#��salt water is drying” sure but he takes ridiculously long showers after and see above fish + kelp sustenance diet

[turbidapoplexy]

Concept

Dirk lives in drowned Houston

-> fish

->

Dirk has the most perfect skin out of any of the kids because he has very few dietary options aside from fish and he has the most abominably high intake of EPA and DHA and fish-sourced antioxidants ever. It's unnaturally smooth, supple, and moisturized due to eating fish for nearly every meal. Aside from fish, his most easily accessible source of vegetation is probably going to be kelp. Mannequin-esque, minus scarring. Grotesque, almost, like he popped out of the most hideously airbrushed Instagram ad ever. It's Houston; it's generally warm, no oceanic storms left in the dead world to weather his visage. His (physical) heart is in excellent health.

He also has mercury poisoning, probably.

[a-winterprince-blog]

Family Ties (2/15)

Summary: Not long after receiving a strange warning in a dream, Killian finds himself forced to go to Camelot and deal with a long forgotten enemy. The heroes follow to aid him, but soon they are pulled into a net of family secrets and intrigues, with a foe who seems to bring back the dead. Killian is reunited with his family, but can he trust them?

Rating: Mature

Content Warning: Mention of rape, minor character death. Corresponding chapters will be marked accordingly.

As always, a huge thank you goes out to wonderful beta @onceuponadisneypotter (AO3) and my two amazing artists:@thisisartyanna and @captainodonoghue!

You can find the story on ff.net, as well. 2. At The Docks

Killian found himself in what appeared to be a garden. The grass was greener than any grass he had ever seen before, and the apple trees around him carried ripe, red fruits, their sweet scent filling the air. Birds sang cheerful songs, and the sun shone brightly in the blue sky right above him. There was no fence, but tall hedges, closing off the orchard and leaving but a narrow space for a person to walk enter or leave.

Where was he? How did he get here? He couldn’t remember.

Not knowing what else to do, he started walking, taking in the view. There was no one near, at least not that he saw. “Hello?” he asked, his voice raised. No answer came.

He left the garden and passed a giant oak that seemed to be a hundred years old. Its branches stretched far and provided cool, shadowy spots. Not far from the tree, the ground ended in a cliff. From where he was standing, he could hear the sea murmuring softly as the waves washed against the rock. The faintest breeze caressed his face as he peered closer to the edge, carrying a hint of salt and seaweed.

When he finally looked down, he released a breath he felt like he’d held for months. He seemed to be on an island or peninsula, surrounded by water wherever he looked. There, on the horizon, was a faint shadow, indicating land. The water was clear blue, reflecting the sky, with glistening waves dancing all around.

He’d missed it. He’d missed it so much.  

“Beautiful, isn’t it?”

He spun around. Beneath the oak sat the most beautiful women he had ever seen. She had long, dark hair, and she was clad in a teal silken dress. Her back rested against the tree, and her arms were casually locked around her knees.

Killian was sure that she hadn’t been here ten seconds ago. The woman smiled brightly as she patted the spot next to her, inviting him to come closer.

He obeyed, still mesmerized by her face. She reminded him of someone, or something, but he couldn’t put a finger on it.

“I like coming out here to think”, she said after he had joined her in the shadow of the tree, careful to keep some distance between them.

His long years as a pirate captain had made him wary of strangers. And yet, his gaze was still fixed on her, and he was unable to look away.

He nodded, uncertain of what to say. Who was she? Where had she come from?

“It’s, uh, very calming”, he said when he realized she was waiting for his answer.

“Indeed. The love for the sea runs in our family, my dear. But as you imagine, I didn’t bring you here to chat about the ocean.”

“Our family?” he asked, confused. How was she part of his family?His family was dead.  He was certain he had never seen her in his life… and yet, he couldn’t shake a feeling of familiarity.

“Not now, Mordred”, she cut him off sharply. “We have more important matters to discuss.”

Killian startled at the use of his middle name. Only few people knew it, and fewer had ever used it.

“Avalon is in danger, and we need your help”, the strange woman continued.

“My help?” he asked, still a little dazzled as he struggled to take it all in. “How could I help? I don’t even know… Avalon? We are in Avalon?”

“Yes, of course, where else would we be? You can help us, and you will find out soon enough, how, but for now I need you to be vigilant. What’s threatening us is now stretching their arms towards you and your blood. Be very careful.”

The more she said, the more she confused him.

“What is the threat? And what do you mean by blood? I’m the last of my family!”

The woman looked around hectically. “We don’t have much time. She knows I’m warning you…”

Suddenly he felt dizzy, and his vision got blurry. Avalon blackened before his eyes.

“Watch your back, Mordred!” he heard the woman say somewhere through the thick fog that filled his brain.

Then everything was gone. Another woman stood before him, shining clearly against the darkness surrounding them. Her dark, cold eyes fixed on him, and he immediately recognized her.

His heart hammered in his chest and he took a step back. “You…” he whispered.

Her lips formed a smile that looked like a death threat. “Hello, annwyl. Did you miss me?”

Killian sat up straight in his bed, his pulse racing. His body was covered in sweat and he was panting. He wiped his face with his good hand and tried to calm his breathing. A dream. Just a dream.

Throwing back the blankets, he shakily got to his feet and staggered to the window. It was already dawn, and the first rays of sunlight lit up the main street, promising a warm spring day.

No sign of danger. He took a deep breath, calming down a little. It had really been nothing more than a dream.

“Are you alright?”

He flinched, turning around. Emma looked at him from beneath the sheets with a frown.

“Emma.” Did he really forget she was there? “Sure. Everything alright, love. I’m just… I think I’m gonna take a shower.”

“It’s 6am!”

“Right. Best time to get up.”

He grabbed a towel and headed to the bathroom.

“Why don’t you come back to bed?” Emma asked with a seductive smile, and usually he would have been more than happy to comply. But he was still too upset to even think about that.

“Sorry love, maybe later”, he said apologetically, closing the door behind him. As he felt the water run down his body, his pulse finally normalized.

Emma followed him with her gaze. She knew something was off. Killian wasn’t a man to turn down sex, or, as he called it, lovemaking. The way he had basically fallen out of bed, not even looking at her… She felt the sheet next to her and realized it was wet with sweat.

Did he have a nightmare? It seemed ridiculous. He was a grown man, a pirate captain, and had surely seen enough in his two hundred years to not be afraid of a bad dream. Yet it appeared to be the only logical explanation for his behavior.

When he returned from the shower, he looked as if nothing had ever happened.

“I apologize for my rudeness, love, I wasn’t myself.”

He seemed a lot calmer, his dark hair towel-dry and messy.

“What did you say about coming back to bed…?”

His hand wandered to the towel around his hips, the only thing that covered him, with a wicked grin, ready to remove it in an instant.

“Killian, what’s wrong?” she asked, her worry clearly written on her face.

“As I said, love, nothing to worry about.”

He let go of his towel and sat on the edge of the mattress. He started gently running his fingers up and down her arm, leaning down to kiss her. She gently put a hand on his chest and pushed herself up in a sitting position.

“Stop distracting. What’s wrong? You always tell me to talk about what’s bothering me, well, your turn. What is it? Bad dream?”

He looked away, finally giving up on seducing her.

“It sounds rather childish if you say it like that…”

“I’ve never seen you that upset before, so it clearly isn’t.”

He sighed and lay down, crossing his arms behind his head.

“Aye, I had a dream. I wouldn’t even consider it a nightmare, it simply… it reminded me of a lot of things that I haven’t thought of in a long time. From my childhood.”

“Oh!”

Emma didn’t know what to say. He never talked about his childhood. It was hard to imagine him as a kid, without the experience of two hundred years weighing him down.

She was about to say something when her phone rang.

“Really?” she groaned. Now was really not the time! She saw that it was her father and sighed.

“I have to get this”, she said apologetically. “If I don’t, my dad will probably come looking for me. He still doesn’t like you.”

Killian shuddered. “Better tell him you’re alright. I’d like to keep all my bits in place.”

“Emma!” David said when she answered the phone. “I thought you weren’t going to pick up! Where are you?”

“I’m with Killian.”

“No details, please”, he quickly interrupted, his voice sounding somewhat tortured. “I think that might already be too much. Look, we have kind of a situation here. How fast can you come to the docks?”

Emma frowned. “The docks? Now?”

“Yes, now. When will you be here?”

“I don’t know, twenty minutes?”

“Make it ten, if you can.”

“I’ll try.”

Emma hung up, getting out of bed.

“What is it?” Killian asked.

“Crisis”, she said while picking up her clothes from the floor.

Killian groaned.

“After eight bloody months! I thought we were done with this!”

He rolled out of bed, too, grabbing his pants.

“I know, but this is Storybrooke!” Emma shouted from the kitchen where she found her blouse.

When they reached the docks, they saw that the area was closed off with a fluttering ribbon. David was talking to Regina while Gold seemed to be inspecting the ground.

“So, what’s the crisis?” Emma asked, lifting the ribbon and ducking under it.

David turned around to see her.

“Emma! Finally! You won’t believe what happened!”

He glanced at Hook, but didn’t say anything.

“We found a baby here, a newborn girl. A fisher saw her when he went to work.”

“You found a baby?” Emma asked incredulously. “Like… a human baby?”

“Yes! Thankfully she didn’t fall into the water.”

He led them over to Gold, who was drawing patterns in the dirt.

“Did you find anything?”

The Dark One didn’t look at them. He touched the ground once more, brushing his fingers over the wooden surface.

“Indeed”, he finally said, getting up to his feet and leaning on his cane.

“Someone used magic here. Powerful magic, and of a very rare kind. I haven’t encountered it in decades.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Regina asked. “What kind of magic?”

Gold glanced at her and turned back to David.

“One that you would not want to stand up against.”

David sighed. “Not again”, he muttered.

“Have you found the parents?” Emma asked.

“No, not even a clue. I asked Ruby to go to the Sheriff’s Station, if anyone calls there, she’ll let me know immediately.”

“That shouldn’t be difficult.” Killian looked around. “Judging from my experience, mothers are very protective of their offspring. I imagine as soon as the lady discovers she misplaced her child, we will hear of it.”

“Well, I hope so”, David replied. “The girl really needs her parents. Whale cleared her, so Mary Margaret took her to the loft for now, but we can’t keep her forever. We have to find her family!”

His eyes met Emma’s and she swallowed when she saw the desperation in them. He was thinking about her, she suddenly realized. He didn’t want the girl to grow up without a family, like she had. Or Henry for that matter.

“Leave that to me”, Gold offered. “I already cut off some of her hair. I can use it to track them.”

“Well, then what are we waiting for? Let’s get going”, Emma said.

A second later they were standing in the pawnshop, the red smoke clearing around them. Gold put a finger to his lips.

“I would appreciate it if you kept your voices down. My wife is sleeping in the back room.”

“Not sleeping anymore.”

The brunette stepped through the curtain that separated the shop from the back room. She looked tired, holding her hands over her pregnant belly.

“Belle!” Gold gently put an arm on her shoulder. “Did we wake you?”

She shook her head. “No, I couldn’t sleep. What happened?”

David hurried to explain the situation to her while Gold got a chair for his wife to sit on.

“A baby?” She frowned, instinctively wrapping her arms around her belly when she had sat down. “The baby’s alone?”

“Yes, for now, but worry not.” Gold started opening drawers and taking out bottled liquids, displaying them all on the counter. “I will find her parents.”

He opened two of the phials and mixed them together in a small bowl.

“What is this kind of magic that you were talking about?” Regina asked.

Gold gently shook the potion he was creating before adding another substance.

“Oh, yes, that. Have you ever heard of the le Fay family?”

“Le Fay?” Belle asked surprised.

Killian felt his heart sink to his stomach at the sound of that name. Le Fay? What did they have to do with this? He hadn’t heard that name since before he met Milah. Except…His eyes widened almost unnoticeably when he remembered his dream. It couldn’t be a coincidence, could it?

Something about his body language must have given away his nervousness, because Emma gently touched his arm.

“Is something wrong?” she asked. “Do you know them?”

“I may have… encountered one or two members a long time ago”, he answered, looking away when her eyes met his. He didn’t want to talk about the details now, not in front of everyone.

Emma frowned, but no one else seemed to notice.

Gold nodded. “That is not surprising. They were much more powerful in my first days as the Dark One, before you went to Neverland. Now you barely hear anything of them. Maybe they got tired of human company.”

“Human?” Emma raised her eyebrows. “Are you saying they aren’t human?”

Gold made a vague gesture. “Technically, they are. But they prefer to be called fairies.”

“Fairy as in… Mother Superior?” she asked.

“No. She was known as ‘Rheul Gorm’ in those times. What they refer to as fairies, we would probably call ‘elves’.”

“Elves?”

Emma had never thought the day would come that they were threatened by freaking elves. Then again, Peter Pan was one of the worst villains they’d ever had to face. There was probably nothing she could rely on here.

“Don’t let any stories you’ve heard fool you”, Killian said quietly. “They shouldn’t be underestimated.”

“Indeed, that could be fatal”, Gold agreed in a low voice.

“But aren’t the evil witches from the Arthurian Legend part of the le Fay family?” Belle asked, leaning forward to see the spell her husband was creating.

“Yes, indeed. Camelot, more precisely Avalon, is where they originally come from. It is also their source of power.”

He added the hair to the finished substance and it made a hissing sound, turning blue. He reached under the counter and pulled out a crystal ball.

“This should show us the child’s parents”, he explained. “Maybe then we will know more.”

“Both parents?” David asked.

“Yes. First the one that is physically closer, and then, as it extends its reach, the other one.”

“How convenient.” The prince seemed impressed.

They all moved closer to get a better look when Gold poured the potion over the object. The ball filled with red mist, but it quickly cleared and gave way for a face.

“Bloody hell”, Killian whispered as his own reflection stared at him.

“Well, that is certainly interesting.” Gold gave him a cold smile. “Tell us, Captain, did you recently share the bed of another than your blonde sheriff?”

“No!” Killian exclaimed. “Of course not! There must be a mistake! Maybe your bloody potion is wrong!”

“Killian…”, Emma said, but she didn’t continue. He looked at her pleadingly, hoping she believed him.

“I didn’t”, he said, trying to sound calm. “Emma, I swear it!”

“We weren’t even together nine months ago”, she started quietly, but he cut her off.

“It doesn’t matter. Nine months ago we were in the Enchanted Forest…”

“…where you took off to return to your pirate life”, David reminded him. “I’m not sure if I’m right, I’m certainly not an expert on pirates, but doesn’t that include drinking, gambling and visiting brothels?”

Killian clenched his jaw.

“I might have done the former two, but I was completely celibate in that year. I can’t have created a child nine months ago!”

“Just show us the mother”, Regina said to Gold. To Killian, she added: “Maybe that will jog your memory. Or at least somehow explain this situation.”

Gold waved his hand over the crystal ball and Killian’s face disappeared in red mist again. They watched the whirling masses with anticipation, and he didn’t know if he imagined it, but it seemed to search a lot longer this time. All the while, the thoughts in his head were going crazy. What was the meaning of this? He had always been careful not to father children that he’d abandon before they were even born. And what he’d told David was true, he hadn’t been with a woman in the year that they’d spent back in the Enchanted Forest. So how was this possible?

When the mist finally cleared away to show a face, both Killian and Gold jerked away. The Dark One wasn’t smiling and mocking him this time. Instead, his eyes were wide as he looked at the brunette.

“That’s not possible!” he hissed.

“Who is that?” Emma asked, warily looking at the two men.

“Milah”, Killian whispered.

“Milah?” Emma asked. “Isn’t she dead?”

Killian nodded and swallowed. “She died two hundred years ago, thanks to him.”

He stared at Gold.

“What explanation do you have for this, crocodile?”      

The other man shook his head. “I am afraid I know as little as you do. Milah is most certainly dead, and has been for centuries. Yet the child is here.”

“Is the spell wrong?” David asked.

Regina rolled her eyes. “Of course not! If the crystal ball showed the pirate and… Milah, they are definitely the parents of the child. Now we have to find out how.”

Killian still stared at Milah’s image. He felt like the red mist filled his head now rather than the crystal ball. This wasn’t possible. As Gold had said, Milah was long dead. He had seen him crush her heart, and he had given her body to the sea. How could the newborn be her child?

“Well, it doesn’t matter”, Emma said quietly. “We should get back to the loft. I’m guessing you want to meet your kid.”

“Emma…”

She turned around and left the shop. Not knowing what else to do, or to say, he followed her.

They drove silently in Emma’s yellow bug, David on the passenger seat and Killian on the backseat. He looked at her from behind, trying to figure out what she was feeling. Surely it was as confusing for her as it was for him. But none of this was his fault, and he hoped she realized that.

He tried to think of the child, his child, but he still couldn’t believe it. How was this possible? How was it real? It all seemed like a dream.

Maybe he had never woken up. Maybe this was the continuation of his earlier dream, of Avalon.

When they arrived at the loft, he deliberately slowed down and let the others enter before him. He was still struggling to believe that he would be meeting his child. Milah’s child, as odd as it was.

When he finally stepped through the door, he immediately spotted Princess Snow. She was sitting on the bed and holding an infant child. David was sitting next to her, and by the look on her face he realized her husband had already told her.

Emma was nowhere to be seen.

Killian stepped closer, eyes fixed on the dark-haired baby.

“Is that… her?” he asked hoarsely, although it was clear that it was. This wasn’t Emma’s baby brother, Neal, who was already significantly bigger.

Snow nodded and budged up so he could sit next to her. The child was sleeping, thumb in her mouth.

“She… she’s beautiful.”

He swallowed. What was happening to him?

“Would you like to hold her?” the Snow asked.

“I don’t know… I don’t want to hurt her. She seems so fragile.”

“You won’t hurt her. Here, it’s not that hard.”

Killian quickly detached his hook and Snow placed the baby in his arms.

“Support her head with your hand. You’ve gotta be careful with the soft spot”, she explained. “Just like that.”

Killian looked down at his daughter sleeping in his arms, captivated by the sight of her. Suddenly, he felt a wave of love wash through his body, stronger than anything he’d felt before. He smiled. She slightly suckled on her thumb, but didn’t wake up.

“You’ll have to name her, you know”, Snow said next to him.

He frowned. Why hadn’t he thought of this? His first thought was to name her Milah, after her mother, but he hesitated. It would feel weird to call his daughter by the name of his former lover. His daughter… The little angel that was peacefully sleeping in his arms was his daughter, his blood.

His blood. He suddenly remembered his dream and flinched. The child’s eyelids fluttered and she let out a short wail of complaint.

“Oh”, he said, helplessly looking at her. “Was that me? What do I do?”

“Here, let me show you.”

He handed her back to Snow and watched her gently rock his daughter in her arms, calming her down.

What’s threatening us is now stretching their arms towards you and your blood.

It was just a dream. And yet, what were the chances that he would dream of Avalon and her the day he found his daughter? Not to mention the possible involvement of the le Fay family…

He needed to talk to someone. He needed to talk to Emma. She would tell him that he was freaking out about nothing and that a dream was just a dream, after all.

“Is Emma upstairs?” he asked.

Her mother nodded, and with one last look at the infant, who had calmed down by now, he rose to his feet.

He found Emma sitting on her bed, deep in her thoughts. When he reached the top stair, he knocked on the handrail with his hook. She looked up and smiled amused, but then quickly hid it.

“Hey.”

“Hey”, he repeated, waiting for her to say something, because he really didn’t know how to start.

He came closer, lowering himself on the bed and tilting his head to look at her. Why did it have to feel so awkward?

“Shouldn’t you be with your kid?” she finally asked.

“I was, but I wanted to talk to you.”

“About what?”

Now that he was sitting next to her, he couldn’t bring himself to bring up the details of his dream. What if she told him he was right to worry? Maybe he should just forget about it.

He made a vague gesture.

“About… all this. It’s… quite a lot to take in, isn’t it?”

“Tell me about it.”

He sighed, putting an arm around her and pulling her close. She laid her head on his shoulder and Killian gently pressed a kiss to her hair.

“We’ll figure it out.”