#ouatmiliam

[justmilah]

MiLiam, obviously. #16 things you said with no space between us

@pirate-owl - send me a ship and one of these and i’ll write a mini fic - accepting

(Set in the Madame Mayor Milah and Admiral Liam Jones of the Underworld thing from our ask blogs! Because I lurv that verse.)

It was dark. Some months ago this wouldn’t have made much of a difference in the Underworld, the land constantly overcast in hazy hues of oranges and reds with the nights just a dimmer version. Now, even with as little as she felt she’s accomplished, it was as though the blooming blossoms themselves added their own color to the skyscape and when they closed as the sun went down they captured the light within their slumbering buds.

Liam was lying next to her, elbow bent and hand tucked between his neck and the pillow. Her bed was larger than his, and what once had been a mockery of how alone she was now afforded a promise of space shared. He filled the void of an oversized home that had once been part of her punishment. 

Milah was nearly on her stomach, arms wrapped around her own pillow, facing him with her eyes somehow visible through a sea of curls. Gone were the ponytails and drab clothing. She’d even taken to wearing nightgowns again, the sort she’d spent a decade at sea wearing, all flowing lace and soft chiffon.

He was awake despite his closed eyes. She could tell by his breathing, the way his fingers occasionally thrummed along his thigh. There was space between them still, and it had been a big To Do of getting him to even sleep in the same bed. Old fashioned, of course, them both being from centuries before this, but she had nearly expected him to flutter a fan the way his eyebrows had risen and nearly expected him to blurt out with an ‘how untoward!’ when she’d first suggested it some weeks ago. When she’d made the suggestion again after her stomach muscles had recovered from doubling over, she was surprised when he accepted nearly before she could get the request out.

She took a breath and inched forward until her head rested on his arm. His eyebrows rose when she reached for the arm at his side and draped it over her own. She tensed for a moment as she adjusted to this much physical contact after centuries without before relaxing and settling in. His hand came from behind his head to play with the hair on her shoulder. 

“I like this.” It isn’t the same as it had been with his brother, of course. If it had been, she might have immediately rolled away. She wasn’t with him because of their past, though it would always be a part of them. She was with him because of the decades they’d been friends, for the way he made her feel. She was with him because he was Liam.

“I like this, too.”

She really hoped so. He’d given up moving on for her, because of her. Milah still felt guilt for that, and even more so because she couldn’t find it in herself to wish he hadn’t. “Liam?”

His voice, already having been that low gravelly as sleep threatened to claim someone, was even more so even through a questioning hum.

Her voice was quiet, afraid to admit this out loud. “I’m really glad you stayed.”

He was silent for a moment before his arms tightened around her, pulling her even closer into his space. “What is heaven without you?”

She bit her lip as she grinned against his shoulder. “Incredibly dull, I’d imagine.”

[asktheoriginalliam-blog]

God, you really are all work and no play, aren't you? It's been a rough time of it lately -- live a little!

This is hardly the first time I’ve been accused of that. Mostly by Milah. And by Killian. And by the crews of several ships.

@ask-milahthepiratequeen is always encouraging me to take a break, sometimes even successfully. 

Although I’m not technically alive, so living is perhaps the wrong word.

[gusenitsaa]

Captain Jones

So remember that horrible ask that some horrible person sent to @asktheoriginalliam​.  About what would have happened if Killian had died instead of Liam in Neverland.  And that heart-ripping response that Liam made on the same subject to Killian.  

Yeah... So I did a thing.  And I tried to get @ask-milahthepiratequeen​  @asktheoriginalliam​ and @queen-mabs-revenge​ to stop me from doing the thing.  And not one of them did. So ... blame them?  And when they start cursing at me, you will know, fine readers, that they did this to themselves.  (Very heavy on Jones Brothers feelings and a dash of MiLiam for seasoning. Stick with me to the end before you yell at me, okay? )

Read on FF

“What do you know of any of this?”  Killian’s tone was the familiar petulance of a child, stubborn and skeptical and Liam bit his lip to hide the smile.  Years of naval training and a crisp new uniform but sometimes Killian was still so very much the stubborn child Liam had always known.  But Liam had faith in his king and his orders, and he meant to show Killian that both could be trusted.  

“I'm your brother and your captain. You will listen to me.”

It was only a moment. A moment of rashness that truly was more Killian’s style than his own.  But when Liam moved the thorny branch towards his skin Killian was faster.  He snatched the branch from his brother’s hand, tossing it aside before it could draw Liam’s blood.  

“That’s insubordination, brother,” Liam commented with a hint of a smile on his face.  Killian’s face fell and he raised his hand, a point of blood welling up on his palm where the thorn had grazed him.  

“You see? Perfectly fine,” Liam said,  pulling out a handkerchief to wrap the cut gently.  “Your intentions are noble, Killian, but as I told you, our King would never lie to us.”  He tied a quick knot in the makeshift bandage and gave his brother’s hand an affectionate squeeze. “Now, let's collect our specimens and get off this...”

His words trailed off when he glanced up at Killian’s face.  There was naked fear in his brother’s eyes,  like he’d not seen since he was very young and the lamp had flickered out in the dead of night.   Then he wavered.   Liam moved forward instantly to catch him as Killian’s legs crumpled beneath him.  

“Killian?”  That’s when he noticed the dark stains creeping their way from beneath the bandage up his arm.  “No- No. Let's get you back to the ship. Come on,  up you get-”

“Can’t-” Killian whispered breathlessly,  “ ‘m sorry.”

“Shh, don’t be sorry. I should have listened to you, Killian.  I’m-  I’m so sorry-  I’m going to-  I’m going to fix this. Have to fix this-”  The black tendrils had spread up past Killian’s forearm now and Liam took out a dagger, splitting his brother’s shirt from wrist to shoulder.  The inky tendrils were well up his arm now reaching towards his shoulder, and his heart.  Killian’s face was tight with pain and with a growing horror Liam realized there was nothing that he could do.

“I tried to warn you,” a cold voice spoke and Liam raised his head slightly,  the boy, from before.  “He'll die as soon as the poison reaches his heart.”

“Please. He's my little brother. He's all I have.”

“Well, maybe you shouldn't have goaded him into it.”

“He's so stubborn. I didn't mean to. You knew the nature of the plant,  can you help me to fix this?”

“Well, it might not feel like it, but today's your lucky day. This spring... these waters are rich with the power of Neverland. It's what keeps this land and all on it so... young. If one was to drink directly from it, its power could cure any ill. But... I must warn you. All magic comes with a price, and that spring is no exception. Don't leave the island unless you're willing to pay it.”

“Of course. Whatever you want, it's yours.”

Getting Killian to drink from the stream was far from easy,   but finally he choked and coughed and it was all Liam could do to let him get a few free breaths in before smothering him with an embrace.  

“Liam-”

“That’s captain to you, sailor.  And I did not give you leave to die, you hear me?”

“Aye, captain,” Killian replied hoarsely.  

“Now let's pay the boy and get off this damned island.  Boy?”

Liam felt himself floating near as high as the Jewel throughout their return voyage, never letting Killian out of his sight for so much as a moment.

“How are you feeling,” he asked again.  

“As fit as the last three dozen times you’ve asked, Captain,” Killian retorted with an exasperated smile.  “What now?”

“We reveal our King's cowardice.”

“Well, let's hope the realm sides with us.”

“Oh, they will. To fight battles using unholy weapons is, as you say, bad form.”

The pitch of the ship shifted as they began to descend and a voice from above called the warning to brace for impact.  When the familiar sights and sounds of the sea resumed, Liam couldn’t help but smile broadly.   “Killian,  what would you say if I asked you to come with me when I report to the admiralty-”  

There was the sound of a thud from behind him and Liam turned, his bright smile turning to terror as Killian stumbled back against the table in the middle of the room.  He was at his brother’s side in an instant, sinking to the floor with Killian in his arms.

“Help!” he cried desperately, “bring the doctor!”  He turned back to Killian and  reached for his brother’s hand, turning it over and seeing that the dreamshade’s dark vines traced Killian’s skin once more.  “I should-  I should get help.  The doctor-”

Killian stiffened in his arms,  “Don’t leave me, please?” he whispered.

Tears slipped down Liam’s face and dampened Killian’s skin, causing him to open his eyes again.

“Liam, please don’t l-”  

“I’m right here, little brother” he whispered,  holding Killian tighter in his arms.  “I’m not going anywhere, alright?”

Killian nodded, the tension slowly leaving his body until finally he went limp.  

“Killian?” There was no reply and Liam felt his heart stutter in his chest as though the poison had reached his heart with his brother’s.  “Killian? No-” His head dropped heavily onto Killian’s shoulder, his sobs making them both shake violently.  

When the doctor came into the room moments later Liam spat at him to get out and no one dared enter the cabin for hours.  When someone finally worked up the nerve to enter again they found Killian had been laid carefully on the cot and  Liam was sitting calmly on the edge of the table in the middle of the room facing him, eyes distant.  

“Captain?  ‘m sorry, captain.”

“We have work to do.”

Liam Jones never reported to the admiralty.  

Instead he took to the open sea again, using the time to carefully stitch his little brother into a fresh sail in the privacy of his cabin, which no one dared enter anymore.   When Killian Jones slipped below the surface of the waves Liam’s heart went with him.  And so did three members of the crew.  

First, the man who dared to interrupt proceedings with the question of when they’d be getting new orders.   

Second, the ship’s doctor,  who had not been fast enough.  

And third, a young sailor who had once blackened Killian’s eye in a dispute over rations.  

It took Liam two months to find the squid ink and when he did he set a course second star to the right and straight on ‘till morning.  

Pan greeted him when he arrived, a taunting smile on his face prepared for another round of their game. What he wasn’t expecting was for Liam Jones to not hesitate a moment.  No taunts, threats or accusations.  He simply threw squid ink at the demon and smiled as he dragged Pan by the collar of his shirt onto his ship.  He watched the horror in the boy’s eyes as he drew a cutlass with a curious black sheen.  The demon of Neverland knew dreamshade when he saw it.  Liam laid the tip at the base of his throat pressing ever so gently until a single drop of blood rolled down the edge of the blade.  By the time the squid ink wore off they were too far from the power of Neverland for the boy to do more than beg for his life,  which he did, in the end.    

“You knew what would happen when we left Neverland.”  It wasn’t a question and before Pan could speak Liam continued.  “You know what will happen now,  when I order the landing.”

“You’ve made your point, captain,  but surely we can come to some kind of arrangement.”

“What could you possibly offer me?”

“Youth,”

“I do not want it.’

“Magic, power-”

“I do not need it.”

“Riches, whatever you desire, I can get it-”

Liam smiled and for a moment Pan felt relief.  Then the captain turned,  and called to the crew,  “prepare for landing.”  He stood watching as the ship crashed into the water and the fear in Pan’s eyes grew.  Then he gasped,  choked and collapsed, the magic of Neverland fading.  He died on the floor of Liam’s cabin, an old withered husk. What was left was tossed overboard with the kitchen refuse.  

No one was quite certain how it happened.  

The King himself grew ill first.  Weakening and dying over the course of only a few days from an illness that no healer could identify.  His heir soon followed,  then the rest of the royal family.  One by one, the illness systematically moved through the lines of succession until there was no one left.

Civil war broke out; old families fought over the throne,   took power and then fell in turn from the same mystery illness.

The throne was cursed, they said.  

It might as well have been.  

Ships began to vanish,  lost with all hands.  Passengers and cargo alike went to the depths.  The waterways were not safe.  

The rumors started small.  A rogue captain.  A pirate. But what kind of pirate left gold and gemstones on the ocean floor along with his victims?

When they came across a vessel the crew attacked ruthlessly,  mercy would be met with the captain’s strict judgement.  No one survived once he’d decided they were not worthy.  His crew lived in fear.  Some tried to run.  Those that escaped never lasted long.

Today it was slavers.  

Liam Jones had a particular distaste for slavers. They didn’t even get a hearing.  His crew knew to dispatch them without need for judgement.   But today something was different.  

“Captain,  there’s a woman-”

“A slaver is a slaver.”  he retorted,  “do your duty.”

“Aye, captain,  of course captain. Only... I don’t think she’s a sailor, or a slaver.”

“A slave?”

“Don’t know, captain.”

“Bring her to me.”

The woman had wild dark hair and ratty dress but a spark in her eyes nonetheless.  

“Were you taken against your will?”

“No-” the woman retorted, a flicker of pride in her eyes.

“Then why do you sail with such as them?”

“I had to get away.”

“From whom-”

The woman hesitated-  and Liam raised his eyebrows.  “What’s your name?”

“Milah.”  

He nodded, “I asked you a question, Milah, and you will answer it.” There was a crash from the nearby ship and Milah’s eyes flickered towards it as it began to take on water and list.  Men screamed in the distance and she closed her eyes as the vessel began to sink.  

“From my husband,” she admitted.

“Did he harm you?”

“Not exactly ... We... harm each other.”  He watched her carefully, not speaking.  Waiting for her to continue.  “Please, captain, I have a son.  I hope to go back to him someday and-”  Her words died out.  What had begun as a plea for mercy had the opposite effect on Captain Jones.

“You have a son?”

“Yes... his name is Baelfire.”

“And you abandoned him?”

“He was too young for the trip, too young for-”

In an instant there was a flash of metal and the woman fell, her hands clutching desperately at the wound he’d dealt.  Her blood stained the deck of the ship where so many others had fallen and he turned his back on her.  

“Clean it up-” he called to the crew-

Liam woke with a start, tears streaming down his face freely in the chilly red toned room above the bar.  He slipped out of the bed and threw a t-shirt on against the chill before moving down the stairs, his hands still shaking from the aftershocks of his dreams.  

They were more vivid here, the nightmares.  They all got them, though some were worse than others... these games Hades used to play with his captives and they’d yet to discover how to make them stop.

He’d give anything to make them stop.  

He poured himself a glass of water that he didn’t drink,  just clinging to the glass like a lifeline.   There was the sound of a key turning in the lock and Milah slipped into the bar, carrying an armful of papers that she’d brought home.  She locked the door behind her and turned,  starting a little when she saw him.  

“Liam... I told you I’d be late. I thought you’d be aslee-”  she stopped speaking as she got closer and saw the way he clutched at the glass.  She dropped the papers on the bar and went to him, his arms opening unthinkingly to receive her.  

“Was it Killian again?” she asked quietly.  

“And you,  this time.”  

“I’m sorry, love.  We’ll find a way to stop them.  Hades is gone now, there has to be a way to stop them-”  

“We could just leave.” Liam said quietly.  “Killian’s safe topside again,  Hades is vanquished.  We could just move on.”

“We could-” Milah said carefully, “Is that what you want?”

Liam shrugged and kissed the top of her hair.  “We’ve done so much here,   helped so many.  I feel a coward to even suggest yielding before the battle’s won.”

“You’re not a coward, Liam.”  She was quiet for a moment and then she looked up. “I have a surprise for you.”  

“Do you?” he asked.

“No one else knows yet, so for tonight it can just be our secret.”  

Liam’s eyebrows went up and she took his hand, pulling him towards the door.  “Milah, sweetheart, in this state of undress?”

“Consider it a public service,” she teased, not yielding her grip.  They walked down the street hand in hand, Liam looked slightly abashed and Milah poked him in the side, “Liam, you’re wearing pajama pants and a t-shirt.  You’re hardly going to scandalize anyone.”  

His discomfort abated, she led him down the main street.  He froze when they turned a corner and the telephone booth was back on the street corner, shiny as new. She led him to it and his eyes widened.  

“Milah- does it work?”

She nodded, “but... as a public service... I think we should test it.”  

She pushed open the door and handed him the receiver. He took it as she made the connection.  

“Hello, little brother-”

Leave me a note!

[queen-mabs-revenge]

Other days you are quite insufferable. But yes. You certainly liven up eternity.

What can I say? I enjoy keeping a certain former naval officer on his toes. And you, Liam, make the insufferable actually sufferable.

@asktheoriginalliam and @ask-milahthepiratequeen with the brotp you never knew you absolutely needed.

[ask-milahthepiratequeen]

Would you ever have guessed when you were alive that you could love again after Killian, his brother of all people!?

To be honest?

There might have been a century or two where I’d been certain I couldn’t.

And I never met Liam while I was alive, but I could always see how someone could fall for him.

[ooc-ask-myvindictiveside-blog]

Cat and I were discussing whether Milah knows about Liam’s unfinished business and this happened:

The way I see it, if she knows, it was a late night at the bar. She had gotten into another fight. But this was different. He could always tell when she was fighting because she was seriously upset instead of fighting because that is how she went through life and now it's how she goes through death. This was a genuinely upset kind of fight.

So, in spite of his better judgement, he lets her stay and get cleaned up. They get to talking. They always get to talking when it is late and they are the only two left in the place.

She was feeling really down about having left Bae. He finally gets the important detail from her. It is Bae's 100th birthday.

She admits that she was thinking, and she hates herself for it, but she was thinking about how he has probably died (oh if you only knew the truth) and since they haven't found him in the Underworld he probably moved on.

And she is furious with herself for being upset by that.

Because she doesn't want him trapped in this place.

But if she can't make amends with him somehow, she doubts she will ever be able to move on.

So, Liam listens to her for a while, pouring them both drinks, listening to her talk about Bae, and about how guilty she still feels about leaving, and how she feels like she traded his happiness for her own.

Finally, Liam comes out with "At least you didn't trade someone's life for yours."

That makes her sit right up and listen because Liam doesn't talk about his Unfinished Business. Ever.

So, slowly, haltingly, completely convinced she will hate him for it (convinced he will deserve her hatred,) he tells her the story that no one else knows. If it distracts her from her own pain and guilt, that is enough reason for him to tell it.

And she surprises him by /not/ hating him for it.

Although she does say that it was a very Pirate thing to do. Which he isn't thrilled with, but it could be so much worse.

He deserves so much worse.

And he tried to tell her that, tried to make her see. This was unforgivable. Why couldn't she see that.

But she doesn't. Instead she asked one very simple question. "How old were you?"

She knows, or close enough, but she isn't asking the question for her own knowledge.

He was seventeen, and Killian was fourteen (too young to join the navy, but they lied about their ages so they could get in.)

"And you still managed to get your brother and yourself out of slavery?"

Liam had never actually used that word about it. He used servitude, indentured, anything to make is sound a little better. He couldn't have explained why, but it was there. Maybe it was a holdover of trying to keep Killian's spirits up.

Make things sound a little brighter, a little better than they really are.

It makes him a great storyteller.

"I... I traded their lives for our freedom," he said hollowly.

"Well, seeing as they were the ones preventing your freedom in the first place, they were the right lives to trade."

That stopped him short because he had always blamed Brennan for that, never their subsequent captains or crew. (If he could have traded Brennan's life for their freedom he would have done so in a heartbeat. He wouldn't have even ended up in the Underworld for it.) There were things he blamed those other men for, pretty cruelties mostly, but his and Killian's servitude had always felt like Brennan's doing.

Maybe that had been easier, saving all of that hatred for a man who wasn't their, who never told them what to do. Killian was suited to roiling anger seething beneath the surface. Liam was not, so he had long pushed away any thought of blaming the captains and crew for his captivity.

"You really think that?" he asked. His voice sounded almost pleading, even to his own ears, almost like a twelve year old waking to find himself suddenly father and brother to Killian.

He hated that he needed her to think that so badly. It wasn't like they were even friends, not really, (not yet.) She was just a regular who he was growing accustomed to always having around the place. He shouldn't have needed her approval.

But he did. Oh, how he did.

"If there is one thing the perspective of death has taught me, it is laying blame on the right people. I'm much better at that than I used to be." For a moment her smile went brittle, like the tiniest thing could break it. Because what she didn't mention is that death has taught her to be more skilled at blaming herself. But then the moment passed and her focus was on him again.

"You amazing, insane man, of course I really think so. What kind of lunatic would say no, you should stay in slavery and not take your chance at freedom? Even, or maybe especially, at the expense of your captors."

They don't talk about it again. Some days he wants to forget they ever talked about it. Some days, worse in some ways, he thinks she might be right. Maybe it wasn't the worst thing in the world that he saved his brother, even that way.

But he doesn't dwell on that. Some tiny part of him knows, if he dwells on that, if he comes completely to terms with what he did, or if he dares to accept it, he will be able to move on.

That is the goal. Eventually. But it is nearly closing time at the Rabbit Hole and Milah is smashing a chair over some guy's head and he has so many other things on his mind that old wrongs. Perhaps tomorrow he will try to sort out how he feels about the past, but there is life enough here, of a sort, at least for today.

[vaxilfan]

MiLiam Advent Day 4: White Christmas

[justmilah]

Headcanon - Milah’s Bluntness and Liam’s Blue Sweater

Milah is blunt, let’s be real. If she doesn’t like something she will let the person know. That’s not always a good thing, but at least people know that when she gives a compliment she means it.

Taking my idea that Milah and Liam shared an epic bromance in the Underworld (because how could they not) he was often the one who witnessed Milah’s...particular flavor of commentary. The blue sweater he wore was often the cause. Not because she didn’t like it. She really, really did.

The first time he wore it she did a double take. “Damn, Jones. That sweater works for you.” She pointed out it brought out his eyes nicely and where had he been hiding those arms of his? It’s obviously her favorite thing he wears.

(And of course, one day his brother is safe and Milah is suddenly gone. He doesn’t know exactly what happened except that she never came back. So he wears her favorite sweater.)

[asktheoriginalliam-blog]

Alright @ask-milahthepiratequeen, we can stay here until... 

@ask--killianjones​? What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be alive.

[asktheoriginalliam-blog]

Of course she misses Killian. And of course she kisses you senseless when you talk like a pirate. It's the closest she's ever going to get to kissing Killian again. We all know you're never going to live up to the epic love story that Killian had with Milah but at least she can still pretend...

I’m not a fool, malevolent shade. I know she misses Killian. And I know that what I have to offer is far less exciting than running away with a pirate. 

But I also know Milah. I know that our friendship means too much to her for her to simply take me as a replacement for what she cannot have. I know she deserves far more credit that you give her. Do not make the mistake of doing her that dishonor again in my hearing.

[asktheoriginalliam-blog]

@ask--killianjones ... I... Did you truly mean what you said? About Emma being your future? Please tell me you did. 

I kissed Milah. 

Well, she kissed me and I... I know she was your love and the last thing either of us would ever want is to hurt you. But we became friends in the long years in this place. I don’t think either of us meant... I fell for her so slowly I didn’t even notice it happening.

For once in my life and death I want something and by some miracle she wants me too and I... I don’t think I could yield her, not even for you.

Well, Killian? Say something. Rail at me for betraying you or say you understand. Say something.

[gusenitsaa]

Still trying to break @justmilah​ in chat… Which honestly has become a new hobby of mine. This time with MiLiam.  @lenfaz​  @queen-mabs-revenge​   Again slightly cleaned up when clarification was necessary but left mostly in rambling form.  

ask–killianjones: also why would they even HAVE a hospital (in the underworld)

ask-milahthepiratequeen: Because it’s Fake Storybrooke and Hades wants his lady to have it all xD (That and I’m sure some of Hades’ irony involves doctors failing to save their patients every day.)

ask–killianjones:  That’s where they go,  the souls lost to the river.  One moment swirling water and the next a too red hospital room which they’ll never see. For some reason the doctors always try,  but no one in the green tinged beds ever survives the night.

Killian hears of the green tinged beds, after Milah-

Once Emma heals him he asks her if they can go there, just to see.

Just to find out if maybe…

Liam had overheard their conversation and follows without a word,  letting out a sharp breath when he sees her.  She’s there, in one of the doomed green beds. The doctors tell him they’ll do their best but no one ever survives in this ward. He takes her hand and it surprises killian at first, but only for a moment.

Because of course.  Of course they had found one another.

Killian Jones can count on one hand the number of times he’s seen his brother cry.

The first time was when he was so young he didn’t remember much.  The only real memory he had of his mother’s passing was Liam’s tears

The second was the day his father left, angry, bitter tears that lasted for only a brief time before a mask came down and there were no more tears.  

Not until one evening when Killian had sassed Captain Silver particularly badly. Liam had begged to take the lashes for Killian, sworn it wouldn’t happen again.  Silver refused and as the lashes came down Killian wasn’t sure what hurt more, the bite of leather or the tears pouring down Liam’s face.

And now here, in this red tinged world,  gathered around a bed with green sheets.  His former lover pale and still and his brother clinging to her hand with tears burning in the corner of his eyes.

Emma is watching them both from the doorway,  she’s hesitating and she catches Killian’s eye.  "It might not work.“

“It might” he replies.

“Then we have to try.”

Liam looks up then, clinging to the hope in their voices. “What might work?”

“True love’s kiss”  Emma replied, watching him carefully.  Before that day she’d never seen a mans face both fall and light up at the same time.

“Please little brother.” Liam begged,  “I know you’ve found love again but you loved her once.  If there’s a chance-  you must try.”

There’s a desperation in his voice,  the tears that had burned in his eyes a moment ago now falling freely.  

“She didn’t mean me, Liam.“

For a moment Liam is frozen, staring at Killian as though he were speaking a language only vaguely familiar.  "What-  Killian she’s your-”

“She was.   But Liam you’ve been down here 300 years together.  You’re her hope now.”

“Will you despise me, little brother? I tried-”

“Only if you hesitate,” Killian interrupted.  The weight of command in Killian’s tone was unfamiliar to Liam but he obeyed, tightening his grip on her hand as he returned to her side.  

“Please” he whispered under his breath,  a secret between himself and her. "Please don’t leave me.“  He leaned over her, pressing his lips to hers with a hesitation that was a  desperate fear.  He’d never told her,  and now it might be too late.

The wave of light burned away the red glow of the room and when it faded the sheets were bright white and she was kissing him back, her arms thrown around his neck desperately.  "I should have told you,” she whispered, when he pulled away, “I should have told you a century ago.”

“Tell me now”

She grinned and snacked the back of his head lightly.  "I love you, you utterly insufferable git!“

Emma and Killin had retreated from the room to give them some privacy and Killian leaned against the wall,  his head falling back against the wall with a dull thud.

"You okay Killian?”

“They’re still kissing aren’t they,” he replies tersely.

“Yep,” Emma can hardly hide the smile on her face, but she tries.  

“It’s true love,” he continues.    

“Apparently so,” Emma replied,  her eyes shining with amusement.

“It’s still weird!”  Killian shot out and Emma outright laughed at his flustered expression.

“You want me to tell you when it’s safe to go back in?” Emma asked,  kissing him on the cheek.  

“Please?”

It wasn’t safe to go in for a very long time.

the end... no, the beginning.

[ask-milahthepiratequeen]

Do you miss Killian?

Of course I do. I don’t think there’s a day that's gone by where I don’t. Even when he was here--

Don’t misunderstand. I am happy he has found love again. Liam is the choice I make now. But Killian came to me at a time I didn’t realize how desperately I’d needed him.

A part of me will always belong to him. So of course I will always miss him.

And yet...with the way things are now, I don’t know that I would change how things had ended. In small ways, perhaps, but would even that have altered his course from where he is now?

I guess...many of you little mice seem to see things through the eyes of my captain and his Swan. So allow me to form a slightly flawed analogy that might get this across more effectively for some.

Killian was my Milah. Liam is my Emma.

[asktheoriginalliam-blog]

AU: Heh, you're cute when you're being devious ;)

Milah certainly seems to agree with you.

[ask-milahthepiratequeen]

What is your favorite thing about Liam?

How can I choose just one when I have a list?

A lot of it are silly little things. Like how he’ll speak like a pirate, horribly, because he thinks it’ll make me smile. Or how he doesn’t mind taking cues from me in certain situations instead of barging forth with the ‘final say.’ Or how when I’m on a mimosa kick and orange juice is running low, I know he’s held a bottle or two back for me over the years.

And...the fact that he’s seen the worst of me and yet gets this look of awed disbelief that I chose him. In those moments I think maybe I’m not as horrible as I believe.

[asktheoriginalliam-blog]

OOC: For the sake of brevity, and because so many of the characters involved don’t have rp accounts, this is the brief account of Liam’s attempt to move on with Milah, until it get’s interupted. I ran it by Milah’s mun to get her approval Milah’s actions. It isn’t all that complicated, really.

Liam, with Milah at his side, confessed what he had done to them. Milah had to (got to?) punch Silver to keep him from getting ideas of how to react to the news. Liam would have allowed him to come along, but Milah informed him in no uncertain terms that, since he purchased two kids, his unfinished business probably ran a lot deeper than the secret of how he died, so he wasn’t invited to join them and would have to find his own way. Liam, Milah, and the rest of the crew, minus Silver, head down to the cave where most people move on, where a boat is waiting to take them to the other side. Which brings us to: