#except Emma and Killian

[bibuckaroo]

i want everybody to know that i will in fact write a s7 fix-it of ouat (don’t know when yet though) where henry and drizella will be the main couple and i already have an outline for it.

also, i will do that which the writers were afraid of: regina, emma and killian will be in a poly relationship because emma has TWO HANDS, DAMNIT!! and i love captain swan and swan queen dearly (even though i know the fandoms are at each other’s throat most of the time).

[glittter-skeleton]

Hello OUAT fandom, I bring you Emma’s emotional cheating in s4

[vasfasan]

i HATE season six captainswan with a burning passion yes, the pancakes, and the proposals, and the wedding too

[moonyswritinq]

black swan — killian jones x male reader

❝ BLACK SWAN ❞

SYNOPSIS ➢ Killian Jones was no stranger to using his charms in order to woo beautiful women, Emma Swan being no exception. You couldn’t stand the sight of him flirting shamelessly with your sister, purely for brotherly reasons, so you decide to tell him off. What you didn’t know, was that his eye had been drawn to you the moment he saw you.

PAIRING ➢ killian jones x brother!Swan male reader

CONTENT WARNING ➢ season 2 & 3 spoilers, sort of one-sided rivals to lovers, tension, kissing, making out, harsh language, guys flirting, insults as flirting, threats

WORD COUNT ➢ 2.4 k

AUTHORS NOTE ➢ I wrote this because I read another similar fic and, no hate to that author, but I wanted to write it better and so that it would be more to my satisfaction. Also, I am well aware of all the requests I still have yet to do, but I fell into a OUAT hole and now I’m here.

MASTERLIST, TAGLIST

Killian Jones finding a woman attractive was nothing special. He’s had his fair share of dalliances over the years. Ever since what happened to Milah, Killian was in no hurry to find the so-called “true love” and settle down. His never-ending adventures at sea kept him plenty occupied—and so did his hunt for his Crocodile.

It was no surprise then that the woman named Emma Swan would draw his eye. She was just his type: bold, determined, and a natural leader. His interactions with her in the Enchanted Forest left him intrigued, and his curiosity of her only grew when they returned to Storybrooke and defeated Cora together. He expected his infatuation with Emma to grow the more time he spent with her, but what he was not expecting, was you to catch his eye instead.

The son of Prince Charming and Snow White, brought to a world without magic together with Emma as babies, put into a foster home. Despite all your bad luck as children, your inability in finding a place to call home, at least you managed to stay together. And as Henry brought her back to Storybrooke to break the curse, you followed with. You weren’t a Saviour like her, not by a long shot. But you did have your own skills and abilities, something that came with being a devilishly cunning detective. However much she hated to admit it, Emma would oftentimes turn to you for help in hunting down a bounty. A difficult bounty for her meant an afternoon of idle searching for you.

You never turned down an opportunity to tease her about it and she never hesitated to roll her eyes at you. Nonetheless, you felt incredible protective of her. You may just have been a few minutes older than her, but that didn’t stop you from putting on the big brother act—something she didn’t always appreciate.

Which is why, when you saw a certain pirate unashamedly flirting with her, those brotherly instincts kicked in immediately. You knew Hook was helping your family in getting Henry back from Neverland, providing passage on his ship, the Jolly Roger, and offering his being a guide on the island. But those facts did not give him the right to flirt with your sister.

You had already been at odds with the man when, at your arrival to the island, the ship was attacked by  a school of mermaids. Hook had stumbled in your direction and taken hold of the most stable thing closest to him—which happened to be you. His hand had gripped your waist, his hook coming to your chest as he fell against you. The closeness of his breath stirred something within you, something not entirely uncomfortable. Of course, it was not his fault that the ship veered to the side and that you had been closest to him when he stumbled, but that didn’t stop you from pushing him away from you the moment the ship steadied.

“My apologies,” he said, quite out of breath. His blue eyes were remarkably clear in the moonlight. “I usually offer a drink before getting so close to someone.”

Your glare was your only answer.

“I don’t believe we have been properly introduced.” He extended his hand for you to shake. You looked at it uncertainly.

“I’m Emma’s brother,” you said simply.

His eyebrow raised. “So you must be the infamous town sheriff y/n Swan. I s’pose good looks do run in the family.”

You began to scoff, but then your brain was able to fully comprehend his words. “I never told you my name.”

Hook glanced away, his confident smirk faltering. He cleared his throat. “I may have, er, asked someone for it.”

You shifted your head to meet his eye. “Someone?”

He let out a sigh. “I wanted to know who the handsome man that was traveling with us is, so yeah, I asked around. Really, you should be flattered.”

You scoffed at the grin that flashed across his face and turned on your heel. Like you’d said—shameless flirt.

Later, while searching Neal’s hideout, you watched him flash that same grin when talking to Emma. He stepped much closer, leaning towards her. You couldn’t stomach watching it. And you told yourself it was because she deserved better than a good-for-nothing scoundrel like him. No other reason.

So you watched from afar, leaned against the cave walls, as Hook winked at your sister. Emma glared at him, unimpressed. At least you wouldn’t have to worry about her falling for his charms. She was much too clever for that. You saw her walk away from him, away from the hand that he had reached forward to her and you smiled with grim satisfaction. But before you could step forwards, out of the shadows, David had approached Hook.

“Let me give you a bit of advice, Hook,” he said. “She’s never gonna like you.”

Hooks eyebrows shot into the air. “Is that so?”

“How could she?” David’s voice was laced with venom. “You’re nothing but a pirate.”

He seemed to want to reply, but nothing came out, and David walked away. Hook’s gaze followed him, his hand running down his face.

“He’s right, y’know,” you said, stepping forward.

A low growl slipped from his throat, Hook turning to face you. He looked almost crestfallen. “Can I not get enough of your bloody family?”

It was your turn to raise an eyebrow. “And here I was thinking you’d be glad to see me.”

Hook let out a dry chuckle. “Oh, I am very glad, love.”

“There’s that charm of yours,” you remarked humourlessly.

He smiled cheekily. “Doesn’t seem to be working on your sister, though.”

“Yeah,” you hummed. Step after step brought you closer to the pirate. You watched him closely, noting the way his eyes jumped over your figure. “Speaking of, we need to have a chat.”

He nodded absentmindedly, raising his finger to rub against his lips. The movement drew your eye to them. You knew he had noticed your gaze before you managed to tear it away when his lips curled into a smirk. You rolled your eyes. Goddamned pirate.

“If you’re going to stare at me like that, I’m going to get some mixed signals, love.” His voice was as smug and sweet as honey, only managing in irritating you more.

You were not known to be calm and level-headed. Anyone who was close to you knew to keep away when your anger threatened to burst, like an erupting volcano. Emma had once stolen one of your favourite pencils as a child and you had gotten back at her by spilling ink all over her favourite stuffed animal. But Hook did not know you well enough. He smiled sweetly.

Two steps forward and you were stood right in front of him, pressing against his chest. Rum and leather and sea salt filled your nose. The smell of him was overpowering and intoxicating all at once. You pressed one arm against his throat, pushing him back against the cave wall, the other bracing yourself against it. He grunted at the impact, groaning in displeasure, before meeting your gaze steadily.

“And to what do I owe this pleasure?”

The words growled out of your throat, through your gritted teeth. “Stay away from Emma, got it?”

“You may have gotten the good looks of your family. Not the manners, though,” he said lazily.

You cocked your head. “No, that is more my parents’ style.”

“You do have more of a bite than them,” he said. Then he tilted his head, as if in thought. “Huh, well, aren’t you a dark Swan, love? Or do you prefer Black Swan?”

Your brows knit together but you chose to ignore his words. Instead, you said, “I do agree with David that Emma will never fall for you, so you might as well give up now.”

Hook’s eyebrow raised. “If you’re so sure she won’t fall for me, why even bother threatening me? Surely, my flirting must be harmless.”

Your brows knitted together in suspicion. His eyes were annoyingly blue, piercing straight into yours. “Just leave her alone, Hook.”

“Does it bother you?”

“Does what bother me?” you asked, rolling your eyes.

“My flirting with her.” He leant forward a bit, throat straining against your arm. “Swan, are you jealous?”

You opened your mouth to protest. You? Jealous? Ridiculous. Then you noticed that his lips had curled into a cheeky smirk. “No,” you bit out.

Hook blinked, raising an eyebrow. “You sure?”

“Yes.”

“Heard you were quite the detective out in the Land of No Magic.”

Your head cocked to the side. “Yeah, so?”

He simply hummed, head falling back against the stone walls. His eyes traveled across your figure before jumping up to meet your gaze through his lidded eyes, something unintelligible in those swirls of blue. You ignored the warmth that pooled in your stomach at the sight of him like that.

“I will leave her alone,” he said calmly. “You have my word.”

You tried to detect the mischievous thoughts that were surely lying behind his eyes, but came up empty. You had no idea if he was telling the truth or not, but you let him go and stepped back in one swift moment. He cleared his throat, rubbing one hand across his collarbone.

“Fine,” you said, glancing away from his steely gaze. You weren’t sure what to do with yourself then, and you cleared your throat uncomfortably.

“Shall we?” Hook asked, gesturing to where the others had gone.

“Yeah,” you said simply, walking past him briskly.

You didn’t know what had suddenly overcome you or why you were now so uncomfortable in Hook’s presence. For the rest of that day, every time you glanced in his direction to make sure he was heeding your words of staying away from Emma—to which he did—you felt as if your nerves were standing on end. And on occasion, when he happened to be glancing your way as well and your eyes met, you felt shivers travel down your body, forcing you to break his eye contact. You thought you could see a smirk playing across his lips in those moments, but you chose to ignore him.

That same evening, you had found out David and Hook been ambushed by the Lost Boys. Apparently, Captain Hook had risked his life saving David from a poisonous arrow with Nightshade on it. You almost wanted to laugh at the idea of Hook doing something so heroic, but at the sight of David’s serious face you merely took a swig of the offered flask, like the others. You caught his eye right before he turned and stepped away from the others. You followed him behind a tree.

“I heard what you did for David,” you said. He stopped and turned to face you. “Thank you, Killian.”

His smile didn’t seem to reach his eyes. “I wouldn’t leave your father to perish on this island.”

You nodded, glancing away for a moment before meeting his eye. “I must ask, did you do it to get in my sister’s good graces?”

“I thought you weren’t jealous.” His eyebrow raised.

“Answer the question,” you bit out.

His smile dropped as he met your gaze. “No, I didn’t do it for her. I did it for you. And because it was the right thing to do.”

You couldn’t help the scoff that escaped you. “So now you’re all righteous, huh?”

Hook cocked his head. “I’ve always been chivalrous,” he said. “And, well, it doesn’t take a genius to know that getting your father killed would not help my courting you.”

You chose to ignore those last few words, your smile holding no warmth. “You’re right. You are no genius,” you said.

 “This doesn’t sound like a thank you,” Hook remarked, raising his eyebrows.

You let out a sigh, looking down at the ground beneath your feet. “I’m sorry.”

He scratched the nape of his neck. “Perhaps you could show me some gratitude to make it up to me.”

His gaze was dark underneath his eyelashes, his lips curling into a smirk. You thought you knew what he was implying. You wouldn’t let him get off that easily, though.

“Uh, yeah,” you said, the corners of your mouth lifting. “That was what the ’thank you’ was for.”

“Mmm,” Hook hummed. He took a step closer, so close now you could count his eyelashes. “Is that all your father’s life is worth to you?”

You rolled your eyes. “Please, you couldn’t handle it.”

“Perhaps,” he whispered, face leaning much closer to you. You could feel his breath against your skin. “It’s you who couldn’t handle it.”

Your eyes jumped between his, then to his lips. Those damned lips, curled into that damned smile. Oh Gods, why did you have to be attractive to a pirate. Without leaving any time for you to think your actions through, you took ahold of his jacket and pulled his face towards yours.

Hook let out a surprised gasp, which you swallowed into the kiss. He dragged himself closer, hand clinging to your waist. You felt his chest press hard against you as his lips moved against yours. It was harsh, quick, and angry—just like your feelings for him.

The warmth in your stomach deepened as you pressed yourself impossibly closer to him. One hand made its way into his dark hair, pulling lightly against it. He let out a deep moan at the movement, his eyes shooting open and lips pulling away for a moment.

You smiled at the sight of him, red-lipped, cheeks flushed and eyes full of desire. “Too harsh for you, captain?”

He groaned at your words, capturing your lips once more. His hook was pressing your waist against his as his hand grabbed your neck, bringing you into him. He was truly and well intoxicating.

Hook pulled away again, breath coming out in short bursts. “So I’m not good enough for your sister, but I’m good enough for you.”

You cocked your head and shrugged. “I’m not as good as she is.”

He smiled into the kiss when you pulled him closer again. His teeth captured your bottom lip lightly, but the feeling made a smile of your own erupt across your face.

“I don’t know,” Hook said. “I think you’re pretty good.”

“Killian.”

“My name has never sounded sweeter.”

“Shut up.” You rolled your eyes, smile still playing across your lips.

“With pleasure,” he murmured while pulling you close again.

Tag list: @a-gay-dumbass @eunxhan @loverclear @shobolanya @edit-me-prettyplease @bookholichany @scriblezz

[elizabethbennets]

Captain Swan is my favorite ship of all time because they’re just so funny. I swear. Like in season 2 they’re trying to kill each other and Killian is all about his revenge, and then Emma is like, hey, do you actually want to be a part of something? And he’s like, I mean…I guess??? Then in season 3 this dumb pirate falls in love with her and Emma is all, no, I don’t like you; I would never kiss you, except I did make out with you that one time…but NO, get away from me. Oh wait, you traded your ship for me??? 🥹 Enter season 4. Mr. REVENGE ONLY is so down bad for Emma and Emma is all 😍 for Killian and season 5 is where it gets crazy and weepy because what do you mean you turned your boyfriend into a dark one!?? Like this dude you once tied to a tree and fully left on top of a beanstalk is so damn important to you that you risked your life, his life, and pretty much everyone around you to save him??? HUH?? How did we get here?? Enemies to lovers, baby. It gets me every time lmao.

[fandoms--fluff]

Believe (Chapter 1)

Unknowing daughter reader x Belle and Rumpelstiltskin (Plus the rest of the group)

Summary: You are the daughter of Belle French and Rumpelstiltskin, but you have no idea, being as you were taken from them in the Enchanted Forest. Now, decades later, your parents finally found you again. But they have to make you believe they're your family. Along with the other residents of Storybrooke in this winding family tree.

Warnings: Swearing, stalking (kind of). - there will be more in the next chapters

A/n: I tried this idea, and am really liking it.

Chapter 2

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Feeling the wind blow against your face, you walk briskly down the sidewalk, your heeled boots making a quiet sound against the concrete. The curse had broken over the town a couple months ago. It’s been pretty quiet since then, with everyone remembering and reconciling with their loved ones. Except you. You have no one. You never had.

You grew up in the woods of the enchanted forest your entire life until it came to when you turned 16 and the magical abilities you’ve always inhabited went haywire, made you stop aging. So really, the aging being stopped, mixed with the curse of 28 years, you’re technically around 80 years old. Though your mentality stopped growing, along with your physical appearance from no longer aging.

Your life growing up wasn’t the best. Being real, it was traumatic having no one but yourself to rely on all throughout your life. In an unironic turn of events, the cursed life you lived also had you living with no one to rely on, no fake friends or family, only fake memories of always being alone. Which wasn’t that surprising when you woke back up with all your actual memories. But, hey, at least you were living in a nice apartment instead of the woods, and you still reside there. No more hunting for food or building shelter every other day.

Except there’s one problem. So far, you haven’t had any run in with the saviour or the evil queen (who, thankfully, has chilled and relaxed a lot, becoming more likable to everyone in the town), or anyone else in their group. But the last good week and a half, you’ve been having a feeling of someone or multiple someones following you. And every time you went to check it out, one or multiple of them were always around. It caused you to be suspicious. More than you’ve ever been in this town.

Over the week and a half, you written and clocked out everyone who has been around continuously whenever you had the feeling of being followed. It consists of; Emma Swan – the savior, Regina Mills – The Evil Queen and mayor, Mary Margaret Blanchard – Snow White and ex science teacher, David Nolan – Prince Charming, Killian Jones – Captain Hook, Neal Cassidy – Emma’s ex? (All you really know about him is that he came from New York and he and Emma clearly know each other like that), Belle French, and Mr. Gold – Rumpelstiltskin.

Why they’ve been following you? You don’t want to know, only want them to lose interest in you and find someone else to creepily stalk. It’s not like you’ve done anything wrong in the last couple weeks, not really. This is what you think about while walking along the sidewalk, passing by both run down and lively buildings.

Then comes that feeling again. That siren going off in your head that there’s someone following you. Speeding up, you try to lose them, but you get a glimpse of the person through the window. It turns out it isn’t just one or two of the people from your list. It’s all of them.

All of them are following you down the street. What the hell? You start inwardly freaking out to yourself. You attempt at loosing them again before they notice that you know they’re there.

Two blocks later and some trying to blend in with groups for them to lose trace of you, doesn’t work. You eventually hear someone call out to you, making you freeze. Shit, you think to yourself. You don’t move, not knowing what to do now, this wasn’t on your to do list for the day. There’s no one else around except for you and obviously your personal stalkers now. Where is all the annoyingly cheery people of the town when you need them? Everyone seemed to have disappeared. Just my luck, you think.

“We just want to talk to you” The same person calls out again. You recognize the voice after analyzing it for a moment. The evil queen. No good can come of this.

Choosing your battles, you give in, sighing. You turn around slowly and face the group of people, consisting of everyone but one person, Neal Cassidy, from your list. They’re standing a couple of meters away. At least they’re giving you your space.

“About what?” You finally say after just staring at them. This seriously can’t be any good. They all look to Belle and Rumpelstiltskin. The two who share the same expression. An expression that closely resembles a sort of hope. What would they need hope for? You think.

They both step forward to be a bit closer to you. You raise your eyebrows in question at them, getting a bit annoyed. “Well?” You aggravatedly sigh.

“It’s about your family” Gold tells you, finally breaking the silence between him and Belle. “Oh, then you’ve got the wrong person. I’ve got no family.” You turn away from them, about to walk away. But you’re stopped, a hand on your wrist.

You look down at the hand around your wrist then back up to the woman’s face the hand belongs to. “Let me go” you tell Belle. Good thing is she listened, taking her hand away from my wrist slowly. “I’m sorry, but we need you to listen to us. Trust us.” She looks down at me with those hopeful eyes.

You groan on the inside, not having time for or wanting this crap right now. You look between them both and then at everyone from the rest of the group. You don’t feel right with this, wanting to get away. Quickly, you come up with a diversion that they’ll fall for.

Moving your hands discreetly so no one notices, you create a storm in the sky behind them. Dark blues and purples fill the sky with storming grey clouds. Continuing to create the diversion, you look to the sky behind them with widened eyes and faux confusion.

Working just as expected, the group of them look behind themselves to the darkened, storming sky. As they look away, bewildered at the sight, you make a break for it and sprint down the street and down into the woods that surrounds the town. When you’re out of sight and deep enough into the woods, the diversion you casted breaks. The sky turns back to the regular pale blue it was just moments before.

“What the bloody hell was that?” Hook exclaims at how the storm just disappeared. Everyone looks gobsmacked and in disbelief at what just occurred. Can’t there be one day in this town where something strange doesn’t happen?

Rumple snaps his head back around to where you were standing and sees how you’re no longer there. “She’s gone! It was a diversion” He huffs. There’s no sight of you anywhere. The rest turn around seeing the same outcome of you no longer standing there.

“But how?” Snow asked. How was it possible that you could have done that? “She must have magic. It’s the only reasonable answer” Regina crosses her arms in dismay. “How would she even have magic though? Unless someone taught her” Regina continues before Gold holds his hand up. “Or she was born with it.” He looks to Belle.

She looks up at her husband, taking that possible reasoning in. “That could explain it, yeah. I mean you’re the dark one. And it’s not like we had any time to see If she did have magical abilities when she was born” Belle goes through it, careful with her wording. This is still a careful and emotional topic between the two of them. They’ve been searching for you for so long. Before and after Belle being locked away and the dark curse. Ever since you were taken the day you were born.

“Well, if anything, that is a plausible case. Considering what we just saw and how she’s not here anymore.” Regina sighs, scanning the area, still no trace of you anywhere. “She must have ran,” Charming states. “Then she couldn’t have gone far. We’ll find her” Emma smiles to Belle and Rumple.

Ever since the two of them revealed that they were searching for their daughter, Emma and everyone else saw a new light of Rumpelstiltskin. Even his son, who was albeit not on the best terms with his father but soon put that to rest after they talked through their problems and Neal meeting Belle and learning about their daughter and the story of her as well, in a bit more detail than the others.

Belle smiles to Emma and everyone else, her eyes a bit glossy, while Gold nods with a thankfulness in his eyes, though very hard to see. But it’s there.

They break off from each other, looking around the area to see if there’s anything that could tell them where you went, or at least the direction. Regina, Emma, and Snow search the border between the woods and the street of the town. While the others search around the block and the shops littering the street they’re on.

Regina pauses at one of the trees. She tilts her head to the side, going closer to it. Emma and Snow notice her moving in on the tree and the look on her face. They follow her and stand beside Regina in front of the maple tree. “What is it? Did you see something?” Emma asks, wanting her to elaborate.

“No, not see, but feel.” Regina answers. “Feel what?” Snow asks, confused. “Traces of magic. It’s littered around this tree. And I can feel more deeper in the forest. I think she must have run into the woods.” Regina presses her hand against the cool and rigged bark.

“But how do you know it’s her magic?” Snow asks, wanting to make sure they’re not just following a dead lead. “I don’t, but I have a pretty good feeling considering the way the girl made that storm with a spell, magic would be lingering from where she passed.”

Emma starts nodding, “Okay, yeah, that’s good, it makes sense. I’ll go get everyone and then we can start searching.” Emma walks away from the forest border to go collect her dad, Gold, Belle, and Hook.

Regina and Snow stay back. “Are you sure this will lead us to her? I don’t want to get Belle and Gold’s hopes up if were just going to be met with disappointment” Snow turns to Regina, speaking softly as to not upset the ex evil queen. “I’m as sure as I can be. And if somehow, I am wrong, then I’ll take the brunt from Gold.” Regina offers after a moment of thought.

“..Alright” Snow sighs. They wait there for another few minutes before Emma comes back with the rest of the others in tow. Everyone stands next to Snow and Regina in a group.

“So, how exactly will we find our daughter?” Belle asks, still not completely aware of how this will work from what Emma tried to explain while they were walking here. “I can sense the traces of magic left on this tree. And I can feel more that goes deeper into the forest. If we follow it, then it may lead to her” Regina explains, placing her hand on the tree again.

The others are a bit skeptical before Gold speaks up as well, “I can feel it too. The remnants of magic are strong. I think you actually may be right about this your majesty” Gold smirks to her at the end. Regina rolls her eyes at the ‘your majesty’ comment, but leads the group into the forest, following the traces of magic you left behind as you ran.

As they follow Regina and Gold, the others look around the forest in case there are any other signs of you that was left behind.

Meanwhile, as they search through the forest, you make your way out and end up at the shoreline by the docks. You pant as you catch your breath from running through the woods and almost tripping on all the roots and shrubs. Slowly, you make your way down to the docks, the waves crashing in the sea.

You walk down one of the middle docks and sit down at the edge, legs dangling down above the water. The sounds of the waves splashing helps calms your mind as you go over what those people wanted to talk to you about. They wanted to talk about your family?! That makes no sense, you don’t have one, never have. Your entire life, you’ve been alone, having grown up in the woods of the enchanted forest with no one to rely on but yourself. Your mind rambles on, all concluding that they must have the wrong person.

If only you can leave the town. But of course, the damn spell cursed baracade is up, stopping you from doing so. You just lean your head in your hands, watching the sea, hoping this will die down…hopefully. Though you’re not so convinced.

The others are still in the forest, following Regina and Gold as they track the traces of magic you had left behind. They make their way through the twisted woodland, until they come to a stop in a clearing. It’s a deformed circle clearing with the trees surrounding it and have different trails that lead to different points of the tangled-up forest. “Well, this is just great” Killian swats some bush brambles away with his hook, looking around the cleared out area.

 There are traces of magic everywhere. “Do you feel that too?” Regina turns to the older man. Rumple turns around, feeling the extent of the magic left here. “Yes. Seems our girl is cleverer than we thought” Gold sighs, facing back to Regina and the others.

“Why? What is it?” Emma asks them, getting impatient. “She must have known we may have found out about the traces her magic left. So, she came here to spread magic on every trail she could have taken, making us not know which one to take and lose her.” Rumple explains in depth for what you must have done. He goes over to where Belle is standing and looks at her with a sad smile, wanting to comfort his wife.

“Don’t worry, we’ll find our daughter. One way or another.” As he reassures her, the others get to looking around to see if they could find even a sliver of a hint to which path you went down. “I know we will. We haven’t stopped looking for her before, and we won’t now that we found out who she is. Even if we don’t know her name here” Belle sighs, leaning into Rumple’s arms. He wraps his arms around her, holding his wife close.

“We’ll figure this whole thing out. I promise you” He presses a kiss to her head, his eyes filled with determination to find you.

When they figured out you were here two weeks ago, they never actually found out your name. No matter how hard they tried, they found no record of you, and no one knew you by your name, just your appearance. But they had done a one-time spell to find your location by using the only thing they had left of you from before you were taken from them in the enchanted forest all those years ago – a baby hairbrush. And it led to them finding you sitting in an empty parking lot drawing. They didn’t go up to you, needing to be sure first and notify everyone else, which albeit was fort the best, especially right now. But it was painfully obvious you were their daughter when they first saw you. Your face and appearance look uncanny and so much like a mix of them both.

And your resemblance to them is what made everyone fully believe that I was their daughter. Even Regina. And she even sadly wasn’t any help with who you were, your name or where you lived or anything about you either. It’s as if you’ve been a ghost in this town. Being and living here for the past almost 30 years but never making any connections or revealing anything about yourself to anyone.

“Well for one thing, she definitely doesn’t want to be found” Regina crosses her arms after touching multiple of the tree barks, sensing the same amount of magic radiation off them that will soon disappear with time. “Yeah, it’s starting to seem so” Emma walks over to her.

On the other side of the clearing, Snow and Charming are looking together. Snow gets pulled by indication to where she sees the difference in the ground. She goes closer, crouching down and touching the dirt ground of the forest. “What’d you find, Snow?” David comes up behind his wife, looking down to where she has her hand.

“Look at this, it’s hard to tell from the shape, but it looks like a heel. Like the shoes that she was wearing…And there’s more up ahead.” Snow looks up at him with a smile. Her tracking talents coming in hand in this moment. “Great job, Snow.” He smiles, knowing she just figured out which path you took.

Snow stands back up and calls out to everyone, “I found which way the girl went.” They all turn to her and head over to the couple. Belle and Gold look at each other with the same look before going over as well. “How do you know?” Rumple asks once they get there.

“Look at the ground, there are tracks that look about the same as the heeled boots she was wearing, there are more down the trail. None of the other ways have this. I don’t think this is one of her diversions. Trust me, I had my fair share of tracking back while I was on the run” Snow explains to them, glancing at Regina during the last part. Regina looks away for a moment at how Snow brought up the past and what she had put her stepdaughter through. “Alright” Belle says, smiling softly.

“Then let’s go. It’s getting later, the sun is to set soon.” Hook looks up at the sky.  Snow leads the way this time, following the tracks your heeled boots left in the forest ground as you ran. They make their way through the new twists and turns of this trail, in some distance, it looks like it’s opening from just the multitudes of trees. This makes them walk faster, realizing it must be the edge of the forest, leading back into the town.

[ouatsnark]

i'm just gonna leave a link cause i can't recap the whole thing, you can break it down cause i can't submit urls here ( evilduckling / 142855439146 / how-can-you-say-youre-an-ugly-duckiling-and-ship? source=share

I love sources! Here's the link:

I actually started reading this going “Ok, this is fine. I get it. I didn’t start shipping CaptainSwan either until I saw the change beginning in Killian Jones. And they acknowledge Regina is a villain like Hook is.”

However, I ended up going “oh, there it is, there’s the delusion!” And things went downhill from there!

“Because EMMA is my favourite character and i ship her with who ever makes her happiest. Right now that means i am most definitely anti captain swan and pro swan queen.”

But there was never a moment when Regina made Emma happier. In fact, there is not one scene of them being happy together because they are together (friendship wise- this doesn't even exist). Henry, Snow, David and Killian have all made Emma happy. There's more evidence of Emma being happy in her friendship with Elsa than Regina.

Regina was busy treating Emma like complete garbage all of Season 4 and even into Season 5. Which if you want to fanon up a happy SQ friendship … be my guest… but don’t pretend like this isn’t a bias showing through. Because it’s just canonically incorrect.

Killian Jones makes her the happiest.

“Why wouldnt i ship my favourite character with the woman knew Emma’s biggest regret was leaving henry and worked to make sure that regret never happened? Why wouldn’t i ship my favourite character with the woman who gave her the life she always wanted?”

If we’re acknowledging that their friendship has taken a turn at this point (canonically we're told this, I disagree with how it was written but it is canon) and we’re not calling S1-2 abuse signs of true love… OK we can be friends.

I disagree that Regina is doing any of this for Emma but I can acknowledge that this person’s perspective on this scene is legitimate.

I personally believe it was all for Henry and Regina loved self-pity so she got to turn herself into a victim (just look how she makes everything about her, the S3 curse, losing Henry her pain was worse, her struggles are worse even though Emma was literally cursed with darkness, Emma's death visions were about her etc etc). Or maybe it just rubs me the wrong way because she can’t for one second recognize that she’s the reason Snow is separated from her daughter AGAIN and the show just completely destroyed Henry’s character by having him say everyone was better off cursed if it meant Regina wasn’t hurting.

Also, pretty sure everyone, including Killian, knows that giving up Henry is Emma’s biggest regret. This isn’t rocket science or something that’s special to Regina.

“Why wouldn’t i ship my favourite character with the woman who gave her her happy ending?”

Except she didn't actually succeed. Emma was miserable and about to marry a monkey.

“How dare i ship my favourite character with this person. I obviously hate emma swan so much. How dare i ship emma with someone who constantly saves her, believes in her and is literally in hell for her? “

That is canonically not true. Regina doesn’t believe in Emma. Unless it's convenient for her to say so because she wants something. They use the scene where Regina wants Emma to save Robin from the wraith as an example but they leave off the part where Regina accuses Emma of being the cause.

And I would argue Regina isn’t in hell for Emma. Regina disappeared on Emma to save a horse and have a family reunion. She was there because all the real heroes were there. But again, if that’s the way you want to look at it fine.

But let’s not pretend that Killian Jones hasn’t done even more for Emma and it was because he truly loves her. He was the only one to never lose faith in her. And. He wasn’t doing it for hero status or for anyone else but Emma and her family.

This is also kind of a straw man argument on the part of Swen because the real issue is…. why would you ship Emma with a woman that constantly belittles her, puts her down, refuses to follow her lead… etc etc NEVER MIND all of the reasons that Regina is the reason Emma’s family was torn apart… a reason that Regina doesn’t regret.

The above post is specific to how they follow Emma's lead but you can find so much more information in my Regina Vs Killian and how they treat Emma series.

“Instead i should ship her with a man who has tried to kill emma just as many times - the last time being like 4 episodes ago???”

No, you don’t have to. But while you claim “just four episodes ago” there is an issue here because there’s a big detail being left out: Killian was consumed by darkness. Regina never was.

This blog owner refuses to accept this detail but more on that below.

Also, correction: Regina has still tried to kill Emma and her family more times than any other character. Killian, when consumed by darkness, was a conduit for the dark ones so he's actually never tried to kill Emma and her family. That is not something he would ever want. He does too much to help Emma stay with her parents for this to even be a thing so it's obvious this is all the darkness' doing. Regina tried multiple times before Emma was born, as she was being born, before the first curse is broken in S1 (Emma's brakes, framing Snow, the apple, the tart) and after the curse (teaming up with Cora, the well, the kill switch).

"Regina wasn’t responsible for Neal leaving emma in prison - that was August and Neal.”

No one disputes this? No one blames Regina for this. Granted, Regina’s decision to cast the curse put all of these character’s in these situations but the choices they make are their own.

“Regina wasn’t responsible for the mess between Lily and Emma - that was Snow and Charming’”

This is a swing and a miss. This isn’t anyone’s fault but Lily and Emma’s. Emma has her own agency (as much as any character can have). She’s responsible for her choices and her actions. Not really sure why this is a big deal though. This is typical growing up behavior. I've never used this as a weapon against SwanQueen because it just doesn't hold water. IMHO. There's stronger arguments against the friendship than this... like why are we discussing this point right now?

Oh because they need to point fingers away from Regina and onto anyone else just like their queen does. Can't have Regina taking responsibility for her decisions!

"Regina wasn’t responsible for August leaving Emma in the foster home - that was August (and i know he was a child but still)"

I’d argue this one is a little more grey because neither child would be there if not for Regina’s curse or those that conspired to get August into the tree thus preventing Snow from going…. but August is just a child. This is not his fault either. So I don’t think it’s fair. I don’t think this specific thing is Regina’s fault… what is Regina’s fault is the Charming family being torn apart.

“Regina cast a curse but it was Snow and Charming that put emma in the wardrobe - not Regina”

And here it is! The Regina Apologist in this Swen has arisen!

No, luv, it is still Regina’s fault. The Charmings had no choice because Regina didn’t give them a choice. Regina would’ve killed Emma and everyone would’ve been cursed for eternity.

“Remember this? It’s rumple being taunted by your precious Killian. See because of situations like these, where rumple was so powerless against other people - other men like Hook - that he takes  power wherever he can. Enter the dark one”

Sorry, luv, but no one forced Regina to cast the curse. She chose to do it. Her actions caused it. Therefore she is responsible for the curse.

"So let’s summarise - If killian hadnt made rumple feel so powerless, rumple wouldnt have become the dark one, wouldnt have lost his son,.."

We don’t know that for sure. And I disagree. Even if Killian hadn’t come along, Milah was destined to leave her coward of a husband who had shamed his family. Her unhappiness was there long before she met Killian. So I believe all of this still could’ve happened with or without Killian. I mean the reason Rumple took on the darkness was to save his son from the Ogre Wars. Last I checked, Killian didn’t cause those!

And even so Regina still chose to cast the curse. Therefore, she is responsible for her role that she played in it. Now is Rumple also culpable? Sure. He helped her, after all. But who’s out there saying that Rumple is a better choice for Emma? There’s probably like one person. So Rumple sharing in part of the blame is kind of irrelevant to the topic.

"Last person who tried to kill Emma’s family - Killian.  And before you say Gold isnt family - yes he is because quite literally in the next episode emma says “You’re henry’s grandfather. Like it or not that makes us family”

Correction: at the time this blog was written the last person to try and kill Emma’s family was the Dark Ones.

And this person is seriously trying to use a line from S2 to justify this when Gold has betrayed them multiple times since including the end of S5 and S6? Yes, Emma says this as justification for helping him during S2. After all, family means a lot to Emma and I think she was trying to help Gold turn a page.

But let’s not pretend that any of them had any real affection for Gold after his multiple betrayals. Emma was ready to take him down in S5 and S6 when he stood in the way of her true love. So. That argument is so disingenuous. It's a perfect example of reaching so far you make a fool out of yourself.

And technically Gold is the last person to have tried to kill Emma’s family by the end of the series. This blog was written prior to the ending of S5 so I’ll let this slide.

"And Hook being the dark one does count as the only thing that can control a dark one is excalibur/dagger and Hook was not being controlled by anyone. This was most definetely hook being an ass and nothing else."

And here comes the Regina Apologist again trying to deny the dark curse. It was not “Hook being an ass and nothing else” like please do not pretend like we didn’t see a complete change in him when the darkness took over! Because we did.

Also, Season 5 tells us repeatedly that those cursed with the darkness become someone else entirely. I've already covered this here:

And this one goes even further into how the darkness controlled even Emma for a hot second:

So the fact that they refuse to accept or acknowledge canon is why we can’t be friends. Because they use their fanon and complete disregard for canon as a weapon against us.

If they had just stuck to saying "yeah I ship Emma and Regina post S3 because Regina is on Team Hero now" and said nothing else... we wouldn't be here right now.

" - is the reason for emma’s darkness" (aka her saving Killian)

Not by any fault of his own. He begged her not to!

It was Regina Mills that begged Emma to risk becoming a full on dark one to save her handbag!

See, I don't know how you can ship SwanQueen when Regina is clearly willing to sacrifice Emma for her handbag and Emma is clearly fighting for her true love Killian Jones... and it's Killian Jones putting Emma first while Regina is still thinking of only herself.

"Pretty sure Regina’s been the one fighting for Emma’s light harder than anyone"

Incorrect! Evidence is in how they each treated Dark Swan and how they treated the Dagger.

It was Killian that faced the Wicked Witch to get to Emma. It was Killian that believed in her enough not to control her with the dagger. It was Killian that helped Emma light the flame. It was Killian that ultimately fought the darkness and restored Emma’s light.

"is awful to emma’s son?"

Killian: "Riveting tale, Snow likes oatmeal. Is my morning breakfast in there too? Henry I thought you were gonna use your author powers to get us to defeat Hades."

And there we have it. Ignoring S1-2 and picking ONE LINE out to try and say Killian was awful to Henry. Oh you would not win this argument with me, luv. You would lose and lose horribly.

Regina Mills abused Henry for the first ten years of his life and was not that great of a mother in later seasons either. That alone trumps one frustrated line from Killian Jones who was worried for everyone's safety when they'd all come there to help save him.

And even with the first ten years of abuse, we have these present day moments where Regina was just awful to Henry:

[swarla-sq-folklore]

My New SwanQueen Fic: Bad Blood (2724 words) by Swarla_SQ_Folklore Chapters: 1/? Fandom: Once Upon a Time (TV) Rating: Explicit Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Relationships: Evil Queen | Regina Mills/Emma Swan, Captain Hook | Killian Jones/Emma Swan, Evil Queen | Regina Mills/Robin Hood Characters: Emma Swan, Evil Queen | Regina Mills, Captain Hook | Killian Jones, Robin Hood (Once Upon a Time), Grumpy | Leroy, Belle (Once Upon a Time), Red Riding Hood | Ruby Summary: Everyone thinks Regina Mills is the problem. Her temper, her sharp tongue, her inability to let people in. But what happens when Emma Swan starts paying attention? The way Regina flinches when a door slams. The way she keeps her voice even, measured—like a woman who has learned that speaking wrong has consequences. No one believes in the cold-hearted mayor’s redemption. No one sees the truth beneath her carefully perfected mask. Except Emma. And she doesn’t know how to stop caring.

[hollyethecurious]

CS AU: Being Ghosted (2/4?)

Summary: Killian and Liam Jones are called in to help with the haunting of an old carriage house where a skeleton was recently found walled up within the cellar. This is no ordinary ghost hunt for the supernatural fighting brothers, however. This job will require Killian to face the person who has been haunting him for nearly a year. Emma Swan. The woman he ghosted.

A/N: Yeah, yeah. I know the holiday season is in full swing and we ought to be done with the spooky stuff, but I love a Victorian/Dickensian Christmas aesthetic that leaves room for good old ghost stories. This addition gives me a BINGO for my Fall/Spooky card (better late than never) and will likely have two additional parts to come.

Shout out to @kmomof4 for her exceptional beta skills!

Rated T / Also available on ao3 / add to tag list / Curious? Come Ask Me! / Part One

Part Two

Leaves rustled overhead, clinging to branches that were ready to be freed of them as the crisp autumn breeze coaxed them from their perch and gently swirled them to the ground below. Those with the misfortune of landing on the pavement were crunched beneath the tires of Killian Jones’ Chevelle, pulling up in front of an old carriage house that was being renovated into a home.

A home for Emma Swan. A home she recently began to share with her boyfriend. A home where the two resided, sharing all of the intimacies he desperately wished he could have shared with her. Intimacies and quiet moments and heated arguments and passionate make up sessions and mundane chores and yes… even their current plight.

A haunting.

Killian would have willingly faced it all with her had circumstances been different, which, he supposed, was why he was here now.

“You ready for this, little brother?” Liam questioned after Killian had put the car in park and shut off the engine.

“Younger,” Killian reminded him in his usual exasperated tone, pushing open the driver’s side door and climbing out while side-stepping his well-meaning brother’s inquiry.

The front door of the carriage house opened and a man exited, greeting them hesitantly, “You must be the Jones brothers?”

“We are,” Liam said, approaching the man with an outstretched hand. “I’m Liam. This is my brother, Killian. Are you the owner?”

“Uh, no,” the man said, shaking Liam’s hand then stuffing his hands in his pocket with an acknowledging nod towards Killian. “I’m Neal Cassidy. My girlfriend’s the one who called you. She technically owns the place, but we both live here.”

Something in Killian’s gut twisted, the ache intensifying when Emma emerged from the carriage house, looking as stunning as he remembered but without the warmth and affection he’d last received from her.

“You guys must be exhausted,” she said after introducing herself to his brother and barely giving him her notice. “We’ve made up the guest room and there’s a pullout in the office.” Turning to her beau, she placed a loving hand on his arm and sweetly suggested, “Why don’t you show Killian to the office and I’ll take Liam up to the guest room.” Addressing Liam - and only Liam - once more, she said, “After you two get settled, we can take you down to the cellar where this all started.”

“That sounds grand,” Liam said, gesturing towards the carriage house. “Lead the way, lass.”

As they filed in, Liam looked back at Killian over his shoulder. His expression echoed that which Killian was already telling himself.

He had fucked up.

Badly.

“So,” Cassidy began, showing Killian into the office where the pull out couch had already been made up for him. “How do you know Emma? She wasn’t really clear on the details.”

Dropping his duffle on the bed, Killian busied himself with rifling through his supplies, attempting to keep a neutral tone. “What details did she share?”

“Something about a dare and the cemetery and not wanting to talk about the experience because it had been too intense.”

Killian let out a commiserating hum. “Intense is certainly one word for it,” he murmured, the memory of Emma laid out beneath him, kissing the holy hell out him while making sounds that haunted him to this day flashed through his mind and tightened the fit of his jeans.

Unwilling to betray Emma’s confidence, and not exactly eager to share the details of their acquaintance with her current paramour either, Killian shifted the conversation to the matter at hand. “As I understand it, the paranormal activity began after the two of you uncovered skeletal remains in the cellar. Is that correct?”

“Yeah,” Cassidy replied, leaning against the door jamb and crossing his arms over his chest. “I thought Emma was crazy at first when she insisted we had a ghost. I mean… you know how irrational women can be.”

Killian chafed at the man’s derisive tone. “If there’s one thing I know about Emma, mate,” Killian informed him with a slight edge to his words, “it’s that her instincts should never be dismissed.”

“Oh, don’t get me wrong,” Cassidy back pedaled. “I believe her now. Kind of hard not to when a ghost appears over your bed while you’re trying to convince your girl she’s not too tired to fulfill her duties. You know what I mean?”

Fists balled, Killian took a deep breath and tried to rein in his anger. He was saved from doing anything rash by the sounds of his brother’s voice.

“Ready to check out the cellar?”

“Aye,” Killian clipped out, following after Liam and resisting the urge to shoulder check the repulsive man who had somehow fallen into Swan’s good graces - and her bed (not that he wished to dwell on that fact) - as he passed.

Emma led them down a steep flight of steps into the cold, dark, and dank space below. The atmosphere had an immediate effect on Killian, raising the hair along the back of his neck and giving him the eerie feeling of being watched.

“This was part of the original structure, yes?” Liam asked, shining his flashlight into the inky black corners the dim bulb at the bottom of the stairs couldn’t quite reach.

“Yeah,” Emma answered, lingering by the stairs with Cassidy as the Jones men looked around. “From what I understand, it was cold storage for oats and hay and other food stuffs for the horses lodged here when it was a carriage house.” Gesturing towards an opening, she continued, “I noticed that space had been bricked up and I wanted to open it back up. That’s when I found…”

“The body,” Killian supplied, casting a glance towards her and meeting her eye for the first time since he’d arrived. His heart clenched, the look on her face making him wish he could have spared her such a discovery. Perhaps if it had been he who had been there… No. There was nothing to be gained in thinking that way now. The past was the past and there was no changing it.

“And you called the police?” Liam confirmed, searching the area where the skeleton had been found.

“Of course we did,” Cassidy scoffed. “What else were we supposed to do?”

Killian and Liam exchanged a look. Neither of them could fault their decision, but they both knew, had it been them, they would have handled it much differently.

“And how soon after the body was removed did the occurrences begin?”

“Almost immediately,” Emma answered. “It started with noises on these steps.” She gestured at the stairs they’d used to access the cellar, the tension in her demeanor evident in the stiff, closed-off way she stood in the unsettling space.

“Noises?” Liam questioned. “Like footsteps?”

“No,” she replied. “More like… something falling down them. Then things actually started crashing down them.”

“What do you mean?” Killian pressed, his concern heightening as she continued.

“If we leave anything sitting in the hallway outside the cellar door, it will eventually make its way down here. Clearly having taken a tumble down the stairs.”

“Yeah,” Cassidy said, backing her up. “I thought it was the authorities being careless, because we had a parade of crime scene personnel traipsing through here for weeks after we reported the body.”

“But you knew it was more than that, didn’t you, Swan?”

Emma locked eyes with Killian. He could tell his question had brought back the memory of her first ghostly encounter. She swallowed hard and for a moment it was as though they were the only two people there.

“Rooms would get cold,” she told him in a quiet voice; her words conveying all the nuance and unspoken truths she knew he would understand in a way her boyfriend had not. “I would hear things. Smell things. Things I hadn’t experienced in all the months I spent renovating the upper levels.”

“What sort of smells?”

His brother broke the reverie that had momentarily linked them, snapping the connection that reminded Killian of what they had once shared.

“Um,” Emma began, shaking herself and focusing on the question. “Leather? Hay? Like a barn, but without the pungent animal smells. More how I’d imagine this place was when it was an active carriage house, I guess.”

“So, he could have been killed here during that time,” Killian said to his brother

“Agreed. We’ll need to learn more about the building’s history.” Addressing Emma once more, Liam inquired, “You told Killian the authorities had yet to identify the remains, is that correct?”

“Yeah. But they did issue a cause of death. Blunt force trauma and a broken neck.”

“Injuries one might sustain from falling or being pushed down a flight of stairs,” Killian remarked. “It would certainly explain the occurrences surrounding the cellar steps.”

“My friend Belle is the town librarian and she has access to city records,” Emma informed them. “When you agreed to come, I asked her to pull anything that might tell us the history of the carriage house. Who owned it. Who may have worked here. Things like that. She said she’d try and have a file ready for when you got here.”

“Good thinking, love,” Killian praised, unaware of the endearment he’d let slip until Cassidy shot him an affronted glare then suspiciously flicked his gaze to Emma’s pinked cheeks before sending another hard look Killian’s way.

Clearing his throat, Killian reached up and scratched behind his ear, turning his attention towards Liam and suggesting, “Before we go any further, we should ascertain what sort of spirit we’re dealing with.”

“What do you mean?” Emma asked.

Killian couldn’t help the smug feeling that went through him at the sight of her pulling away from Cassidy’s attempt to wrap a possessive arm around her waist. She took a step towards the center of the room where Liam was already pulling supplies out of the bag he’d brought with him.

“There are generally two kinds of spirits who refuse to move on,” Liam told her. “Malevolent ones who were equally nasty while alive, and those who simply have unfinished business they feel compelled to resolve before they can find peace.”

“Malevolent spirits refuse to leave,” Killian added. “Hell bent on punishing or exacting revenge against the living. The only way to be rid of them is to--”

“Salt and burn their bones,” Emma said, causing Cassidy to balk behind her.

“How did you know--”

“Aye,” Killian said, cutting Cassidy off. “Which will be somewhat difficult to accomplish, seeing as they are still in the medical examiner’s possession.”

“So…” Emma drawled, joining he and Liam as they continued to set up the space for the task they would need to perform. “Best case scenario would be this spirit just having unfinished business?”

“That won’t necessarily make matters any easier,” Liam informed her. “Figuring out a spirit’s unfinished business isn’t usually as straightforward as salting and burning bones.”

“So, how do we determine which kind of spirit it is?”

“Ems, the thing attacked us while we were making love,” Cassidy said, being sure to emphasize the making love part as he wrapped his arms around her waist. “The thing is obviously bad news.”

“We weren’t--” Emma began, mortification giving way to irritation as she looked back at him then shook her head and said, “Nevermind. It doesn’t matter.” Looking down at the two brothers as they finished lighting the circle of candles they’d set out, she said, “As I told Liam upstairs, when he manifested he didn’t look threatening. He had his hands over his mouth--” she raised hers to mimic what the spectre had looked like, “--but was clearly trying to tell us something when he vanished almost as quickly as he appeared.”

“Well,” Liam said, pulling the last piece of the equipment from his bag, “This will hopefully allow him to tell us what he tried to communicate with you.”

A belittling snort escaped Cassidy. “A ouija board? Be serious.”

“I assure you, mate. We are quite serious,” Killian informed him as he took a seat upon the cold, cellar floor alongside his brother. “But if the idea of communing with the dead is too much for you, then feel free to sit outside while we conduct our investigation.”

Clearly catching the challenge to his courage, Cassidy grit his teeth and grumbled in Emma’s ear. “Can you believe this guy?”

“Neal,” Emma sighed with a tone of censure. “Shut up and sit down.”

Entering into the circle, Emma lowered herself onto the stone floor and crossed her legs beneath her. Reluctantly, Cassidy followed, a disgruntled look passing over his features in response to the sitting arrangement that had placed him between Emma and Liam instead of separating her from Killian.

“A few ground rules before we get started,” Liam began, holding the planchette in his hands.

“I think we’ve all played with ouija boards before,” Cassidy interrupted rudely, earning him a stern stare from the elder Jones.

“Aye,” Liam responded with a cutting edge to his words. “You may well have, but what we are preparing to do is not child’s play. We are opening a portal to the spirit realm, and for all our safety, precautions must be taken and adhered to.”

Cassidy shifted uncomfortably, but said nothing more.

“Go on,” Emma urged. “We’ll do whatever you tell us to.”

“Right,” Liam began again. “Once we’ve placed our hands on the planchette, they must remain there until the session is concluded. I shall be the only one addressing the spirits, so you must refrain from talking or reacting. And when it becomes clear that the spirits are finished communicating, we must all close the session together by moving the planchette to goodbye. This is the only time we intentionally guide it. Understood?”

Everyone nodded. The seriousness of their endeavor hung heavily around them as Liam continued.

“I’m going to set the planchette on the board, but before anyone touches it, we need to attune the space.” Setting the planchette down, Liam extended his hands to Killian and Cassidy, saying, “Everyone needs to join hands and focus on the spirit we wish to call forth.”

Killian took his brother’s hand then opened the other to receive Emma’s. When she tentatively placed her hand in his, Killian glanced up at her face. They locked eyes for a brief moment before she flicked hers away, but Killian knew his touch was having the same effect on her that her touch was having on him. There was no mistaking the familiar physical tension they’d once shared under similar circumstances.

“Focus on the person we seek,” Liam instructed. “We know him to be a man. We know there is something he wishes to communicate. We know this space was his final resting place until a few weeks ago. However you choose to manifest him within your mind, hold that image there and focus on him.”

Difficult as it was, Killian tried to push aside thoughts of Swan and the feel of her hand in his. Even still, she remained a fixture in his attempt to concentrate. She was there when he thought of the man’s body being discovered. She was there when he imagined how he may have looked when he’d manifested himself to her. She was there with every noise, every scent, every strange occurrence that had led her to reaching out to the one person she knew could help her. Despite the tragic circumstances that led the man to being walled up within the cellar, Killian could not help but feel gratitude to the spirit who had brought Emma Swan back into his life.

“Right,” Liam said a moment later. “With the man still centered in everyone’s mind, place your hands on the planchette.”

Killian sucked in a breath at the loss of her hand, but quickly schooled his emotions and joined the others, placing his hands upon the planchette and readying himself for what was to come.

“We call forth the spirit of the man found concealed behind the wall in this cellar,” Liam called out. “We ask that he come forth and tell us his name. What is your name, spirit?”

The temperature dropped and several of the candle’s flames flickered. Killian could hear Emma’s rapid breaths over the pounding of his own heart.

“Spirit!” Liam called out again. “We invite you to tell us your name!”

A gasp fell from Emma’s lips when the planchette jerked beneath their fingers. With wide, green eyes, she cast her gaze towards Killian as the planchette slid across the board. He gave her a look of encouragement, hoping his own gaze conveyed that there was nothing to fear - that he would not let any harm come to her - before her eyes fell back to the board and the word being spelled out beneath their fingers.

“D-A-N-I-E-L,” Liam read out as the planchette roamed across the board. “Daniel? Your name is Daniel?”

Yes

“What is it you want, Daniel?”

H-E-L-P

“You need help? That’s why we’re here. How can we help you to move on?”

H-E-L-P

“We understand. How can we help? What do you need us to do?”

T-E-L-L-H-E-R

“Tell her? Her who? You want us to deliver a message to someone?

Yes

“You need to tell us who. Who is her?”

L-O-V-E

“Someone you loved?”

Yes

“What’s her name?”

R-R-R-R-R-R-R … No

“No? No, what?”

No

“We don’t understand. No, you don’t want to tell us her name?”

C-A-N-T

“You can’t?”

C-A-N-T

“Why can’t you?”

C-C-C-C-C-C

Killian leaned over and whispered into his brother’s ear. “Another spirit maybe? Interference from another entity?”

“Is there another spirit with us? Someone who does not want you to communicate with us?”

Yes

Killian removed his hands from the planchette, earning him a startled gasp from Swan and a scathing reprimand from his brother.

“Killian!” Liam hissed. “What the devil are you--”

“Use my energy, Daniel,” Killian offered, opening his arms, and himself, up in surrender. “Take my energy and manifest yourself. Tell us who’s trying to silence you.”

“Brother, have you lost all sense?”

“It’s alright, Daniel,” Killian encouraged, ignoring his brother. “You can take my energy and--”

Killian’s words fell away when the fine hairs began to lift over his entire body. His arms began to feel heavy and it was a struggle to keep them lifted, especially when his breathing also became laboured.

“Killian, put your damn hands back on the--”

Liam’s admonishment was cut short by a startled, expletive falling from Emma’s lips. Manifesting above the board, in the center of their circle, was the ghostly image of a young man.

“Is that… Daniel?”

“That’s the man we saw!” Emma confirmed, her eyes wide as saucers and brimming with equal amounts of fear and awe. Forgetting herself, and the rules, she tentatively asked, “Are you…? Are you Daniel?”

The spectre nodded. He couldn’t have been more than early to mid twenties when he died, and though it was difficult to ascertain certain physical identifiers like height or hair or eye color, given his current metaphysical state, his clothing could serve as a clue that would narrow down the timeframe of his passing.

“Tell us how we can help you?” Liam said.

Killian, relieved that his brother was willing to capitalize on the moment, knew that he’d get an earful later, especially if Daniel managed to draw energy off him to the point of him passing out. Though woozy, Killian focused his efforts on the questions his brother continued to repeat and the spirit’s attempted replies.

“Who is the woman you want us to contact? Who else is here with us?”

Daniel tried again and again to speak, but the sound of his voice could not pass from his plane to theirs. Reaching down with ghostly hands, Daniel nudged the planchette and guided it once more to the R. Before he could maneuver it to the next letter, a second pair of hands appeared from behind Daniel’s head and wrapped around his lower face, obscuring his mouth.

Emma screamed and Neal jolted back, nearly knocking over the candles behind him.

“Nope!” Cassidy exclaimed, scrambling off the floor and sprinting towards the stairs.

“Neal!” Swan called after him, though she remained rooted where she was with her hands still affixed to the planchette.

Daniel struggled against the phantom hands, clawing at them with his own while Liam tried to wrestle back control of the seance.

“Reveal yourself, spirit! Tell us who you are and why you wish to silence Daniel! What unfinished business does Daniel--”

The planchette began to spin, making it impossible for Liam and Emma’s hands to remain there. An impossible gust of cold wind swept through the cellar, extinguishing the candles and ruffling both Killian’s and Emma’s hair. The light bulb at the bottom of the stairs shattered, sending down a shower of sparks. The only illumination remaining was Daniel’s ghostly form, but it too was quickly snuffed out, leaving the three of them in darkness.

“Bloody hell,” Liam cursed, the sound of him rummaging through his duffle preceding the beam of his flashlight. Reaching over, he grasped Killian’s shoulder and questioned, “Are you alright, little brother?”

“Younger,” Killian muttered, earning him a relieved clap on the back from his brother; his petulant response the only proof Liam needed as to his brother’s condition.

“You two stay still,” Liam instructed. “I’ll relight the candles and clean up the glass. Is there a broom down here?”

“Y-Yeah,” Emma responded, shakily. “In that cabinet.” She gestured towards the corner, then offered, “But I can do that.”

“No,” Liam said, waving her off as he finished lighting the candles. “You stay with Killian. He’s going to need a minute to recover from his tomfoolery.”

“It got us answers, didn’t it?” Killian shot back, heavily. Drained of energy, it was all he could do to remain sitting upright, but he’d be damned if he let Liam know just how much the encounter had affected him.

“Aye. I suppose it did,” Liam conceded, procuring the broom and dustpan so he could begin sweeping up the broken bulb.

“What answers?” Emma asked. “All I have is more questions.”

“We know there’s indeed another spirit here,” Killian told her. “A woman, if the ringed fingers and manicured nails give any indication. We also have a name to work with - Daniel. Based on his manifestation, I’d wager he was in his mid 20s when he died and by the looks of his clothing, I would guess he worked as a stablehand at some point. That gives us a frame of reference to work with as we investigate his identity further.”

“Speaking of which,” Liam said, disposing of the broken glass and tucking the broom back into the cabinet. “You said you had a friend assisting with research?”

“Yes!” Emma replied, plucking her phone from her back pocket. “Belle. I’ll text her now and see if she’s ready to share her findings with us.”

“Perhaps you would like to check on Mr. Cassidy as well?” Liam suggested, reminding them both of the forgotten man.

“Um, right. Yeah.” Swan stood and brushed the dust off the back of her jeans. Her phone vibrated in her hand, capturing her attention. “Belle says she has everything ready and we can come by the library any time.”

“Terrific,” Killian responded, attempting to pick himself up off the floor… and flailing. “Um, Swan? Would you mind, uh…”

Emma glanced down at him and must have perceived his predicament. Her eyes widened, a startled expression crossing her features, as she reached down and helped him up.

With a steadying hand pressed against his chest, she asked, “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m fine,” he assured her. “Just a bit… unsteady.”

“Here,” she said, leading him towards the stairs where he could rest against the banister. “Better?”

“Aye. Thank you, love.”

Her posture stiffened in response to the endearment and she turned away, intent on climbing the steps out of the cellar. Killian reached out and lightly grasped her elbow, stalling her steps.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to… are you alright? I should have asked how you’re handling the ordeal.”

“I’m fine,” she told him. Her position on the steps had brought her to eye level and though there was still only candlelight illuminating their surroundings, Killian could see the truth of her words in her eyes. “This isn’t my first haunted rodeo. Remember?”

Killian let out an amused huff. “Aye. How could I forget.”

They stood there a moment longer, Killian’s hand still resting against the crook of her elbow. He could feel the raised flesh of her arm through the thin fabric of her sleeve and wondered if it was a remnant of the ghostly encounter or perhaps an involuntary response to his touch.

Was he wrong to hope for the latter?

“I, uh… I should go check on Neal,” she said, dragging her tongue across her lip before her teeth scraped over the tender flesh in its wake.

The sound of something heavy scraping the floor above them pulled Killian from thoughts of capturing her mouth with his own, and almost too late he noticed an object about to hurl itself down the cellar steps.

“Swan! Look out!”

With all the strength he could muster, he managed to force her against the wall, shielding her as something crashed down the stairs. Their bodies pressed together, chests heaving against the other’s, it took them both several moments to process what had just happened.

“Emma!” Neal cried out, sprinting through the floors above and coming to a stop at the top of the cellar stairs. Staring down at his girlfriend who was currently being blanketed by another man, Neal’s face grew thunderous as he exclaimed, “What the hell is going on here?!”

“It appears to be some sort of statue,” Liam commented. Killian wasn’t sure if it was genuine ignorance as to the man’s meaning or if his brother simply wished to avoid a scene. Crouched down, Liam inspected the object and added, “Lucky the two of you managed to get out of the way. This could have done serious harm.”

Swan pushed against Killian’s chest, forcing him to step back from her so she could turn and take the man still fuming at the top of the stairs to task.

“It was that stupid garden statue of Pan you insisted on bringing inside!” she shouted. “I told you not to leave it in the hall!”

“How was I supposed to know a ghost could move it?” Neal shot back. “The thing weighs like fifty pounds!”

Stomping up the stairs, Swan grabbed Neal by the arm and hauled him away from the cellar entrance. Although Killian could not discern what was being said between them, there was no mistaking the tone of argument in their voices. He probably ought to feel guilty for having a hand in their current discord, but all he could focus on at the moment was the way his body was still reacting to having been pressed against Emma’s. The way she’d felt beneath his weight, the intoxicating scent of her hair, the feel of her hands clutching the back of his shirt, the way their eyes had connected after the danger had passed, the moment their gazes flicked down in unison to the other’s lips, the impulse he’d nearly given in to kiss her, the certainty he felt that the same desire had run through her mind as well.

“Brother,” Liam said, his tone making Killian groan internally.

He knew what was coming.

“Don’t,” he replied. “I already know what you’re going to say.”

“Oh?”

“Aye,” Killian sighed, running a hand through his hair. “I was rash and foolish in the way I invited the spirit to use my energy, and I need to get my head on straight. No more distractions.”

“Actually,” Liam said, hoisting his duffle, which he’d repacked, up onto his shoulder before crossing the cellar and joining Killian on the stairs. “I was going to say… A man unwilling to fight for what he wants, deserves what he gets.”

Slapping his brother on the shoulder he continued up the steps, leaving Killian utterly gobsmacked.

Chapter Three - Coming Soon!

Tagging the Curious Crew: (add to tag list)

(Please be advised that I only keep one tag list for all fic updates and new works. If at any time you wish to be removed, just shoot me an ask or a DM. No worries.)

@kmomof4 @jrob64 @zaharadessert @laianely @booksteaandtoomuchtv

@the-darkdragonfly @undercaffinatednightmare @killianxswan @mie779 @motherkatereloyshipper

@jennjenn615 @jonesfandomfanatic @anmylica @superchocovian @caught-in-the-filter

@winterbaby89 @wyntereyez @stahlop @resident-of-storybrooke @gingerchangeling

@exhaustedpirate @cocohook38 @donteattheappleshook @lfh1226-linda @teamhook

@jackieorioncat @paradiselady19 @snowbellewells @earanemith @ultraluckycatnd

@pirateherokillian @calmjoonie @unworried-corsair @tiganasummertree @captainswan-kellie

@soniccat @kday426 @djlbg @fairytalepretzkle @maggiegreenvt

@natascha-ronin @ilovemesomekillianjones @iamstartraveller776 @deckerstarblanche @shadowsaur

@qualitycoffeethings @idristardis @phoenix-untamed @bluewildcatfanatic @bananachickens

[brucethegirl]

The way every single person on this show except Killian is like "Emma, you're true love is Neal. Neal is someone you love deeply and owe chances to."

Even ZELENA is like "we can't be friends haha I killed Neal, don't you want to kill me?" Like... read the room girlie. Emma is literally a dark one because KILLIAN died. and Z i just taunting about Neal. It's so bizarre.

It's giving everyone trying to make fetch happen, it's never going to happen.

[snowbellewells]

🎃~A Little Bit Spooky Seasonal Rec List ~🎃

Hello there!  Seeing as it’s nearly Halloween, I thought I would post this themed list of fics I absolutely love that fit the season of thrills and chills, or have at least a hint of the supernatural about them. (Most do anyway, there are a couple that are just full of fall things and autumn coziness.) This is by no means extensive - no matter how much I read, I’m sure I’ll never catch all of the amazing stories our Ouat/CS fandom has to offer!! Still, here’s hoping folks may find a few "new to them" favorites for the season! Enjoy!!

**I originally made this list in 2020, so none have been taken away but more have been added in since that time.**

In no particular order...

“High Spirits” by: ReaperWriter  This story is older, but it features Emma as a former detective forced into early retirement and Killian as a medium (of sorts?). They end up investigating the rumored haunting of an old manor house in Louisiana. Thrills and chills, genuine bittersweetness and melancholy, and emotional connection ensue.  13 Chapters, Complete

“Of Dreams and Darkness” by: @oubliette14  This one is another I’ve know about for some time, and read and re-read more than once. It reminds me a little bit of the monster mash-up movie Van Helsing (though I actually like it more than that) and has Emma and Killian as vampire hunters, teaming up to take on the worst monster either has tackled yet... Long oneshot, Complete 

“Things That Go Bump” by: @brooke-to-broch  This is just a fun, festive CS celebrating Halloween in their own home with all the hilarity involved in including their friends and family - with a bit of spicy goodness between just the two of them thrown in for good measure.  Oneshot, Complete

"Into the Light", "Hotel Neverland", "The Moon...Tells the Sea", "In the Viper's Den" and "Return to Me" by: @kmomof4 It will be clear if a person has read any of these offerings already that Krystal has a knack for the vampire fics in particular, her previous @cssns event offerings "Into the Light" and "Return to Me" are just my favorite examples of that. "Hotel Neverland" and "The Moon...Tells the Sea" also contain elements of the spooky or supernatural, but just very unique and unforgettable twists that you definitely shouldn't miss. "In the Viper's Den" isn't spooky or Halloween-themed, but it does have an autumnal feel to me for some reason. It's also one of my favorites of Krystal's stories, period. So there's that too. Various Lengths, all Complete

“An American Haunting” by @welllpthisishappening I just LOVE this story. I think it was around Halloween last year that I discovered it, and I think it’s one of my favorite of Laura’s stories that I’ve read. Emma, Killian (and several other familiar OuaT faces) work at an American historical park of sorts, and though technically “just friends” pine for each other all the while. Then, one of the historical stories comes a lot closer to their present than ought to be possible, and they just might be fighting for each other’s lives...  Two Shot, Complete

“Hope is the Thing with Feathers”, “Blackbird”, “Scarborough Fair”,  and “Ivory Runs Red” by @searchingwardrobes These are some of my favorites of Melanie’s (and that’s saying something, because each new thing she posts tends to become my “new favorite” for a bit!) At any rate, these offerings all have a bit of the supernatural or spooky to them, or they just feel like they should happen in Fall. There is some lovely CaptainCobra and CaptainBook brotp in a few of these too, along with the stellar CS writing.  Various Lengths, All Complete except “Scarborough” which is a WIP.

"Ghosted" by: @jrob64 This story was Joni's offering for the @cssns23 event - and wow, was it a doozy!! It has just the right balance of spine-tingling evil ghost/spirit haunting from a properly awful Neal, and yet sweetness and trust building throughout between Killian (as a ghost hunter of sorts) and Emma (as the woman next door being haunted by her ex). Not only that, but there is lovely support from Will and Belle as Killian's team (and a potential couple in their own right). I don't want to spoil any of the thrills and chills, but if you missed this as it was posting back in July and August, definitely check this one out!! 5 Chapters, Complete

“The Man Behind Glass” and “The Prickly Witch’s Guide to Magic” both by: @shireness-says  I do believe that both of these stories were written for the first @cssns event over two years ago now.  I love both of them so much - you really can’t go wrong in checking either of them out! One features Killian as a centuries-old pirate trapped within a mirror and discovered by one little boy with a heart full of belief, and the Prickly Witch fic is a great group friendship fic as well as CS - AND it has some heartwarming hints of Jeweled Beauty (Liam x Belle) one of my favorite underrated things in fic!  Both long oneshots, Both Complete

“A Charm of Powerful Trouble” by: @spartanguard I really love this short MC in which Killian is hit with a potion that turns him into a huge wolf. I love the danger, adventure, angst, and of course the triumph of CS’s True Love in this one. It’s my favorite of all of Kaitlyn’s writings (and I love all of her writings!) I love how the whole Storybrooke crew joins in to support Killian and Emma in this as well. 5 Chapters, Complete

"Witchy Woman" by: @booksteaandtoomuchtv This story was originally written for the @cssns23 event, and I hung on every word while each new chapter was posting. I seriously couldn't get enough of this adventure of a star-crossed witch and vampire in love but attempting to stay apart, even as they both served their greater community, and could never quite manage to forget the love they'd shared. This one is not to be missed!! 10 Chapters, Complete

“The Halloween Gambit” and “Friends with the Monster That’s Under my Bed” both by: @zaharadessert Both of these fics are Halloween themed, written for Halloweek at some point, if I remember correctly. “Gambit” is very pirate-y and adventure themed, and I loved Killian getting to make a dashing rescue and Emma’s bravery and loyalty to him in it. “Monster Under the Bed” is a one shot and includes some of my favorite characters who are no longer living in show canon ;p  “Gambit” is 7 Chapters, Complete; “Monster” One Shot, Complete

“Saudade” by: @apiratewhopines This fic is so insanely BEAUTIFUL that I can’t even properly express how much love I have for it. I love that it fixes things which definitely should have been handled just the way @apiratewhopines​ does in this fic, I love the tribute it gives to Graham (not to mention he and Killian getting to meet and have an understanding in how they care for Emma), and I’m incredibly flattered that it was written for me! <3 If you are someone who loves to see bits of the Underworld arc handled more gracefully, or even if you just love a gorgeously written, bittersweet fic, you have to read this one!!  Two Shot, Complete

“Arm’d with Hell Flames and Fury all at Once” by @darkcolinodonorgasm This fic was written for 2019′s @pupstravaganza and features the most endearing version of a hellhound I imagine you’ll ever read about! :) Emma and Kilian, along with a few familiar friends are monster hunters fighting feelings for each other, but when their newest hunt gets tangled up in Killian’s tangled past, all bets are off...  2 Parts, Complete

"Can I Be Your Werewolf?", "Cautionary Tales" and "Safe Passage" by: @belovedcreation All of these fics by @belovedcreation are pretty new - in fact, "Safe Passage" was just posted this weekend and I read it just last night! One is a longer, chaptered werewolf modern AU which I simply adore (even if I need to go back and do a better job commenting on it!), one is a three part vampire fic, and the last is a zombie-adjacent one shot! The fact that I even braved something at all related to zombies tells you just how much I love @belovedcreation's writing. Check all of these out!! All Complete stories

“Some Legends are Best Kept as Legends” / “Varcolac” / “Ghost in the Void” by @hollyethecurious Okay, so I know you are getting three stories for the price of one here, but I couldn’t choose between them. Two of these are from @cssns events: “Some Legends...” samples a bit of Irving’s “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” in inspiration, but going on it’s own decidely amazing course from their with Killian as a man out of time, the myth of the Dark One, and the power of a true believer’s heart; “Varcolac” blends werewolf and vampire characters and mythology in such an interesting way for a pulse-pounding story plot and a powerful love story. “Ghost in the Void” features a ghost (as you might expect) reaching from the beyond to connect with the lonely human tenet of “his” house for a story that will absolutely stay with you.  6 Parts, Complete (Legends) / 5 Parts, Complete (Varcolac) / Oneshot, Complete (Ghost)

“a house is never still” by: @capnjay21  Honestly, I don’t even know what to say about this story, or how to describe it without giving too much away.  I could say it’s a haunted house story on the surface, but it’s SO MUCH MORE than that. It gives us a young Emma and Killian and their friends and a heartwrenching backstory to set the scene, a truly haunting and spine-tingling mystery, melancholy and loss, and wondering if it can ever be made right.  It’s just stunning - and you really should check it out for yourself instead of listen to my floundering around trying to sell it. Plus, a sequel as just begun posting!!    6 Chapters, Complete

“the very witching time” by: @profdanglaisstuff Another @cssns entry originally this story features witch!Emma and her loyal and cunning canine companion, whom she took in and treated from a traumatic injury. Little does she know how much more than a normal dog he will prove to be... ;)  Not only that, but the atmosphere, the history, and the unfolding plot in this will just sweep you up and you won’t want to stop until it’s finished.  Don’t miss it!!  6 Parts (and a connected oneshot), Complete

“break me” by: @thisonesatellite Oh my goodness! How could I not list this story?!? I still can’t get over how much I love it (when normally I would have run the other way from all the scary baddies and monsters who go ‘bump in the night’ in this fic?) It led me to all the rest of Stephanie’s writing, and I really haven’t surfaced since! ;p There are vampires, werewolves, monster hunters, monsters I didn’t even know about, and in the midst of all that two people find each other and just might be the only inspiration that can help them fight to the other side of all the odds standing against them. 12 Chapters + an epilogue, Complete

“An Education in Southern Gothic” by: @searchingwardrobes Man alive, I almost missed this one! This entry into the @cssns19 event has just the right about of thrills and chills without becoming too much for a definite chicken like me. I honestly can’t resist Killian as a teacher/professor, which Melanie gives us here, and the mystery surrounding the school, as well as the still very real threat reaching its claws into the present will make you unable to stop reading this one until you reach the end. There’s friends to love, pining, suspense, supernatural danger, both Captain Cobra and Captain Book friendship, and just everything you could want in a fic really!  Two Parts, Complete

“Magical Rings and Mystical Doughnuts” / “Storybrooke Haunted Farms” / “Life Meant Nothing Until You Used My Toothbrush” by: @let-it-raines  All three of these stories are nice one shots with some length that you can really get drawn into and honestly never want to surface from! “Mystical Doughnuts...” will always have a special spot in my heart because it was the first story of Raines’ that I discovered and it lead to a lovely commenting and chat back and forth session and all her other stories that have made me smile so many times over since then! “Storybrooke Farms” is just a fun modern AU with yes CS but all the rest of the OuaT gang involved in humorous and adorable support, and then “Life Meant Nothing...” (originally written for a @csseptembersunshine event) is one of my favorite of Raines’ MANY awesome stories. I love the cozy small town feel of it, how it’s a bit of a mash-up with Gilmore Girls, and the friendship Emma and Killian have and the way it finally becomes romantic for them as well. :)  All oneshots, All Complete

“Happily Ever After” by: @whimsicallyenchantedrose​ There’s a lovely Fall Festival setting to this modern au, starring Emma and Killian as rival bakers - with lots of chemistry cooking beyond the kitchen! It’s as sweet as the apple desserts each are vying to make the winner, and you will absolutely be grinning and giddy with enjoyment by the end. :)  Don’t miss it!!   7 Chapters, Complete

"Not All Treasure is Silver and Gold (Sometimes it's Chocolate)" by: @stahlop This lovely one shot featuring Killian, future CS children, and adorable trick or treating in Storybrooke is simply irresistible! Incredibly sweet one shot you can read in one sitting, but without the calories of Halloween candy! This one will have you smiling from ear-to-ear, trust me! :) One Shot, Complete

“How to Carve a Pumpkin (Not Yourself)” by: @thislassishooked  This story is just all the sweetness and meet cute and perfection one could pack into a fall-themed or Halloween story!  I love the way Emma and Killian find each other in this, her friends pushing her and helping the possible match along, Henry’s involvement, the artsy pumpkins, the fun and small town humor - just all of it! And - bonus - if you aren’t ready to let go of this ‘verse when you finish, there’s a Thanksgiving follow-up!  Oneshot, Complete

"Fields of Asphodel" by: @anmylica This chaptered fic takes us on a journey through 5b and the trip to the Underworld that is gripping and unforgettable. I genuinely get so excited when it updates and can't wait to see what might be coming up next. This is still a WIP in progress, but don't let that put you off. It's wonderfully well done and much more what I would have liked to have seen - much more spooky and haunting and emotionally satisfying - than canon ended up being in much of that arc. 9 Chapters, WIP

"post mortem" by: @exhaustedpirate Oh my goodness, this fic!! I can't say enough about it, and I don't quite know how to explain the plot without giving too much away, but I really do adore it and want to give it a shoutout in this post. Killian is what I might refer to as a ghost whisperer of sorts - spirits/ghosts can contact him because he can see and hear them and help them try to settle their unfinished business. Emma is a ghost that needs his help. There's a fun school setting, Belle is a wonderful supporting character as the school librarian, and Henry is also used in this to wonderful effect. This is still in progress as well, but there's really only one more part to go. Definitely check this one out - you won't be able to get it out of your head!!! 2 parts of an intended 3, WIP

"A Crystalline Knowledge of Love and Magic" by: @xarandomdreamx The movie Practical Magic has always seemed like it would make for an excellent OuaT/CS AU and I adore Taryn for actually giving it to us. I love the OuaT characters she has chosen to include in the various roles, the way this story has begun, how everyone is characterized, just all of it together!! I'm a huge fan of her writing in general, and though this one is still in progress, I can already tell it's going to be a favorite!! If you love Practical Magic, or are just looking for a Fall-flavored fic with romance, magic, mystery and sisterhood, this is the one for you! 2 Chapters at present, WIP

Tagging: @jennjenn615 @xsajx @bluewildcatfanatic @ultraluckycatnd @lfh1226-linda @kday426

[kmomof4]

A Wedding to Remember Ch. 2 Like Lightning from Heaven

We are back! Sorry it's so late in the day, but adulting had to come first unfortunately and I've only just finished. Tonights ch is VERY short, less than 1300 words, so I'll post Wednesday's ch tomorrow night before I go to bed. Thank you all for reading! I hope you enjoy and let me know what you think!!

Summary: Killian Jones, younger brother to the viscount, is home from Cambridge and ready to enter society, including finding himself a wife. Perhaps he may find his future bride here, at a weeklong house party his sister-in-law is hosting at the Jones country estate before the London season officially begins.

Rating: M (smut)

Words: Almost 1300 of approximately 16k

Tags: Bridgerton Inspired Fic, Matchmaking, Regency Romance

On ao3 From Beginning / Current Chapter

Tagging the usuals. Please let me know if you'd like to be added or removed.

@jrob64 @winterbaby89 @hollyethecurious @the-darkdragonfly @jennjenn615

@donteattheappleshook @undercaffinatednightmare @pirateherokillian @cocohook38 @qualitycoffeethings

@booksteaandtoomuchtv @superchocovian @motherkatereloyshipper @snowbellewells  @djlbg

@lfh1226-linda @xarandomdreamx @tiganasummertree @bluewildcatfanatic @anmylica

@laianely @resident-of-storybrooke @exhaustedpirate @gingerchangeling @caught-in-the-filter

@ultraluckycatnd @stahlop @darkshadow7 @fleurdepetite @captainswan-kellie

@soniccat @beckettj @teamhook @whimsicallyenchantedrose @jonesfandomfanatic

@elfiola @zaharadessert @ilovemesomekillianjones @mie779 @kymbersmith-90

@suwya @veryverynotgoodwrites @myfearless-love 

Under the cut, unless Tumblr ate it.

Ch. 2 Like Lightning From Heaven

Lady Emma Nolan had to fight to keep from rolling her eyes as she could all but see hearts suddenly appear in the gaze of Mr. Killian Jones, brother-in-law to their hostess, Viscountess Elsa Jones, when he kissed Mary Margaret’s hand.

It was no more or less than she was used to, but it had been lovely to simply converse with another lady without having to endure the fawning attentions of the masculine sect upon her constant companion and dearest friend.

Emma and Mary Margaret had been the closest of friends since they’d met at Miss Moss’s School for Exceptional Young Ladies three years prior. And it wasn’t until she’d accompanied Mary Margaret to her home in Kent for a summer visit when it became abundantly clear to her that Mary Margaret was a MOST Exceptional Young Lady indeed.

With her petite frame, black as midnight hair, green eyes, pale skin, round face, pert nose, and rosebud lips, she was an exceptional specimen of feminine beauty. Emma already knew that, of course, and while Mary Margaret herself never once made her feel less feminine or less attractive than herself, the young men who surrounded them whenever they ventured out accomplished that task most assuredly and decisively.

If Mary Margaret had not also been the sweetest, kindest, and most tender-hearted person on the planet, she would have been absolutely insufferable.

But as it was, Mary Margaret was the most amiable, good-natured, and pleasing person to be around. She never sought attention for herself and was always seeking ways to bring Emma into the spotlight of male attention wherever they went. And as they never went anywhere without the other, Emma had become quite accustomed to the besotted countenances that followed Mary Margaret constantly.

Emma knew that she wasn’t objectively unattractive on her own, but when compared to Mary Margaret, she never had and never would garner a second look.

And Mr. Killian Jones wasn’t any different.

Oh, he was very handsome, to be sure, well spoken, and charming as well, as evidenced by the conversation now flowing around her that he had no trouble joining. Suddenly the viscount appeared and stole their hostess away for a dance, leaving Emma and Mary Margaret in the company of the devastatingly handsome Mr. Killian Jones. That was enough to finally draw Emma out of her musings and focus her attention on the latest of a long line of suitors that fancied themselves in love with her closest friend.

They watched the couples on the dance floor twirl and whirl to the music. Emma fully expected Mr. Jones to ask Mary Margaret for a dance, so she was stunned when he spoke to them both instead.

“Do either of you ladies believe in love at first sight?” he asked.

His gaze was far away and wistful, and it wasn’t difficult to see exactly who he was thinking about when he uttered the contemplative words.

Emma was still recovering from her shock, so Mary Margaret jumped in.

“Oh, yes, Mr. Jones,” Mary Margaret gushed. “I do.” 

Both of their gazes snapped over to her - Killian’s face delighted, Emma’s in even further shock that Mary Margaret would mention her infatuation to anyone besides her. “When I first saw my love, I knew he was the one for me.” Now her gaze turned dreamy and far away, and Emma had to fight not to roll her eyes. “I was coming into my father’s office and there he was, his back toward me, but something just came over me and I knew. When we were introduced, I thought I would drown in his steel blue eyes. Of course, in front of my father, he couldn’t show his interest overtly, but I knew.”

“I see,” Killian said, tightly. Emma sighed, almost feeling sorry for him. They watched the dancers for a few moments more, Emma’s double surprise finally abating, when Killian turned to her and sent her, metaphorically, flat on her back in utter astonishment. “May I request the honor of a dance, Miss Nolan?” he asked, holding out his hand to her.

She was too bewildered to speak and found her hand, quite independent of any conscious thought on her part, placing itself in his. Once they were on the floor, it took a few moments more to get her thundering heartbeat under control. Emma was under no illusions that Mr. Jones was even remotely interested in her. He was simply trying to assuage the longing and devastation in his heart at Mary Margaret’s assertion that her affections were already laid elsewhere. 

His efforts to hide the true feelings in his heart were admirable, but the stiffness of his shoulders, the diminished sparkle in his azure gaze, and tightness around his lips betrayed him. She may not know him very well at all, but his comportment as a gentleman - his charm and manners, engaging Emma in conversation and not ignoring her in order to focus all his attention to the object of his desire - told her that of all the men who’d attempted to woo Mary Margaret, Mr. Killian Jones was far and away the one who was most worthy of her heart.

A plan was forming in Emma’s mind. A plan that she’d need to implement posthaste if there was any hope to dissuade Mary Margaret from pursuing her vain hope that would lead to her utter ruin.

“You mustn’t be discouraged, Mr. Jones,” she finally blurted out.

“What do you mean?” he asked, his brow furrowed in confusion.

“About Mary Margaret,” she continued urgently. “I know you fancy her, and I want to encourage you not to give up hope.”

His face blanched in apparent embarrassment, and he stumbled over his next words. “I - I a-assure you, milady…”

“But there’s no time for embarrassment or apologies, Mr. Jones,” she interrupted. “We must speak about what to do about it. Mary Margaret believes herself in love with her father’s secretary, Jefferson Hatter.” 

Mr. Jones’s eyebrows nearly hit his hairline in surprise. 

“Oh…” Killian had never in his life been at such a loss for words, but his shock at Lady Emma’s statement was such that he could utter nothing else. 

As they continued their dance, she whispered conspiratorially, “I don’t believe we have to speak of the unsuitability of that match.”

“Of course not,” he murmured.

“Her parents would never allow it,” Lady Emma continued, “and if some madness overtook Mary Margaret completely and she married him anyway, they’d disown her immediately. I tell you all this because of all the men who’ve sought her attention, you are the one who is most worthy of her heart.”

Killian was speechless at Lady Emma’s declaration and raised his finger to her cheek when her eyes filled and a single tear spilled over her eyelid. 

“Mary Margaret is the sister of my heart,” she continued on a hitched breath, “the sister I never had, and I want what is best for her. She cannot marry Jefferson, and so I propose that I help you win her heart. No one knows her better than I do, and I am uniquely qualified and positioned to help you. What say you?”

“I would be eternally grateful for any and all assistance you’d be willing to offer, milady,” he said, sincerely.

“Very well, then,” she agreed as the dance came to an end. “Let the wooing of Mary Margaret Blanchard commence!” 

The sly smile on the face of Miss Nolan pulled his own smile to his lips and Killian felt his heart soar that hope was not lost to win the woman of his dreams.

~*~*~

Thank you for reading and sharing! I'd love to hear what you think! I'll post the next chapter before I go to bed tomorrow night.

[aprilqueen84]

All's Fair In Love And Magic Chapter 2

Well hello! I am so so sorry that this has taken me so long to get this out to you all. Life has been..a know life and the muse left me for so long. But I'm back and ready to bring you the rest of this story and many more. Since it's been 3 years (jeez) since this story was updated I'll provide a link below so you can get caught up. Also if you would like to be tagged in this and any future works let me know!

AFILAM A03 link = https://archiveofourown.org/works/34290355/chapters/85316980

Tag List : @resident-of-storybrooke, @kmomof4, @jennjenn615, @pirateherokillian, @piinfeathers @enchanted-swans, @superchocvian, @deathbycaptainswan, @winterbaby89, @kingofmyheart14,  @hollyethecurious, @hannahhook7744, @klynn-stormz, @yourbeautifuleverypiecelove, @therooksshiningknight, @earanemith, @snowbellewells, @motherkatereloyshipper, @emmythedaydreamer, @quirkykayleetam, @onceuponsomechaos, @goforlaunchcee, @undercaffinatednightmare, @a-faekindagirl, @zaharadessert

"All's Fair In Love And Magic" Chapter 2

Killian Jones had a feeling when he woke up that today was going to be a shit day and man did he bloody hate being right. As soon as he walked into headquarters this morning he knew something was very wrong. The lobby had been a flurry of activity with what looked like every single Guard member rushing around the room. When he had spotted his partner David Nolan and made his way over to him, Killian could tell by the look on his face that whatever happened, it was bad. But nothing could have prepared him for the scene he saw in the woods.

Sanctuaries were supposed to be sacred, protected places for outcasts or wayward travels and any violence against one was punishable by death. The building when they had come upon it was completely destroyed with only the outer structure remaining and once they crossed the threshold they saw the massacre that had occurred. Charred bodies littered the floor, unrecognizable except for the occasional fangs, horns and pointed ears to help identify the types of species that had been there. He had been examining one of the bodies when he heard David calling his name from the other side of the room. When Killian reached his partner, what he saw made him stop short.

Laying by what used to be the window was the body of a woman. The body wasn’t what made him stop short, it was the state the body had been in. Unlike the other bodies, this woman had been completely untouched by the fire. Her face was frozen in fear and agony and one of her hands was clutching her chest.  Killian looked over at David in disbelief, then the older man pointed to the floor, there next to the body was a symbol traced in the ashes.

When he knelt down to get a better look at the symbol, Killian’s eyes widened, he immediately recognized it. His head snapped up to David’s, his partner's face conveying exactly what he was thinking, that this was worse than they had first thought. That symbol hadn't been seen in over Twenty Years and the individual who used it was long dead. How it ended up here is very troubling and it was for that very reason why David and him were now here at the Mill’s Coven.

Out of all the supernatural beings, he distrusted witches the most. At least with creatures like vampires or demons he knew what they were after, they had a clear goal in mind. With witches though, you could never quite know if they were being truthful or not and it was usually too late before you found out the truth.  

That’s why he wasn’t buying the shocked look on the witch sitting across from him face. Witches were loyal to their coven. There was no way that they would say or do anything against one of their own.   

“I don’t understand. What do you mean you think someone here had something to do with the murder?” The witch, Emma he believed her name was, said angrily. She was a beautiful woman. He thought so when he first saw her walking toward them earlier, all sweet smiles while welcoming them.

David turned and glared at him for the abruptness of his statement. “What my partner means, Ms. Swan, is we have come into some evidence that someone from this coven could be involved and we would like your input on the matter,” he said, trying to ease the tension he could feel between his partner and the woman in front of him.

Emma threw one last heated glare at the dark haired man before turning her attention back to Guard Member Nolan. “What kind of evidence do you have?”

David reached into his jacket and pulled out an envelope. Opening it he took out two photographes. "Ms. Swan, can you tell me if you recognize this woman?” he asked, passing her one of the pictures.

When Emma looked at the photo she gasped at the image. “Oh my God! That’s Glinda!” she exclaimed in horror.

“Glinda?” David asked. 

“She’s one of our senior witches or she used to be.” Emma whispered, still not believing what she was seeing. “What happened to her?”

“I’m very sorry to say that she was in the sanctuary when it was burned down,” David told her sympathetically.

Emma looked up at him in confusion. “Why would Glina be in a sanctuary? She wasn’t running from anyone.”

David went to respond but was interrupted. 

“What do you mean she used to be your most senior witch?” Killian asked sharply.

 Emma turned to glare at him. “She left the coven. Relocated back to her hometown,” she responded through clenched teeth. 

“When did she leave?” David inquired gently, hoping to put the young witch at ease after his partner's abrasiveness.

“She left about a week ago,” Emma said while still shooting daggers at Jones.

“Did she tell you, or anyone, why she was leaving?”David questioned further.

Emma turned to him and shook her head. “No. She left in a hurry. She didn’t even say goodbye to anyone.”

Killian scoffed.

“Do you have something to say?” Emma demanded. 

“Aye. You're telling me that one of the most senior witches of your coven just up and left without any explanation and nobody found that the least bit suspicious. I thought you witch types were supposed to be smarter than that," Killian said harshly.

"Now you wait a damn minute! I don't know who you think you are but you have no right coming into this coven and speaking to me in this manner! I don't give two shits if you are a Guard Member!" Emma yelled, rising to her feet to stand in front of him. She knew she shouldn't be talking to him like this but he was being a dick.

Killian looked up at her speechless. He didn't expect that sort of reaction. She was gorgeous standing before him, blonde hair tousled and green eyes on fire. She was magnificent and if she hadn't been a witch he might have been tempted. Too bad that she was.

“Okay. Why don’t we all just calm down and take a deep breath," David suggested as he quickly rose and stood between them.

"I certainly hope you don't conduct all your investigations like this." Emma seethed All the while narrowing her eyes at Jones, who had the audacity to smirk at her.

"No. You'll have to excuse my partner, it seems he left his manners at home," David said, turning to Killian and silently telling him to shut the hell up. His partner rolled his eyes then gave him a quick nod of his head.

Emma sat back down trying her best not to pay Jones any attention. Taking a deep breath she faced Nolan. "I don't understand, Glinda didn't have any reason to seek shelter in a sanctuary. She wasn't cast out and she certainly didn't abandon us. What was she doing there?" she lamented, still trying to wrap her head around the fact that Glinda was dead. 

"It might have something to do with this," David said, passing her the other photo. "Does the symbol look familiar to you?"

Emma took the photo and frowned at the image, it was a little hard to make out what with it being traced in what she assumed was ashes. It was a dagger with what looked like a rose wrapped around the blade. "No. I've never seen this before. What is it? " She asked, handing back the photo.

David  exchanged a quick glance at Killian silently communicating with his partner before turning back to the witch. "Ms. Swan.." except he didn’t get the chance to finish his question because a voice interrupted him. 

“What on earth is going on here?” 

All three heads turned toward the sound of the voice to see a dark haired woman walking towards them. She had the air of authority around her and judging by the look on her face, she was not pleased with the situation she walked in on.

“Regina,” Emma said as she hastily rose to her feet and out of the corner of her eye she saw the two men do the same. Her aunt looked as poised as ever but Emma could see a slight bit of nervousness that was uncommon for Regina. "These gentlemen are with the Guard." 

"Yes. I know," Regina says matter of factly before turning toward Nolan. "Hello, David," she said in greeting, her tone oddly fond.

"Regina," David says coldly, his demeanor instantly changing in the presence of the woman.

Regina smirked slightly at him. "To what do I owe the pleasure of this impromptu family reunion?"

"We aren't family," David said harshly.

Emma and Killian looked at each other in confusion. Their mutual animosity was forgotten for a moment as they watched. 

Killian looked at his partner in shock. "Wait a bloody minute. You know her David?" 

“Unfortunately,” David responded.

“Oh! David you wound me,” the dark haired witch said mockingly.

“Enough! Regina we’re here on High Counsel business,” David said firmly

“What kind of business?” Regina asked in an annoyed tone.

“Glinda’s dead, Regina,” Emma informed her gently.

“What,” Regina says, clearly taken aback.

“There was a fire at a sanctuary, it was burned to the ground. Glinda was inside,” Emma explained.

“How do you know it was Glinda?” she asked, with a stricken look on her face.

Killian, having had enough of beating around the bush, grabbed the envelope out of David’s hand. “Because of these,” he said, taking the photos out and tossing them on the table. He watched as Regina took in the images before her. A sense of delight went through him as he saw her eyes widen. “Look familiar?” he asked, gesturing toward the photo of the dagger and rose symbol.

“That symbol has nothing to do with me,” Regina hissed in contempt.

“Regina, do you know what it means?” Emma asked her aunt.

“It’s nothing!” she said dismissively.

“Oh, you know it’s not nothing.” Killian said before turning to Emma. “It’s the insignia of a very dangerous dark magic user, one your aunt knows very well,” he said, throwing a smirk Regina’s way.

“You need to stop talking right now,” Regina said, taking a menacing step toward him.

“It’s the reason that she’s dead. The fire didn’t kill her,” Killian informed them, not backing down.

“What do you mean?” Emma asked.

“Our head healer came to the conclusion that Glinda’s heart was crushed from within,” David informed them while casting a pointed look at Regina.

Emma gasped. “That’s impossible! That’s a dark magic act and it’s been outlawed for centuries.”

“Darling, if you actually believe that, then you are more naive than I thought.” Killian

sneered at her.

Emma could feel herself start to tremble with rage at the man standing across from her. She opened her mouth to tell him exactly what kind of jackass he was but never got the chance because suddenly a loud bang rang out.

All eyes turned toward the sound. David had apparently taken out his sword and slammed it onto the table. “Enough! this isn’t doing us any good!” he said, his voice filled with anger. He took a deep breath to calm himself. “Obviously we aren’t getting anywhere, so for right now we’ll be leaving,” he turned to look at Regina, “but make no mistake. We’ll be back.”

“David you can’t be serious,” Killian said, clearly not happy with his partner's decision.

“Let’s go,” The older man said as he picked his sword and the pictures up off the table. 

Killian leveled a glare at the two witches before he turned and followed his partner to the door.

XXX

When they got outside Killian turned to David. “What the hell was that!?” He demanded.

“Not now, Killian,” David said through clenched teeth. He knew that coming here was going to be tough, but he thought he could handle it. He had almost breathed a sigh of relief when instead of Regina another witch had come to greet them. That relief was short lived of course when the woman he hated with every fiber of his being walked into the room. David would normally call himself a pretty level headed and calm person but he knew he had to get out of there before he did something he regretted. He took a few deep breaths to calm down before heading down the path towards their car. 

“David. Would you hold on a minute,” Killian said once he caught up to his partner. 

“What!” David snapped as he spun around to face the younger man.

Killian stopped in his tracks, slightly taken aback by the older man’s demeanor. “What’s gotten into you, David?”

“I don’t want to talk about it right now. Let’s just get back to the compound,” David said tersely before getting into the car and slamming the driver's side door behind him. 

Killian stood there in shock until the sound of the car starting broke him out of it and he quickly got in the car. The drive was quiet, neither man said anything for fear of setting the other off. Killian stared out the window thinking back on the interview. To say it was a disaster would be an understatement and if he were being honest Killian was one of the main reasons why it was. He knew that he let his anger get the better of him and it might hurt the investigation to come.

Killian turned to look at David and a stab of guilt went through him. He owed the man literally everything, Killian would be dead in a ditch somewhere if it wasn’t for David. Before becoming a Guard Member, Killian’s life had been hell. His Mother had died when he was young leaving him and his older brother to be raised by their absentee father. Parenthood didn’t agree with their no good father anymore and after a few years, he left in the middle of the night and then it was just him and Liam on their own until..it was just him. 

When David found him he was angry, vengeful and on the verge of doing something incredibly stupid. David had talked him down. He had brought Killian back with him to The Guard Headquarters and since then, David had been his mentor, partner and friend. Becoming a Guard Member had been the best thing that had ever happened to him. He had found a community of people that he loved and respected including David’s wife Mary Margaret, who welcomed him with open arms. 

The car coming to a stop pulled Killain back to the present and saw that they had come to a stop in front of David and Mary Margaret’s house. “Dave. What are we doing here? Shouldn’t we be heading back to headquarters and briefing them on what happened?” 

David didn’t look at his partner as he turned off the car, still too angry about everything that happened. If David was being honest he wasn’t really even all that mad at Killian’s behavior tonight. He knew how the younger man felt about witches, so he wasn’t entirely surprised by his reaction. No, David was angry because he had to go and tell his wife everything that happened tonight and he was not looking forward to it. With a deep sigh he opened the door and stepped into the cool night air. 

“David what’s going on? Why are we here?” Killian asked again. Concerned about how quiet his partner was being.

David finally turned to look at Killian as the younger man came around the car and stood next to him. “I need to talk to Mary Margaret,” he said wearily.

Killian looked at him in confusion. “About what?”

David sighed and ran his hand over his face in frustration. “About the fact that her half sister might be involved in a murder.”

[jrob64]

A Fortunate Failure

A CS Modern AU One-shot for CS Spooky Season/Autumnal Bingo

Here is my second offering for the Bingo boards created by @hollyethecurious. This one is based on the prompt 'getting lost in a corn maze'. Now I can cross off two spaces on my card.

Special thanks to @hookedmom for her beta expertise.

Summary: At Mary Margaret and David’s annual ‘All Things Autumn’ party, Emma and Killian hope to win the competition championship again. The final event to determine the winning team is escaping the cornfield maze the fastest, but when the two friends get hopelessly lost, they discover that losing might actually lead to the best prize of all. 

Rating: T

Words: 3553

Can also be found on Ao3 and ffn

*********

Killian Jones finishes buttoning his shirt and checks his reflection in the mirror. Plaid flannel really isn’t his thing, but he’s trying to get into the spirit of the evening. Besides, when Emma Swan extends an invitation and tells him to wear plaid flannel, he will do it.

He will do just about anything for Emma Swan…except admit his feelings to her.

“Coward,” he whispers to his reflection. “If you don’t tell her pretty soon, she’s going to find someone else to date.” He doesn’t know if he could stand watching her with another guy like he had to when she dated that idiot Neal. Then he had to do it again when she went out with Walsh a few times, before she found out he was an egotistical liar.

Grabbing his black leather jacket from the hook on the back of his bedroom door, he double checks that his keys are in the pocket, then walks out the door and jogs to his car. He told Emma he would meet her at David and Mary Margaret’s farm at three o’clock and he doesn’t want to be late. That would be, in his brother Liam’s words, bad form.

As he drives, he hums along to the songs from his playlist. He chose every song on it because they remind him of Emma. Bloody hell, he has it so bad for her!

When he reaches the farm, he parks beside Emma’s yellow Volkswagen bug and sees that she’s still sitting behind the wheel, looking at her phone. She doesn’t seem to notice that he’s there as he gets out of his car and closes the door. He moves around the back of his car and taps on her window, causing her to startle and look up at him with wide eyes.

Killian could drown in the deep pools of Emma’s gorgeous green eyes.

*********

Emma could drown in the deep pools of Killian’s gorgeous blue eyes.

She’s frankly just so sick and tired of hiding her feelings for him. Her brother urged his friend Killian to move to Storybrooke three years ago when he was getting over a bad breakup. At that time, David told her the Brit needed friends, so that’s what she became. Now, she’s stuck in ‘friend’ mode, but oh, how she wishes she could move into the ‘girlfriend’ category.

At one point, she thought she could get over her feelings for him by dating other guys, but that turned out to be a terrible idea. Neal was a complete imbecile who thought women were inferior beings, and Walsh was an arrogant jerk. She sometimes wonders if she chose to date those two because in the back of her mind she knew that nothing would ever develop with either of them.

Killian Jones is the only man she wants to date, but he has no interest in being in a romantic relationship with her. So she settles for being his friend, because that way, at least she gets to spend plenty of time with him.

Tonight is Mary Margaret and David’s ‘All Things Autumn’ party. It’s highly anticipated by everyone in town and is one of Emma’s favorite nights of the year. For the first few years of the annual event, she sat back and watched as couples competed with each other in numerous events - cornhole, a scavenger hunt, as well as piggyback, wheelbarrow and burlap sack racing. Mary Margaret always tried to get her involved, but Emma was perfectly happy watching, laughing, and keeping score.

Once Killian moved into town, they decided to team up. Emma is even happier to finally be participating. It doesn’t hurt that most of the competitions require physical contact. She also enjoys sitting beside him during the hayride and around the bonfire at the end of the evening.

The best part, in her opinion, is trying to get through the cornfield maze the fastest. The first year she and Killian participated together, they were the winning team. He was so excited, he wrapped her up in a hug and spun her around until they were both dizzy. It was the best feeling in the world.

Now, as he stands outside her car, looking at her with those blue, blue eyes, she’s more than ready to have that feeling again.

*********

“Are you ready, Swan?” Killian asks, stepping back so she can open her car door.

She climbs out and stands in front of him, sliding her phone into the back pocket of her jeans. “I was just studying a diagram of the cornfield maze. I think I’ll be able to mauever us through it in record time.”

“Is that so?” he questions with a teasing grin. “Could you be seeking revenge for last year when Ruby and Victor beat us by fifteen minutes?”

“I still think Mary Margaret led Ruby through the maze before the party that night. There’s no way they could have gotten out that fast,” Emma grouses.

The two of them start walking toward the huge red barn, which is the hub of the autumn-themed festivities. “Why would your sister-in-law show favoritism to Ruby?”

“Because Ruby is her best friend and can talk Mary Margaret into anything. Plus, she knows I wouldn’t cheat.”

“And studying the diagram beforehand isn’t cheating?” Killian asks cheekily.

She gives him a side-eye glare. “That’s called preparation.”

“Is it, indeed?”

“You should be happy your partner prepared so well.”

I’m just happy to be your partner, Killian thinks. Out loud, he says, “You’re the most competitive person I’ve ever met, Swan.”

“If you’re gonna keep making remarks like that, I might have to find a different partner.”

“I meant it as a compliment.”

She rolls her eyes at him, making him grin again. They walk into the barn, where their senses are immediately inundated with the sight of fall decorations, smells from the abundance of food laid out on long tables, and sounds from spooky music coming through speakers and the large crowd already gathered.

Mary Margaret spots them immediately and grabs David’s hand before she heads their way. “Emma! Killian!” she greets exuberantly. “I was afraid you were going to miss the scavenger hunt!”

“I thought it didn’t start until three-thirty,” Emma says. “It’s only three o’clock right now.”

“You have to have something to eat first. Oh, you should try David’s chili! He added a secret ingredient this year.”

“Please don’t tell me it’s nutmeg,” Emma teases. “It might work in his pancakes, but I really don’t think it will work in chili.”

David chuckles. “It’s not nutmeg, and it’s not really that secret. I just used some of the jalapenos Mary Margaret grew in the garden last summer. We canned several jars of them.”

“He dices them up to put in the chili,” Mary Margaret gushes, gazing at David like he discovered a way to live on Mars. “Isn’t that clever?”

“Very clever, Mate,” Killian says quickly, giving a small tug on Emma’s sleeve. He’s pretty sure she is just about to make a sarcastic remark about Mary Margaret’s over-the-top adoration of her husband. Emma looks at him with a smirk and he’s convinced he was correct.

“Well, get yourselves something to eat,” David says. “We have some last minute things to take care of before the games begin.”

“One of them better not be showing Ruby through the corn maze,” Emma grumbles, as the couple walks away.

Killian laughs. “Perhaps we should aspire to keep Ruby within our sight at all times. Will that set your mind at ease, Swan?”

“No, because then we have to look at her hanging all over her new boyfriend, Jefferson. Victor was no catch, but at least he was only about a five on the weirdness scale. This guy is at least a thirteen.”

Killian’s grin couldn’t be much bigger as they head to the tables to load their plates. He’s looking forward to having a fun-filled evening with all of his friends. And with the woman he loves.

Someday soon, he’s going to have to tell her how he feels.

*********

Someday soon, she’s going to have to tell him how she feels.

Seriously, she doesn’t think she’s going to be able to keep pretending much longer, especially when he keeps giving her that heart-stopping smile. Plus, he keeps touching her; just little touches that send shivers up her spine. His palm on the small of her back, a brush of his hand down her arm, fingers combing snarls from her hair, sitting close enough for their thighs to touch.

It’s going to drive her crazy, but she never wants him to stop.

“Swan?”

“Hmm?” she hums.

“Is there something wrong with the food? You’ve hardly eaten a bite.”

She looks down at her plate, her fork hovering over it. He’s right - she hasn’t eaten anything. She has gotten too caught up in her thoughts.

“No, I was just…thinking about the scavenger hunt, I guess.” She scoops up some macaroni and cheese and sticks it in her mouth. After chewing and swallowing, she adds, “I stuck everything I thought could possibly be on the list in my bug today. I swear, if Mary Margaret has tampons on the list again, I’m going to strangle her. That was so embarrassing last year! Especially when Ruby asked if a used one counted.”

Killian nearly chokes on the drink of water he had taken. “I’m sure Mary Margaret won’t make that mistake again,” he says after clearing his throat. “She turned beet red when Ruby asked that question.”

Once everyone is finished eating, the list of items to find is passed out and the hunt begins. There is nothing embarrassing on it this time and Emma is elated that she, in fact, does have a few of the items in her car. She deflates when Belle and Will turn in their completed list just as she and Killian locate the final thing they need, but gets over it quickly when she sees how happy the other couple is to receive the prize of two movie passes.

“Second place isn’t shabby, Swan,” Killian says. “It still earns us two points toward the overall championship.”

They rack up more points by coming in third in cornhole, first in the piggyback race, and second in the wheelbarrow race. They fail to place in the burlap sack race when they get their feet tangled together inside the sack and fall, then are disqualified for trying to roll across the finish line. Emma doesn’t care. She is laughing so hard while laying on top of Killian, who also has tears of laughter running from the corners of his eyes.

Before the final competitive event of the night, everyone loads up on David’s flatbed wagon, lined with bales of straw, then he tows them around the farm. Mary Margaret joins him in the cab of the tractor and turns so she can see her friends enjoying themselves, telling jokes and stories, laughing and cuddling together.

Emma scoots as close as she can to Killian and is thrilled when he drops his arm across her shoulders. She tentatively rests her forearm on his thigh and relaxes when he doesn’t pull away. They remain that way for the rest of the ride.

Emma is content taking in the autumn colors of the leaves lit by the waning rays of sunlight. When one particular maple tree catches her attention - so bright with red and orange leaves, it looks like it’s on fire - she turns to see if Killian is looking at it, too.

He isn’t. His eyes are on her, a soft smile on his lips. She has the distinct feeling he’s been looking at her for a while, instead of enjoying the scenery. “Aren’t the trees beautiful?” she asks.

“Aye, lovely,” he agrees, though he never takes his eyes off of her.

“I love the way the sun makes the colors so vivid. Orange, red…”

“Gold,” he adds, as she feels him sifting strands of her hair through his fingers.

“Killian,” she says with mock exasperation. “You’re not even looking at the trees.”

He blinks rapidly, then pulls his eyes away to look around. Clearing his throat, he says, “Mary Margaret and David are very fortunate to own such a beautiful farm.”

“Yeah, they are. David always wanted to live on a farm when we were growing up.”

They make small talk until the hayride is over. When they disembark, Killian offers her his hand to help her step down, but once her feet are on the ground, he doesn’t let go. She feels his thumb slowly stroking over the back of her hand, sending tingles across her skin.

He’s never held her hand like that before and she feels a sudden rush of hope that maybe he does think of her as more than a friend.

*********

Emma doesn’t pull her hand away from him and he feels a sudden rush of hope that maybe she does think of him as more than a friend.

He couldn’t keep his eyes off of her during the hayride. The way her golden hair glowed in the light of the sunset was mesmerizing. When she called him out for not noticing the colors of the trees, it was all he could do to focus his attention on them. Their beauty couldn’t compare with hers.

His hope is also fueled by the way she sat so close to him and seemed to enjoy having his arm wrapped around her shoulders. It felt very nice, very natural. It felt like something he would like to do on a regular basis.

As he stands in front of her, he has the overwhelming urge to admit how he feels, but knows it isn’t the right time or place. When that will be, he has no idea. He just knows he is sick and tired of hiding his feelings for her.

His turbulent thoughts are interrupted by David loudly announcing, “There’s only one competition left to determine the winning team. Grab your partner and come get your flashlights for the cornfield maze!”

“Let’s go,” Emma says, tugging on his hand. “It’s time for us to nail down the championship!”

Killian willingly follows behind her, chuckling at her enthusiasm and determination. He’s happy because in this competition, she is a force to be reckoned with and he’s her partner.

Emma grabs a flashlight out of the basket Mary Margaret is carrying and tests it to make sure it works. Then she takes Killian’s hand again and marches them over to the entrance of the cornfield maze. While most of the couples are milling around and chatting, she edges them to the front of the pack so they’ll be one of the first ones to enter the maze.

When David blows the air horn signaling the start, Emma takes off running with Killian on her heels. Everyone is bunched up until they get to the first division in the path. Most of the group, including Emma and Killian, go to the left, while a few couples split off to the right.

At every intersection, the crowd gets slimmer as they make their choice of direction. Before long, the only ones still going down the same path as Emma and Killian are Ruby and Jefferson. Killian shakes his head fondly as he watches the two women elbowing each other, trying to gain an advantage.

Emma looks back at him and he gives her a thumbs up, his heart swelling at the smile she gives him in return.

*********

Emma sees Killian give her a thumbs up and her heart swells, causing her to give him a smile in return, even though they’re in the middle of a fierce competition.

The further they go into the maze, the darker it becomes since the tall corn stalks block out most of the moonlight. The circle of light their flashlight throws off isn’t enough to illuminate more than about a four foot diameter in front of them, which is a little disconcerting.

When they reach another fork in the path, she exchanges a challenging look with Ruby, then grabs Killian’s hand and heads in the opposite direction as the other couple.

“Are you quite sure this is the way to go?” Killian asks.

“When I looked at the diagram, I counted the number of right and left turns. I’m pretty sure this one was supposed to be to the left.”

“I trust your judgment, Swan.”

They walk on for several minutes, making a few more turns. Their pace gradually slows and finally comes to a stop.

“Is something wrong?” Killian asks.

Emma stands stock still, turning her head back and forth. “Do you hear anyone else?”

He cocks his head and listens intently. Then he shakes his head. “I don’t hear anything.”

“That means either we’re way ahead of everyone else or…”

“Or we’re lost?”

She turns to face him. “Yeah. I think we should have turned the same way as Ruby and Jeff back there.”

“We can head back…” he begins.

“No, let’s just keep going. There’s probably more than one way out of here.”

They continue on in silence, except for the crunch of the flattened corn stalks under their feet. At every intersection, they discuss which direction to go. After another ten minutes, Emma comes to a stop. “I think we’re hopelessly lost. I’m sorry, Killian.”

“There’s no reason to be sorry, Emma.”

“I was so sure I could lead us out of this maze before anyone else, but I failed.”

He steps in front of her, his face nearly obscured by shadows. “The night isn’t over yet.”

“Do you really think we can still win?”

He moves a little closer and she tilts the flashlight up so she can see his face more clearly. He is looking at her fixedly, an ambiguous look on his face.

“There’s more than one way to win tonight,” he says quietly.

“Do you have a way to fly out of here or something?”

He chuckles. “No, nothing like that.”

“How can we win, then?”

He takes another step forward and reaches up to cup her face in his hands. She draws in a quick breath, a hopeful thought entering her mind.

Is he going to kiss her?

*********

He’s going to kiss her.

He looks deeply into her eyes, hoping to see acceptance. Even in the dim light, he finds it. She wants this, too.

Leaning in, he tentatively touches his lips to hers once, twice. When he pulls back slightly, she follows him, her lips chasing his. He takes advantage of the opportunity and draws her into her arms to kiss her again. This time, the tentativeness is gone, replaced by eagerness and passion.

Gods, how he’s longed for this day, imagined it so often. And now he knows - reality is so much better. Her lips are pliant, soft and sweet.

He hears her whisper something and murmurs, “What did you say, Love?”

She rests her forehead against his, her breath ghosting over his lips. “It’s about time.”

He pulls away a little, blinking in surprise. “What do you mean?”

“Do you know how long I’ve wanted to kiss you?”

“If it’s half as long as I’ve wanted to kiss you, it’s a very long time.”

She gives him that heart-melting smile he loves so much. The one she seems to only give to him. “Do you remember the first year we won the cornfield maze and you picked me up and spun me around?”

“Aye.”

“When you set me down and looked at me, for a second I thought you were going to kiss me. Ever since then, I wished you would.”

His brows shoot up. “That long ago?”

“How long has it been for you?” she asks.

“From the moment I met you.”

Now her brows climb up her forehead. “Seriously? I thought you were getting over a breakup and was only looking to make new friends.”

“I did want to make new friends and wasn’t looking for anyone to date but you…there was just something there…a spark between us. At least, on my part.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because I’m a bloody fool and a coward. Even when I saw you going out with those two wankers, I couldn’t work up the nerve to tell you how I felt. I guess I was afraid you wouldn’t feel the same and it would make things awkward between us.”

“I was an idiot to go out with them. I thought if I found someone else, I could get over my feelings for you. It didn’t work.”

“I’m very happy it didn’t.”

“So…what do we do now?” she asks.

“Well,” Killian smirks, swaying her back and forth in his arms, “now I suppose we should find our way out of this bloody maze.”

She wraps her arms more tightly around his neck to pull him closer. “We don’t need to be in any hurry.”

His eyes grow comically wide. “Who are you and what have you done with Emma Swan?”

She playfully slaps the back of his head. “Shut up and kiss me, Jones.”

He happily does as told.

Ruby and Jefferson end up winning the team competition, but Emma and Killian win each other. That is, by far, the sweetest prize of all.

*********

Thank you for reading! Be sure to check out all of the great stories and art in the CSSpookyAutumnalBingo2024 collection on Ao3.

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[fandoms--fluff]

Sneak peek to my ouat fic still in progress.

short summary: You're Rumple and Belle's daughter that was taken and don't have any memory of them or any family while in Storybrooke a couple months after the curse broke.

Feeling the wind blow against your face, you walk briskly down the sidewalk, your heeled boots making a quiet sound against the concrete. The curse had broken over the town a couple months ago. It’s been pretty quiet since then, with everyone remembering and reconciling with their loved ones. Except you. You have no one. You never had.

You grew up in the woods of the enchanted forest your entire life until it came to when you turned 16 and the magical abilities you’ve always inhabited went haywire, made you stop aging. So really, the aging being stopped, mixed with the curse of 28 years, you’re technically around 50 years old. Though your mentality stopped growing, along with your physical appearance from no longer aging.

Your life growing up wasn’t the best. Being real, it was traumatic having no one but yourself to rely on all throughout your life. In an unironic turn of events, the cursed life you lived also had you living with no one to rely on, no fake friends or family, only fake memories of always being alone. Which wasn’t that surprising when you woke back up with all your actual memories. But, hey, at least you were living in a nice apartment instead of the woods, and you still reside there. No more hunting for food or building shelter every other day.

Except there’s one problem. So far, you haven’t had any run in with the saviour or the evil queen (who, thankfully, has chilled and relaxed a lot, becoming more likable to everyone in the town), or anyone else in their group. But the last good week and a half, you’ve been having a feeling of someone or multiple someones following you. And every time you went to check it out, one or multiple of them were always around. It caused you to be suspicious. More than you’ve ever been in this town.

Over the week and a half, you written and clocked out everyone who has been around continuously whenever you had the feeling of being followed. It consists of; Emma Swan – the savior, Regina Mills – The Evil Queen and mayor, Mary Margaret Blanchard – Snow White and ex science teacher, David Nolan – Prince Charming, Killian Jones – Captain Hook, Neal Cassidy – Emma’s ex? (All you really know about him is that he came from New York and he and Emma clearly know each other like that), Belle French, and Mr. Gold – Rumpelstiltskin.

Why they’ve been following you? You don’t want to know, only want them to lose interest in you and find someone else to creepily stalk. It’s not like you’ve done anything wrong in the last couple weeks, not really. This is what you think about while walking along the sidewalk, passing by both run down and lively buildings.

First chapter

[fallenstarsandfiredemons]

we always get there eventually

Summary: When Henry accidentally summons a vengeful Captain Hook and a jaded Savior who's just climbed a beanstalk to Storybrooke, Emma finds herself considering just how much she and Killian have changed.

(canon compliant/set somewhere between seasons 6 and 7)

Read on Ao3

Well, as far as fuckups went, it wasn’t the worst Emma had seen.

Said fuckup made itself known when she walked out of Granny’s with morning coffees for her and Killian and spotted Captain Hook stalking toward Mr. Gold’s currently closed-up pawn shop. She’d known immediately it wasn’t her husband because Killian was back at the station, and because Killian hadn’t worn the heavy leather coat in years (except on special occasions in the privacy of their bedroom, ahem).

More than that, though, was the look on his face as she approached him, her mind already running through all the possibilities of how she could possibly deal with this and still manage to have a nice night in.

“Hook,” she greeted, smiling when he almost jumped out of his skin. He turned to look at her, and even though he wore the face of the man she woke up to every morning, they couldn’t have been more different. This man’s eyes were cold, his mouth set in a grim line, his jaw tight.  

“Swan,” he said, voice clipped. “Come to chain me up again?”

“Oh, is that where you’re from?” She glanced around. “Did you come here alone, or should I be worried about Cora wreaking havoc somewhere?”

He blinked, his perplexed expression quickly settling into a glare. “What game are you playing?”

Okay, so apparently she would have to dig a little more. As she considered her next words, she caught him studying her, confusion furrowing his brow and she guessed he was taking in her clothes, the faint signs of aging in her face, and all the other little details that told him maybe she wasn’t the woman who had chained him up at the top of the beanstalk.

Her gaze strayed back to the shop. “He’s not here anymore, you know. Rumpelstiltskin, I mean. He left at the beginning of the year with Belle to travel the realms or something.”

His scowl deepened. “The Dark One has fled?” Scoffing, he shook his head in disgust. “Once a coward, always a coward.”

Sighing, Emma set one of the coffee cups down and fished out her phone, pulling up Killian’s name and holding it to her ear. “Hey, you might wanna come to the pawn shop. We have…a situation. And maybe call Regina.” This had magic written all over it.

“What the fuck?!”

Emma winced and turned to find…well, herself, standing in the middle of the street, gaping openly at her and Hook. She recognized the dark red leather jacket she hadn’t worn in ages and the tired irritation lining the other woman’s face. “What is this?” the younger Emma Swan demanded. “Who are you? Where’s my son?”

“Mom!” Henry—her Henry—was rushing toward her. “This is all my fault! I—”

“Henry?”

“Henry, what did you—”

“Bloody hell.”

Emma held up her hands, magic suffusing her palms. “Everybody, quiet!”

The other Emma and Hook gaped at her, while Henry looked chagrined. She turned to her son. “What did you do?”

“I was working on the storybook, and it flipped open to the beanstalk, and I was just…thinking about things, and well…” He gestured to past Hook and Emma. “I guess it came out of the pen before I realized it.”

“So not time travel then?” The low voice was a welcome surprise to her, but the other Emma and Hook somehow looked even more shocked as Killian appeared, giving his past self a cursory once-over while the pirate did the same.

“Bloody hell,” Hook muttered. “What am I wearing?”

“I think it still qualifies as time travel,” Henry interjected. “Sort of.”

Killian raised a brow and walked past him to Emma’s side, exchanging a wry look with her. “So, do we have a plan?”

“That depends. Did you call Regina?”

“What the hell is going on?!” Past Emma demanded. She looked like she wanted to hug Henry but was also terrified to do so, because the changes in him were even more obvious than Emma or Killian. He wasn’t the eleven-year-old she’d been separated from anymore.

For his part, Hook was still studying Killian, and it clearly hadn’t escaped his notice that one of the rings he wore was different, or that Emma was wearing a similar ring on a certain finger. But when Killian wrapped his arm around her waist, Hook inhaled sharply.

“This is the future,” Emma explained, more for the benefit of her past self than Hook, who seemed to have figured it out—or was at least processing it slightly better than she was.

“The…what…” Past Emma’s gaze had zeroed in on Killian’s arm and the way she had automatically leaned into him. Her gaze then flickered to Emma’s hand, a horrified expression chasing away the confusion. “You…you married—”

“Yes, we’re married,” Emma interrupted. “If you’ve just climbed the beanstalk, we’re about four years into the future. Everything is fine and we’re all happy. So let’s focus on fixing this.”

Henry groaned and covered his face. “I really screwed up.”

“Him?” Past Emma questioned, apparently unable to move past that point. “Really?”

Hook looked only mildly offended by her tone. He was eyeing the two of them with an unreadable expression, and for once she couldn’t begin to guess what was going through his mind. This was the Hook who probably detested her, whose most recent experience had been betrayal.

“I take it I don’t kill the Dark One then,” he finally spoke, an almost accusatory gleam in his eye as he regarded his future self. “I just give up on revenge?”

“It’s not so simple,” Killian admitted, sharing a glance with Emma. “But for what it’s worth, mate, revenge could never bring you a tenth of the happiness I have now.”

Hook’s gaze flitted to Past Emma for just a moment before returning to them. “Right, then. Let’s…get on with it.”

“That’s it?” Past Emma burst out. “You’re just taking it in stride? This has to be some bizarre parallel dimension, something Regina or Gold cooked up, or even fucking Jefferson and his stupid hat. Jesus…”

“I forgot how high your walls were back then,” Killian murmured in her ear.

Sensing her former self was coming unraveled, Emma patted Killian’s hand before breaking away from him and cautiously approaching the other Emma. “Why don’t we just go back to the station and wait for Regina to meet us. We’ll get memory potions and send you two back as soon as we can.”

“And in the meantime, what?” Hook asked, crossing his arms.

“Don’t cause trouble,” Emma said sternly. “Gold isn’t here for you to kill and if you try anything, you’ll be in a cell faster than you can say ‘ahoy.’”

To her surprise, Hook’s lips quirked in a flirtatious smile. “Still into bondage, are you?”

Emma rolled her eyes while Killian gave her a speculative look, likely thinking of the pair of handcuffs in one of the nightstands in their bedroom, something that had appeared not long after he'd taken over as deputy—and she was so not going there right now. Her past self looked like she was about to pass out from shock.

“Let’s get going,” she said. “It’ll be over before you know it, I promise.”

~

They’d been at the station for all of five minutes when David came barreling in, somehow still shocked at the recent events despite occurrences like this being just another Tuesday in Storybrooke. Killian caught him up to speed while Emma did her best to calm the other Emma down. Henry was at one of the desks with the storybook and Hook lounged on the couch looking bored and drinking rum. Occasionally, she caught him looking at her, his future self, and her past self, as if he still couldn’t quite make sense of what he was seeing. Part of her still expected him to take off and do something that would undoubtedly land him in a cell, even if it was all a ploy to rile her up and make her handcuff him. (He was Killian, after all, and some things never changed.)

Eventually, Past Emma slumped onto the other end of the couch and started sharing Hook’s flask. Emma was pretty sure she caught the words ‘fever dream’ and ‘delusion’ from their barely legible conversation but chose to ignore it. Had she really been this stubborn just a few years ago? 

As if he could read her mind, Killian smirked. “If I haven’t said it before, I really appreciate your patience,” she told him once they were sequestered in the office watching their past selves proceed to drink themselves into oblivion. Her dad had left to get Regina—who was no longer answering her phone (something about having reached her quota of magical assistance for the week)—taking Henry with him since he was the only person Regina found it difficult to say no to.

Killian’s warm laugh settled around her as he sat on the edge of her desk, his hand finding the loop of her jeans and tugging her closer. “So glad you see my better qualities after all this time.”

“Idiot,” she said fondly, running her hand through his hair. He leaned into the touch, moaning softly as her nails scratched lightly at his scalp. “I’ve seen those for a long time, and you know it.” She'd just been too stubborn to acknowledge them.

He rested his cheek against her stomach for a moment as she carded her fingers through his hair and listened to the quiet sound of his breathing. It was something she did often without realizing it, reminding herself that he was alive and here with her, that no one was about to take him away. And on the nights when she woke up to find him wrapped around her so tightly she wasn’t sure where her limbs ended and his began, she knew that was his way of doing the same.

“They’re taking it better than I would have expected,” he mused, and she followed his gaze to the still-drinking couple on the couch. Past Emma was almost smiling at something Hook said, and she wondered briefly if things could have been so much simpler had she just let herself trust him a little sooner, let go of all the pain for even an hour and given someone a chance to see her for who she was and not the armor she wore.

Then again, Killian had seen past it right away, and she'd repaid him by leaving him behind on the beanstalk. But Hook, who was grinning at her past self as she took another drink, didn't seem the least bit angry about it now.

"Pretty sure they're both convinced it's a fever dream and drinking until they pass out is the best solution," she mumbled, unable to let go of the other thought. "I can see the appeal." She'd been broken by enough people in her early life that getting over it easily was more of a fairy tale than anything else she'd encountered. Even on her twenty-eighth birthday, she'd blown out the candle and made that wish, knowing in the back of her mind that it was impossible, because even if she got what she'd always wanted, there was no chance she would be able to keep it. People came into her life and then they left; it was all she'd ever known.

If she'd had more faith in others, in herself, even right after the curse had broken, would it have changed anything?

“I know what you’re thinking,” Killian murmured, and when she looked at him again, his eyes were on her face, studying her with the same precision he had displayed all those years ago on the beanstalk. “It doesn’t matter how we got here. What matters is that we’re here now.”

She sighed. “But don’t you just wonder about all the things we could have avoided?” Becoming the Dark One, turning Killian into another Dark One, Killian’s death, losing him again in the underworld. All that suffering, all the days they'd spent separated from one another by realms, by death. They both still carried the memories, the nightmares, with them.

“No,” he said simply, surprising her. “Our journey had a rough beginning, it’s true, and there were painful moments, but each of them led us here, led us to each other. Alter one element and it shifts the rest. And Emma, I don’t want to change one thing. I wouldn’t trade all the bad for even a second of the good.”

His gaze was steady, his words full of conviction, and she felt her heart give a familiar somersault. I’m already there, she wanted to tell it. I’ve been there for a long time now.

His lips curved, and his hand found hers, his thumb resting on her rings as he pressed a kiss to her fingers. “Just think of how far we’ve come.”

“We have, haven’t we?” When she looked through the window again, their past selves were watching them, and for the first time, there wasn’t anger or fear or confusion on either of their faces. In fact, it looked a whole lot like longing, the kind that came from years of being alone and thinking there would never be someone who saw you for who you were beyond the face you showed the rest of the world.

She knew that Past Emma was terrified because she had been there already, and she also knew that buried underneath the layers of armor and the near-impenetrable walls, that Emma still wanted a happy ending, still held out hope that such a thing might be possible for her even after everyone in her life had managed to let her down again and again.

And Hook…well, he wasn’t so different. She knew Killian almost as well as she knew herself, and the two of them always had been alike.

"Maybe we were both there before we even knew it," she said, laughing when he tugged her closer.

“Can you two go one day without being nauseatingly sappy?”

Killian rolled his eyes as Emma turned in his embrace to find Regina in the doorway regarding them archly before turning her attention to the pair on the couch. David and Henry hovered behind her. “I see we have another problem.”

“Any idea how to fix it?” Emma asked.

Henry opened the storybook and placed it in Regina’s arms. “Here,” he said, pointing to one of the pages. “This is where it broke off into a new story.”

“I guess there’s not an undo button that comes with your author powers,” Emma mused.

Henry cringed and shook his head. “I still haven’t worked it all out. Sometimes, I don’t think I ever will.”

“Of course you will,” Regina said before Emma could. “But don’t worry. This should be a simple fix. They’re not exactly you from the past, just copies living out a different timeline. We don’t even need a memory potion.”

Past Emma and Hook rose from the sofa, both eyeing Regina warily. “You can send us back?” Emma asked. “And…make us forget?”

At her side, Hook’s expression was flat. “Yes, I’ve got an apparently doomed revenge quest to be getting back to.”

“It’ll all be some strange dream you can hardly remember,” Regina promised, raising her hand. Words floated off the page, and Emma made a mental note to ask her what spell she was using as the words hovered over Regina’s palm. “Ready?” she asked.

Past Emma and Hook exchanged a look before turning to Emma and Killian. “It’s been…uh, enlightening,” Hook said, scratching behind his ear.

“Right,” Past Emma agreed tersely. Her armor was back on. “What he said.”

Emma couldn’t help but smile. “Don’t worry, you’ll get there…eventually. And it'll be worth it.”

If they smiled back or took her words to heart, she would never know. Regina blew gently on the words in her palm, sending them erupting into smoke that surrounded the two visitors. When it cleared, they were gone.

~

Later, when they’re back at home and Henry has gone off with Regina for the evening, she thinks back on the relatively painless events of the day with a strange sense of ease. “If you had even the slightest guarantee of a happy ending all those years ago, would it have changed a thing?” she asked softly. They were entwined on the couch, a movie they'd both lost interest in playing in the background.

He shrugged against her, his arm tightening around her waist as his hand rubbed circles at the small of her back, his fingers warm beneath her sweater. “Maybe, but I think the day I met you, I felt…” He hesitated, and she pulled back just enough to look at him.

“What?”

“I think, even back then, you gave me hope,” he admitted, almost sheepishly. “It had been a long time since someone managed to surprise me like you did, and even longer since I felt like I was looking at myself in someone else.”

She knew exactly what he meant. For all her avoidance of him and his probing words on that beanstalk, she’d felt laid bare. An open book, indeed.

“Except,” he continued, softer now. “You were obviously a hero, someone who put the needs of others before your own even when it hurt you to do so—and that was never me. I think it frustrated and fascinated me, trying to understand how we could be so alike and at the same time, how you could still be so much better than I ever was.”

“At the risk of sounding like my mother,” she said, reaching down to touch his face and draw his gaze back to her. “You’re my hero, and you have been for a long, long time.”

His eyes were warm and bright, and she kissed the few tears that fell down his cheek. “Well, your mother usually knows what she’s talking about,” he mumbled, making her laugh.

“But you were my hero first,” he said into the quiet that settled around them, and there was no trace of humor in his eyes, only earnestness. “Never forget that.”

Though she'd never had his finesse for words, she felt it all the more keenly then, and so she hugged him closer and kissed him like it was the first time and the last time, kissed him like only she knew how. And remembering the looks of longing on the faces of their past selves, she smiled against his lips.

One day, they would know this feeling too. Maybe they already did.