those memories is magic in itself and…god, I wish I was still there with him. I miss our old life, and I feel like such an awful parent having to lie to him constantly here.

“And you!” she continued, now on a roll. “I’m still mad and a little heartbroken over the Walsh crap—absolutely not in the market for a new guy, at all—but you’re here and being all caring and I think, y’know, maybe? But then I see you flirting with Tink and Ruby and I just remember—why on earth would you want someone with all my baggage?”

She paused to catch her breath. Then, in a small voice, ended with, “And how much of an asshole am I for thinking all of this?”

She wasn’t prepared for whatever judgment was on Hook’s face, so she just fell backwards against the bed and threw her arm over her eyes.

No response came immediately, but then she felt a dip in the mattress near her and the springs squeaked as Hook took a seat a respectable distance away. “A completely normal one,” he finally said. “Perhaps even justified.”

She rolled her eyes, even if they were still hidden under her arm. “You’re just saying that.”

“I’m not. It’s not uncommon for an older child to feel replaced by a younger one; even if the age gap is a bit more dramatic here, given the course of your life, it’s completely understandable. And it’s even more so that you miss what you and Henry had; even if it started falsely, the last year was real, and special, it sounds like.” There was a bittersweet edge to his voice at that, reminding her that he still hadn’t been fully honest with her regarding his past year. Not important now, though.

“And, love,” he went on. His careful fingers found her wrist and gently pulled her arm away from her face. She was hesitant to meet his gaze, but when she finally did, the condescending look she was expecting wasn’t there—only a small, almost insecure smile and understanding. “I don’t know why you’d think I’d be concerned about the complications of your past, when my own is significantly moreso—a fact of which I know you are aware.”

He had her there; it was no use to try to argue that fact.

“And when it hasn’t stopped me from admiring you thus far,” he added, a bit quickly—like he was blurting out a confession, even though he’d never exactly hid his feelings. She certainly hadn’t forgotten the Echo Cave, or their brief encounter prior to that. The one that meant a lot more than she’d told herself it did.

Although—she’d kind of just admitted as much, hadn’t she? She could feel the heat rise in her cheeks as she blushed (and wondered what color it came up as).

“Yeah, well, I’m sure your daydreams didn’t include some green freak,” she countered, rolling on her side away from him and crossing her arms. Even if she had just accidentally admitted her feelings, that didn’t mean she was ready to pursue them right away. So back behind her walls it was.

“Emma,” he sighed, sounding almost exasperated. Good. He stood and stepped around her, looking down at where she was pouting. “Despite my care for my personal appearance, I’m not actually that shallow. I don’t give a damn what’s on your outside; your spirit and your soul are what’s beautiful to me. And don’t you dare doubt it for a second.”

She swallowed; he sounded genuinely angry, and she could see something resembling hurt within the fire in his gaze. She sat up. “You really mean that?” she asked quietly.

He sat down again next to her. “Bloody hell, love; how else can I convince you?”

Her entire body was suddenly aware of how close his was to her—even more than their moment in the woods the other day. She wasn’t sure if she was feeling heat from the adrenaline of their conversation, or just off of him, or both, but she found herself swaying ever so slightly closer to him, chasing it, until her face was hardly even an inch from his.

He was watching her carefully, his blue eyes taking her in under the studious set of his brow. She held his gaze, but then glanced at his mouth—and that was all it took.

Almost involuntarily, she leaned the rest of the way in and found his lips with hers. He stiffened at first, but only for a fraction of a second before leaning into her, his hand finding its way into her loose hair.

She hadn’t forgotten how skilled he was in this department, but it was a nice refresher; like their first time, she grabbed his jacket to get closer and deepen the kiss. His hand slid down, gripping her waist, and she felt his hook settle on her other hip.

And as they sat there making out, it was like a weight lifted off her—yeah, she was dealing with some pretty heavy feelings, but she didn’t need to feel guilty about it; she just needed to feel them, and then move on. The people that loved her would love her no matter what. She maybe wasn’t ready to admit that was what the situation was with Killian, but he was on her side—and that was enough.

And goddamn, could he kiss.

She couldn't help it—she was craving more and threw her leg over his lap to straddle him. But he wasn’t ready for that and ended up falling back on the mattress, bringing her with him. “Oh, shit—sorry!” she blurted out (while trying to catch her breath).

He just laughed, that deep chuckle that did nothing to tamper her growing arousal. “It’s plenty fine, love,” he wheezed, grinning with his eyes squinted shut.

She at least rolled to the side so she wasn’t crushing him while he tried to catch his breath, and couldn’t help but laugh a bit herself. Finally, he turned his head to her and opened his eyes, a soft expression settling over him. “There you are, Swan,” he said, reaching across and brushing her hair out of her face. “Looking more yourself already.”

Huh? She glanced at her hand where it had settled on his chest, temptingly close to the open vee of his tunic. It was back to its normal (probably too) pale color.

“Though I must admit, the green had been growing on me,” he quipped. She lightly slapped his chest where her hand rested. “You seem to be in better spirits, then,” he observed.

“Yeah,” she confirmed. “Thanks for getting me through that.”

“Anytime, love,” he said softly, and she knew he meant it.

So she kissed him again.

(Several times.) (And maybe a bit more than kiss.)

═══════════════

They did eventually meet back up with Henry, who had been hanging out with Ruby in the meantime. He might have given Emma a knowing smirk she pretended to ignore, but was mostly happy she was feeling better. (And later, when he got his memories back, was far too amused by the fact his mom was dating Captain Hook.)

She might have leaned a little bit harder into her parents’ hugs that week. And might have enjoyed a couple more grilled cheeses.

But the most satisfying moment came during an encounter with Zelena at Granny’s, once they knew she was their enemy. She looked at Emma and sneered. “Why aren’t you green?”

Emma glanced over her shoulder at Killian, who was giving her an encouraging smirk. “Guess I just didn’t let envy get the better of me. Better question is: why aren’t you?”

Zelena screamed in frustration and disappeared in a cloud of green smoke. They hadn’t beat her yet, but with everyone who loved her on her side, they were bound to yet.

Though if she took a few extra kisses from her pirate for moral support…that was her business.

═══════════════

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#cs ff #cs canon divergence #ouat 3b #ouat 3x14 #transformation #ish #my ff

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