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[csficformal]

When You Want to Escape, Say the Word

Her Royal Highness Princess Emma of Misthaven was exhausted. And bored. And frustrated. And mostly bored.

She’d spent her life watching her parents save the kingdom, inspire others and, just generally, become the basis for every love story she’d ever believed. But, now, on her own trip to Arendelle, Emma hadn’t done much of anything.

So, she’d left. She was going to see the city and do what she wanted. At least for a day. She just didn’t expect to run into an obstacle as soon as she left the castle – literally.

Rating: Teen Word Count: 12K total, but the first chapter’s about five and change and the rest is on Ao3 because words are fun.  AN: This is a @csficformal​ gift for @fyeahcaptn Hey, hi Shauna! I was not your original gift’er, but some real life things happened and now here are a questionable number of Lieutenant Duckling words. Of which I’ve never written, so please don’t judge too harshly. I did a bit of stalking of your messages with your original Fic Formal’er and tried to include as much as I could. There’s banter, there’s fluff, there’s interfering Ruby and bed sharing and making out. Because I’ve never written Lieutenant Duckling, but I am who I am and kissing is my favorite thing.  Also on Ao3 where there is a second chapter as well. 

She didn’t see him at first.

That would, eventually, seem like some sort of sign, as if she weren’t entirely ready for him, but in the moment it only served to frustrate Emma and she refused to accept responsibility for the sound that came out of her mouth.

It felt a bit like a snarl, like it scratched its way out of her throat and the man in front of her looked a little stunned.

“In a bit of a rush, aren’t you, love?” he asked, a hint of a laugh clinging to the question and Emma’s eyes narrowed.

They were still standing in the doorway, her entire body buzzing with something that felt like a mix of adrenaline and anger and a bit of pain because the man in front of her was incredibly solid when she ran into him.

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[csficformal]

the stories of us

dear @demisexualemmaswan, SURPRISE! It’s been me all along as your @csficformal date! Do you know how hard it’s been keeping this from you for so long? That weekend at your house was super hard to keep sending you anonymous messages, and even harder acting like I didn’t know much about you! I hope you enjoy this, seeing as I enjoyed trying to be as mysterious and wonderful as possible and tried to shower you with all the love you deserve!

summary: it’s the little things killian enjoys, like the stories he gets to weave night after night. (captain swan, with a guest appearance by a special little girl)

+++

Let it be known that Emma Swan is not a damsel in distress. 

She’s a damsel, sure.

She’s in distress, of course. 

She has this covered.

Well, she’s working on that part. It’s just that it’s kind of hard not to be in distress when you’re on a mission to save your kingdom but you’re tied up to a pirate—Captain Hook, no less, scourge of the seas—with no way of getting out.

“I can hear you thinking, Swan, and it’s not exactly helping our situation,” she hears his voice say from behind. 

She humphs, grumbles something inaudible, then starts squirming again. Maybe if she can just cause some friction between them and the rope, they’d be out of here. 

“Don’t call me Swan,” she says. She gives a slight tug against their hands, causing him to wince as the ropes tighten against them.

“What name would you prefer I call you then, if not the one you snuck aboard my ship with, Your Highness?” he bites back, giving an equal tug of his hand to tighten the ropes against hers.

Keep reading

[csficformal]

This story was written for the Captain Swan Spring Fic Formal @csficformal and is my gift to @distant-rose .  It’s been fun getting to know you and good luck with your studying and exams.  

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Summary: Doctor Emma Swan, a psychology professor at the University of Miami, is looking for her Superman.  Doctor Killian Jones, a sociology professor, on sabbatical from Cambridge University, is looking for his Buttercup.   What happens when well-meaning friends and family gift them memberships to an online dating site?

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Special thanks to @duathadun @hellomommanerd  @idontdothatveryoften and @natascha-remi-ronin

Can be found on FF and AO3

Magical Match

Words ~15,200          

 February 2018

 Emma watched the clock tick down the last few minutes which would signal the end of the first test of the semester for her Psych 101 class. Then eighty students would put down their pens and eighty pairs of eyes would meet hers, some resigned, some elated, most unsure. Once scores had been posted, her office would be inundated with students with questions about their grades, and by the next class her roster would have dropped by several.  Such was the life of a professor at a university where admission wasn’t easy and where their grades from high school were often among the highest in their class. 

“Time,” she called.  "Please turn your papers over and pass them to your left.“ Emma moved down the aisle collecting the exams, and as the pile grew heavy, wondered whose idea it was to give an essay exam.  Yours, numbnut, she scolded herself.  "Your reading for the next class is on your syllabus,” she told them in closing. “I’ll see you Tuesday.”

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Caught in Your Light (4/4)

Forever. It’s been forever. Or, possibly, longer.

It might honestly be longer.

Killian can’t remember a moment when he wasn’t hopelessly, head over heels in love with Emma. And it’s kind of becoming a problem. Because it’s been forever and they’ve always been friends, but now things are changing and traditions are ending and there’s just one more weekend.

This is it. So it’s time to do something about it. In Boston. With all their friends watching. It’ll be fine.

Rating: Mature. Swearing. Kissing. Rinse and repeat. Word Count: Seriously way too many. 9.3 this chapter. Lolz. AN: Here it is! This is the final part of my @csficformal​ gift for @idristardis​. This story was such a delight to write and I can’t thank you guys enough for continuing to enjoy when I slam keys and spew words at the internet. There are more baseball jokes and pop culture references and you should probably listen to Counting Stars by Augustana because that’s where the title comes from and I want everyone to love Augustana as much as I have since 2006.  Also on Ao3 if that’s how you roll. 

It takes him, approximately, forty-seven seconds to exhale.

He’s holding his breath, hoarding it like that will, somehow, make his brain work quicker or fire the appropriate neurons and the room is spinning a little bit. That might be because he’s not breathing properly.

Killian drags a hand over his face, licking his lips and he winces when his head snaps towards the door. Still closed. Or closed again. It doesn’t matter.

The only thing that does matter is that he’s standing alone in the middle of his apartment and he can’t seem to catch his breath.

He tries not to come up with another Marathon joke.

It doesn’t work.

Keep reading

[csficformal]

Caught in Your Light (3/4)

Forever. It’s been forever. Or, possibly, longer.

It might honestly be longer.

Killian can’t remember a moment when he wasn’t hopelessly, head over heels in love with Emma. And it’s kind of becoming a problem. Because it’s been forever and they’ve always been friends, but now things are changing and traditions are ending and there’s just one more weekend.

This is it. So it’s time to do something about it. In Boston. With all their friends watching. It’ll be fine.

Rating: Mature. Swearing. Kissing. Rinse and repeat. Word Count: 8.3K of talking and metaphorical dancing and Jonas Brothers references. AN: I have no self-control whatsoever, so this is still part of my @csficformal gift for @idristardis who continues to be an absolute delight. This chapter is basically just pop culture references and feelings. Please don’t yell too loudly, there’s another chapter left. And the Jonas Brothers should have let Kevin sing more often.  Also on Ao3 if that’s how you roll. 

He’s being robbed. Killian blinks, everything coming into focus slowly and he has to take three deep breaths before he remembers where he is and who he is and several other words that start with the letter ‘w.’ He glances around the room to find absolutely nothing, which is only kind of disappointing in an overwhelming, completely, sort of way and there’s still a noise coming from his kitchen. He groans when he leans up and whoever is robbing his apartment isn’t doing a very good job of staying quiet. There are curses and something that sounds like a pretty epic battle with his coffee maker, and if he were a robber, he’d go for that first too. It’s a pretty impressive coffee maker.

Keep reading

[csficformal]

Caught in Your Light (2/4)

Forever. It’s been forever. Or, possibly, longer.

It might honestly be longer.

Killian can’t remember a moment when he wasn’t hopelessly, head over heels in love with Emma. And it’s kind of becoming a problem. Because it’s been forever and they’ve always been friends, but now things are changing and traditions are ending and there’s just one more weekend.

This is it. So it’s time to do something about it. In Boston. With all their friends watching. It’ll be fine.

Rating: Mature. Swearing. Kissing. Rinse and repeat. Word Count: Just. Like a lot. And 9.1 this chapter AN: I’d like to apologize in advance to any Red Sox fans because there is some friendly trash talk in this chapter and Emma and Killian totally made that list of baseball-type insults. BUT! There are also other things and backstory and a lot of thoughts about Susan Pevensie. Naturally. As always, I am blown away by all of you and your nice’ness and I’m just, like, a constant mess of gratitude.  This is still for @idristardis​ who really wanted bed sharing. Ask and ye shall receive with a side of mutual pining and denial. 

It is, all things considered, kind of annoying.

This whole being in love with Emma Swan thing Killian is doing gets in the way of…everything. And, really, it’s not entirely fair, mostly because he can’t remember when it started and just saying always seems way too melodramatic even for the almost ridiculous amount of pining he’s been doing over the last decade.

Plus, always isn’t entirely accurate.

They bickered and fought and pushed several different buttons their freshman year, but Killian would be lying if he said he hadn’t let his eyes hold her gaze a few minutes longer and the first time they’d gone to the swan boats – after they’d both completely bombed some freshman marketing exam neither one of them was particularly interested in taking – was some kind of game-changer on a lifetime scale.

And it just keeps going from there.

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[csficformal]

Operation Bottle Bash

So here’s my Captain Swan Fic Formal fic for @forestiyari! I hope this is okay? You said you were easy to please, and since I think Tumblr was determined to not send messages, it was all I really had to go on. If this bit of fluff (I’ve been told you might need to brush your teeth, it’s so sweet) isn’t anything you enjoy, please don’t hesitate to let me know and I’ll write something else for you! 

I kinda latched onto the ‘domestic bliss’ you mentioned and ran with it. And it’s technically canon, but… definitely nothing we ever would’ve seen on the show, so maybe it covers divergence a little too?? Anyway, I really hope you like it!

(Oh, and a big shout out to @joneskillian and @xemmaloveskillianx for reading this over for me!)

Summary: Emma comes to a troubling realization about Killian’s past and is determined to make it right. Warnings: Alcohol use (because obviously, it’s one of my fics, and I’m predictable as hell at this point)

—–

She’s embarrassed and a bit upset with herself that it’s never occurred to her until the moment it’s brought up in conversation.

They’re all gathered around the kitchen at her parents’ farm house, enjoying some quality ‘adult’ time post-her little brother’s third birthday bash. The toddler of honor is currently passed out in her father’s lap, oblivious to David’s gesturing as he regales them with memories from his own youthful birthday adventures on his parents’ farm.

“It obviously wasn’t much every year,” her father shrugs and throws an indulgent smile to his wife. “Certainly not a princess getting ponies.” Snow rolls her eyes, gesturing helplessly. “But Ruth did all she could to make it at least a little memorable.”

Emma smiles and nods, taking a sip from the glass of wine her mother had been quick to hand her once all the younger guests had left. Despite her rocky childhood, there were a few years where things had been a little memorable on her own birthday. Most weren’t, but the handful that did make some impact were nice to remember.

“What about you, Hook?” Snow asks after a moment of quiet. “I’m sure birthdays for a seafaring kid were interesting?”

Keep reading

[csficformal]

Operation Parent Trap

Written as a gift for the lovely @shireness-says, my CS Fic Formal match, whose requests included: Killian having friends, Killian with kids (esp. Henry), Emma and Elsa, and reluctant set-ups; all of which percolated to become this 6k fic. Thank you for the brilliant ideas that led to this fantastic adventure, Shireness, it has been an absolute delight not only writing but also getting to know your wonderful self - I hope you enjoy this photoset and fic as much as I did creating them :)

Also many, many thanks to my (incredibly patient) betas, @paalme and @technicallysizzlingcloud, who were absolutely fantastic, and the amazing hosts of the CS Fic Formal event, @distant-rose and @awkwardnessandbaseball, without whose initiative none of this would have happened - much gratitude <3

AO3 link here.

Keep reading

[csficformal]

The Perils of Firemen and the Food Network

Summary:  Emma Swan is not a cook. But maybe, with the help of her upstairs neighbor, she could be - if her feelings don’t get in the way. ~7.2K. Also on AO3.

A/N: Hey, @aerica13, I’m your Fic Formal Friend! I’ve so enjoyed getting to know you the past few weeks (thanks for getting me back into Merlin!), and am excited for you to see the final product.You mentioned liking the Emma & Elsa friendship and Emma’s relationship with food in fics, and this is what came out of it. Are there a lot of my own feelings about the Food Network in there? Yes. Is it a lot of fun? Also yes. Hope you like it!

Special thanks to @awkwardnessandbaseball, my beta, who suffered through a lot of bad unintentional puns and liked it anyways. You’re a gem, darling.

(Rated T for some swearing)

Emma Swan is not a cook.

It’s not for lack of trying. When she had first come to live with Granny and Ruby Lucas as a sophomore in high school, the kind diner owner had tried to teach her how to make a few basics as a bonding exercise, and had failed dismally. Well, maybe not dismally - the bonding had certainly worked - but Emma has a unique skill when it comes to cooking that results in her efforts being simultaneously burnt and raw. It’s a talent, really. Granny still tries every so often when she finds a new recipe she thinks just might be easy enough that even Emma can handle, but it’s usually not successful. Emma can handle spaghetti from a jar, pancakes from a box, grilled cheese, and that’s about it. It’s enough to keep her fed and is at least a small amount of variety.

Emma knows this about herself. She’s accepted it. She’s perfectly fine eating a bunch of grilled cheeses, actually. If she wants variety, she can walk down to the diner and Granny will fix her up with something.

But then Elsa just has to go and get the Food Network.

Keep reading

[csficformal]

The Impact of Nocturnal Cohabitation on Mutual Attraction

Surprise @jennifer-morrison! I am your CS Fic Formal date. It has been so nice getting to know you over this last month. This story ended up being so much fun to write. It’s not something I would normally have written, but I am so glad I gave it a shot. I really hope you like what I’ve come up with and that it brings a smile to your lovely face.

Thanks again and always to @kmomof4 for beta’ing this for me.

Also on AO3 and Fanfiction.net

Title: The Impact of Nocturnal Cohabitation on Mutual Attraction: A Captain Swan Bed Sharing Fic

Rating: T, a few suggestive scenes, but nothing graphic

~11k words (the longest one-shot I’ve ever written!)

Summary: Emma and Killian are graduate students working on their PhDs in Social Psychology. They are thrilled when their paper is selected to be presented at a conference, but a mishap with their hotel room throws the whole trip off. What happens when they are forced to work as a team and share a bed? Will they still be friends when it’s all over?

“You wanted to see me?” Emma asked, standing in the door of Dr. Hopper’s office. The kind man turned his face to her and gave her a warm smile, the corner of his eyes crinkling.

“Ah, Emma, yes, come in please.” He gestured toward the other side of his desk, currently blocked from her view by the door frame.

She stepped over the threshold to see two of her cohorts already occupying his guest chairs. Although Dr. Hopper had one of the larger offices in the department, the space suddenly felt very claustrophobic.

“Swan,” Killian Jones said in his sickeningly sexy accent. He stood up and ran a hand through his dark hair, a piece of it falling on his forehead, just above his enticingly blue eyes. As always, he looked amazing, wearing dark wash jeans that were just this side of too tight, along with a black shirt that was buttoned much too low on his neckline, exposing a smattering of dark chest hair that she longed to run her fingers through. He gestured to the chair he had been occupying. “Take my seat, please. I was just keeping it warm for you.” He gave her a wink that made her stomach flip.

He was infuriating. Why was he so attractive? The man was a shameless flirt. Emma knew if she were to ever get involved with him, it would only lead to heartbreak. But it would be so much easier to avoid involvement if he wasn’t so damned good looking! Biting down her anger, she suppressed an eye roll and stood her ground. “I’m good here.”

Weiterlesen

[csficformal]

Girl On Film - 1/1

Written for the Captain Swan Spring Fic Formal. 

Surprise @once-uponacaptain! I’m your fic formal date! I hope you like this fic I’ve written for you. I did my best to go for a modern AU and a fake dating trope as you mentioned liking those. It’s not something I’d usually write so that was a nice challenge and I hope it’s not too terrible!! ❤️

Summary: Struggling musician Killian Jones agrees to be the fake boyfriend of Hollywood filmstar, Emma Swan. He expects it to change his life but he doesn’t expect to fall in love with her.

Words: 2590

“I enjoyed your set, do you play here often?” came a female voice as Killian sipped his rum at the bar. It was just a regular Saturday evening for him and he’d just finished playing a set of acoustic songs in the small music bar near his home.

“Aye, most weekends.” he replied, putting his drink down and turning to face the woman beside him, “Do you come here often?”

“I used to when I was younger, but not so much recently.” she admitted, “I’m Emma Swan.”

“Killian Jones.” he replied automatically before he froze, “Wait, Emma Swan? I’ve seen you in films, haven’t I?”

“You have.” she confirmed, “But keep your voice down, I’m trying to be incognito tonight.”

“Sorry.” he replied sheepishly, “Can I get you a drink?”

Keep reading

[csficformal]

Caught in Your Light (1/4)

Forever. It’s been forever. Or, possibly, longer.

It might honestly be longer.

Killian can’t remember a moment when he wasn’t hopelessly, head over heels in love with Emma. And it’s kind of becoming a problem. Because it’s been forever and they’ve always been friends, but now things are changing and traditions are ending and there’s just one more weekend.

This is it. So it’s time to do something about it. In Boston. With all their friends watching. It’ll be fine.

Rating: Mature. Swearing. Kissing. Rinse and repeat. Word Count: Way too many, but just under 9K this chapter. AN: Hi, hello, hey there! It’s me again with more words. This is my @csficformal​ story for @idristardis​. It has been an absolute delight getting to know you over the last few weeks and I hope you enjoy all the words and the pining an (eventual) bed sharing. A major thank you to @distant-rose​ & @awkwardnessandbaseball​ for organizing this event and just being generally fabulous. And I’m not saying that my friends and I also called the last weekend of spring semester Final Jam, but I’m not, not saying that, y’know?  Also on Ao3 if that’s your jam (of the final variety or otherwise) with future updates on Tuesday and Friday. 

He can’t stop moving.

If he stops moving, he’ll probably start thinking and the last thing Killian wants to be doing in the middle of Logan Airport is think. So he keeps bobbing on his feet instead, bouncing up and down like an over-excited kid and it’s a pretty apt description because, much like the kid standing next to him, he too is also holding a hand-made sign.

And waiting.

Her flight is late.

He refuses to believe that is a sign. He’s got already one, anyway, and it’s, technically, a sheet of computer paper with a drawing that one of the art teachers promised looked great the day before, but it’s still a sign and Killian will not think about how the FAA is, apparently trying to ruin his weekend.

Keep reading

[csficformal]

springtime serenade

A/N: This is my gift for the incomparable @flslp87 for the @csficformal event this month! I’m sorry I started lacking on the anons, but I hope our discussion of storms and CS fluff (and what you don’t like and what you do like) is a perfect gift for you this (admittedly very rainy) spring!

Suggested Listening

Read on Ao3 here! 

Sometimes it was easy to tell a storm was coming.

The temperature would drop.

The wind would shift.

The dark clouds would come rolling in before anyone could blink.

Other times, it wasn’t so easy. Storms were fickle and could burst in overhead at a moment’s notice. There were many mornings from his younger days where the sky would be clear at breakfast, and then filled with thick, dark gray clouds at lunch.

So if there was one thing Killian Jones knew from many years at sea, it was exactly when a storm was coming.

The morning was cloudy to be sure, but every so often the sun would break through, lighting up the backyard for a few moments before disappearing again. Still, there was a weight to the air and a smell to the garden that Killian Jones was all too familiar with.

So he did now, three hundred years old and married, what he would do as a young lieutenant: he alerted his captain.

“Miss me already? I’ve only been on patrol for a few hours,” she teased lovingly, and he smiled just at the sound of his wife’s voice. “It’s not like you to come check up on me so soon. And on your day off too, no less.” The teasing lilt in Emma’s voice warmed him and his smile grew a little bit more.

“I always miss you when you’re not here, my love,” he murmured softly. “But I thought you’d like to know that it’s going to rain soon, and that you might want to come home before you get caught out there.” He began to prepare for the storm, keeping an eye on the clouds to make sure he could give Emma ample time to prepare.

“Okay, Brick Tamland,” Emma replied, and he could picture his smile in her mind. As always, she was referencing something, and he had no idea what it was. He couldn’t help the affectionate scoff he let out at the phone, even though she was nowhere near him.

Keep reading

[csficformal]

The Impact of Nocturnal Cohabitation on Mutual Attraction

Surprise @jennifer-morrison! I am your CS Fic Formal date. It has been so nice getting to know you over this last month. This story ended up being so much fun to write. It’s not something I would normally have written, but I am so glad I gave it a shot. I really hope you like what I’ve come up with and that it brings a smile to your lovely face.

Thanks again and always to @kmomof4 for beta’ing this for me.

Also on AO3 and Fanfiction.net

Title: The Impact of Nocturnal Cohabitation on Mutual Attraction: A Captain Swan Bed Sharing Fic

Rating: T, a few suggestive scenes, but nothing graphic

~11k words (the longest one-shot I’ve ever written!)

Summary: Emma and Killian are graduate students working on their PhDs in Social Psychology. They are thrilled when their paper is selected to be presented at a conference, but a mishap with their hotel room throws the whole trip off. What happens when they are forced to work as a team and share a bed? Will they still be friends when it’s all over?

“You wanted to see me?” Emma asked, standing in the door of Dr. Hopper’s office. The kind man turned his face to her and gave her a warm smile, the corner of his eyes crinkling.

“Ah, Emma, yes, come in please.” He gestured toward the other side of his desk, currently blocked from her view by the door frame.

She stepped over the threshold to see two of her cohorts already occupying his guest chairs. Although Dr. Hopper had one of the larger offices in the department, the space suddenly felt very claustrophobic.

“Swan,” Killian Jones said in his sickeningly sexy accent. He stood up and ran a hand through his dark hair, a piece of it falling on his forehead, just above his enticingly blue eyes. As always, he looked amazing, wearing dark wash jeans that were just this side of too tight, along with a black shirt that was buttoned much too low on his neckline, exposing a smattering of dark chest hair that she longed to run her fingers through. He gestured to the chair he had been occupying. “Take my seat, please. I was just keeping it warm for you.” He gave her a wink that made her stomach flip.

He was infuriating. Why was he so attractive? The man was a shameless flirt. Emma knew if she were to ever get involved with him, it would only lead to heartbreak. But it would be so much easier to avoid involvement if he wasn’t so damned good looking! Biting down her anger, she suppressed an eye roll and stood her ground. “I’m good here.”

Weiterlesen

[csficformal]

CSFF 2018: The Killy Cat Series  by @sherlockwhovian​

A witch curses Killian Jones, forcing him to transform into a cat. Shenanigans ensue of all sorts from being the first four legged Deputy Sheriff of Storybrooke to chasing birds and taking baths.

Hi @sherlockwhovian! I was your gifter for @csficformal. I was planning on doing some digital art but unfortunately law school has given me very little time to draw, let alone breath. I’m positing a little early than expected mainly because I’m going to be in the law library all of this week and I don’t want to forget. I hope you enjoy the aesthetic I made for your series and if not, please let me know and I will make you something else! 

[csficformal]

CS Spring Formal: Perfect Moments

Happy Springtime @nerdyhuntress. I had the honor of being your match for the @csficformal. It was a delight getting to know you over these last few weeks. I hope you enjoy your gift of sweet canon compliant(ish) fluff!

Summary & Author’s Note: Set during the six weeks of peace in Season four. Killian attempts to execute a perfect moment for he and Emma after so many others have not gone to plan. Creative license used in setting the six weeks of peace during springtime (and who’s to say it wasn’t…).

Rated G for grossly unapologetic fluff / less than 1k words / rainbow stickers and unicorns kisses to @kmomof4 and @winterbaby89 for looking this over for me *mwah!*

Killian wanted everything to be perfect. Emma deserved that. After all they’d been through in recent weeks - snow monsters, a snow witch, stolen hearts, and magic on the fritz - these few weeks of peace since the Dark One’s exile had been the respite the entire town needed. And yet…

He and Emma had yet to have an entirely successful date.

Interruptions and a general lack of understanding by the entire bloody town as to what it meant to have boundaries had plagued each and every one of his and Emma’s special outings. This time, though… this time everything would be perfect.

As Emma made her way into the front courtyard at Granny’s, Killian was already waiting for her. A picnic basket, which had been specially prepared by the Widow Lucas, was hanging from his hook and a thin blanket was tucked under his arm.

Emma gave him a perplexed look as she commented, “I thought we were meeting here to have lunch.”

“We are,” Killian assured. “We just aren’t having lunch here. I’ve got something else planned.” He twitched his brows at her before giving a wink, then took her hand and led her back to the sidewalk and down the block.

“What are you up to, pirate?” Emma teased. “Does Red know you stole her basket of goodies?”

“I’ll have you know that this basket of goodies, as you call it, was legitimately acquired. No plundering was involved, on my honor.” Emma giggled and Killian couldn’t help the broad grin that broke across his face at the carefree sound. “It’s a beautiful spring day, Swan. I thought we might enjoy the weather with a quiet picnic on the bluff.”

“That sounds like a fantastic idea,” she sighed, letting go of his hand so she could thread her arm through his and rest her head on his shoulder as they walked.

The bluff had already turned a lush green and a few wildflowers had begun to bloom. With the wide expanse of the ocean before them and the evidence of springtime around them, Killian couldn’t have wished for a more idyllic setting.

He spread out the blanket Granny had provided and then proceeded to unpack the basket. Emma removed her boots and socks before reclining on the blanket and playfully curled her toes into the grass at its edges. They ate and conversed leisurely, enjoying the warmth of the sun and the coolness of the salty breeze off the ocean. As he took in the gentle sway of Emma’s ponytail, her hair highlighted in a golden hue, and the relaxed countenance upon her face and form, the likes of which he’d not seen as often as he’d prefer, Killian wished that they could simply remain in that perfect moment.

Emma seemed to sense his eyes on her and turned her head to meet his gaze, a soft smile set on her lips. Lips he was suddenly quite desperate to kiss, and she seemed to have the same thought, leaning into him as he leaned into her. It was the type of kiss one simply fell into with their whole being; one that made the rest of the world disappear. Killian could have gotten lost in a kiss such as this. Could have let all of existence fall away until all that remained was this moment with his love.

Except for that bloody rain drop that hit him square in the forehead.

“What the devil?” Killian muttered as he looked up into the now cloudy skies. They’d been so engrossed in one another, neither had noticed the sudden spring storm that had developed over them. Two more drops splashed against Killian’s skin before the heavens opened and they found themselves in a deluge.

Killian cursed as Emma quickly conjured an umbrella. It offered enough protection for them to gather the remains of the picnic without becoming completely soaked through. Killian collected the sodden blanket and basket into his arms, a scowl set on his face as he sulked over their spoiled afternoon.

Another moment completely ruined. Will we ever catch a bloody break?

“Hey,” Emma pressed as she took in his surly disposition. “What’s wrong?”

“Just once I’d like our time spent together to be perfect,” he confessed as the rain continued to patter against the umbrella over their heads. “A perfect moment without interruption, or distraction, or a blasted storm - literally or otherwise!”

“Oh, Killian,” Emma sighed amusingly. “All those moments are perfect,” she insisted. “Whether it’s a crisis or quiet moment before a storm… I’m just happy we get to share the moment together.”

Killian felt the corners of his lips pull up into smile, touched by her heartfelt words - which he knew weren’t always easy for her to share.

“Aye, love. You’re right,” Killian agreed. He set the basket and blanket next to his feet before pulling his Swan into his arms. “This moment is indeed perfect, as are all the ones I get to spend by your side.”

Emma pushed herself up onto her toes and pressed her lips to his once more. After a few soft kisses she used her magic to poof them to his room at the B&B, where they shared a few more perfect moments together.

Tagging my ‘always tag me’ crew. If you’d like to be added to my fic tag list just let me know!

@artisitc-writer, @kmomof4, @winterbaby89, @onceuponaprincessworld, @snowbellewells, @branlovesouat, @snidgetisafan @golfgirld, @aprilqueen84, @mezzanottecaffeezzanottecaffe, @daeneryskairipa

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A gift for @awkwardnessandbaseball as part of @csficformal