sea of love

"You have no clue what you’re asking for, Killian, and I don’t think you’ll like my answer." Elsa said finally, in her tone the first hint of sincerity since they’d started talking. She breathed in slowly. They were so close she could feel their breath mingle, and her chest rose to meet his as she inhaled. They’d never had this much chemistry before, not even while stripped naked. Even though there was a threat in his words, she sensed a game in their interplay, and that relaxed her guard. Maybe she could come back to her target another night…or…"What would you do if I asked you to help me kill a man?" She kept her tone carefully light, casual, and let the edge of her lip curl upwards.

Taken aback by her words, Killian scrutinized her with a hard gaze. "You're joking." But she wasn't. He could tell. And suddenly, something finally clicked - the extremely odd behavior, the sneakiness, the undeniable fact that she was here to kill a man, since she'd said it herself. Elsa was acting just like Killian was. Like she had something to hide. Like she was on a mission. He didn't believe it - could she be...? That would be too crazy a coincidence, and yet... "You're not joking, are you?" He licked his lips, a dark smirk spreading across his features. If she was who he suspected, he doubted she'd tell him right then and there. Then again, she had just taken a huge risk with that offer... Perhaps he didn't know her as well as he thought. Or at all. "I'd ask, who are we killing?"

  Elsa breathed out slowly as he caught her wrist, turning around to face him with impatience clear in her eyes. She’d snapped men’s arms for doing less to her, but she’d be a fool to attempt anything with Killian now. For one thing, it would completely expose her own fighting skills, and for another, she could feel in his grip that he wasn’t exactly lacking in training. Elsa may not have been what she seemed, but neither was Killian. She met his eyes with a defiant gaze, and stepped in closer. She didn’t want to draw attention them; the agency would burn her if this target became suspicious due to her fuck up. “It’s just like your vows all over again,” she said with a cold smirk. “‘I’d follow you anywhere, together we’re so much stronger, blah blah blah’ - but what I have to do tonight? If I let you ‘face it’ with me? You’d just be a handicap.”

Killian narrowed his eyes, lips pursed as he took her words in, the icy look on her delicate features. This was not the woman he'd married, he knew that already, but he wasn't sure who this even was. If her name was even Elsa. It always seemed a unique name for a dull girl, but now, even if it wasn't her name, it suited this woman far more. He was intrigued - and his target for the night had changed. His agency would understand. If not... He knew how to survive on the run, he'd done it before. "Trust me, love," he pulled her closer to him, noses almost touching as he looked down at her. "I'll be much more than just a handicap to you if you don't agree to this."

Elsa drew a  short breath and looked away, snatching her arm from his grip. It seemed Killian was not as stupid as the man she thought she’d married - which annoyed her, seeing as she was usually great at picking out the perfect cover. But this one? There was something deeper here. “Maybe the danger is that if my lover catches you here, he’ll kill you.” She practically spat the words out, knowing he would simply brush them aside as more lies. He had to look of a bloodhound onto a scent - or an agent onto a lead…Elsa pressed her lips gently together. “Is that a threat?” She asked, mildly, raising an eyebrow. “Or are you in some dangerous situation yourself? Got yourself into some trouble? Trust me, honey, I can handle it.” She glanced back out into the room, instantly latching on to her target - who was paying his bar tab and preparing to leave. “Fuck.” She cursed, under her breath, and made to push past Killian. “Listen, I’ve got to go. I’ll - explain later.”

  "I'll take my chances," Killian almost hissed at her. He wasn't leaving here until he got the truth out of her. Elsa and his target in the same place - it couldn't have just been a coincidence. And even if it was, he had to make sure it wouldn't happen again. If his cover ended up dead, it wouldn't look good for him. "Somehow I'm not convinced." He tried to follow her gaze, and then moved to follow her, reaching out to grab her wrist again. "Oh, no, no, love. You're not going anywhere without me. Whatever it is can wait - or we can face it together. After all, isn't that what marriage is all about?" he smirked.

Elsa’s eyes narrowed slightly, taking in his measure as he questioned her with a thoroughness (and expertise) that suggested much more than a cheating husband. As Killian stepped forward, boxing her in, her body went on instant alert. The way he moved now - it was familiar to her. It was…graceful, honed, predatory. She wouldn’t allow herself to be trapped by it, or tense; instead Elsa made herself lounge back against the wall, letting her eyes gleam with a flirtatious air. It seemed attempting a distraction was her best route. “Maybe it’s not drugs I’m addicted to at all, love,” she told him, a smirk blossoming on her lips. Elsa reached out a hand  and laid it on his chest, blatantly showing off her ringless finger. “Maybe we’re here for the same reason, husband dearest, and I just can’t help myself.”

Killian's brows furrowed at her sudden change in demeanor. From alert and on guard to casual and... seductive. He knew this tactic, he knew it very well. Sometimes, he even let it work. But not this time. Elsa was hiding something, something big, just as he was, and they were both trying to figure out what it was. He had to get there first. "Not so fast, my darling wife," he said, grabbing her wrist with two fingers and plucking her hand off of him. "You're not here to fuck me. You're here doing something dangerous. You said it yourself. For the record, I'm not the only one in danger here. It's in your best interest to tell me what's going on."

Her eyebrow darted up, an instinctual reaction to the unfamiliar sound of a curse on Killian’s lips. She kind of liked the way his voice wrapped around the word. But her expression instantly soured at his words - mouth pressing into a thin line. Yeah, so the cover she’d concocted was dreadfully boring and definitely no super star in the sack - and it was that girl Killian was cheating on - but Elsa couldn’t help but feel offended, anyway. She let out a short, angry breath. “You have no clue what I could do for your needs, honey, if I thought you could reciprocate.”

Killian almost took a step back at her words, eyes wide with shock. This was not the woman he'd married. This was... Much, much better. But he still needed to know what was going on. "Wh..." He shook his head. There was no time for distractions. "You're an addict, you say? Then tell me, what's your poison? Is it heroin? I see no track marks. Meth? You're not that crazy. Coke? You'd be more fun if that were the case. Pills? Well, it'd explain how bland you are, but I still can't see it." Killian narrowed dark eyes at her, taking a step towards her to close her into the corner. "What are you covering up, love?"

Elsa sighed, eyes darting away for a moment before focusing back on Killian. He wasn’t acting like himself, that was clear - not that Elsa was sure she really knew anything about Killian. If he was as dull as she’d thought him to be, they wouldn’t have this problem in the first place. “Yes.” She said finally, and drew in her bottom lip in, worrying at it with her teeth and trying to look vulnerable. “That’s it, I’m an add -” She tensed as he grasped her wrist, fighting instincts which urged her to flip him over. This situation demanded more delicacy. Elsa’s eyes flickered down to his hand, and her eyebrows raised sharply. “And what exactly are you doing here? Meeting some girlfriend who doesn’t know you’re married?”

"You're a wha—" Killian's eyes went wide at her admission, though his gut stirred unpleasantly as if to warn him not to believe it. He glanced down at his hand as she did, sighing at his mistake. "Fuck—" He released her arm, jaw clenching. Well, cheating was a better explanation than "hello, I'm an assassin, nice to meet you." Killian groaned a little and looked away. He didn't want to hurt her, but maybe he wouldn't - she was, after all, acting quite strange. "Perhaps. A man has needs, Elsa. Needs you don't satisfy."

"Well fuck me, you’re feeling nosy." Elsa said, barely bothering to speak under her breath. She was exhausted, and her important mission was being ruined by this man she hated playing stepford wife too. This day was not going her way. But she summoned up her training and forced a smile anyway. Even if her fake husband was dull and annoying, she couldn’t let him get killed “Please. It’s better if you don’t worry about it, it’s -” She sighed. “It’s dangerous. I’ll explain at home, okay?”

"Wh— since when do you swear?" Killian shook his head, rubbing his temples as he peered around the corner and back at her. "Dangerous? What are you, a secret addict or something? Meeting your dealer? Tell me what's going on. I have a right to know now," he said, reaching for her wrist with his left hand. He gripped it urgently, forgetting that his wedding ring was stored away in his pocket. 

"That’s not important." Elsa glanced back into the room, checking for the presence of her target. She knew she shouldn’t have lost her temper with Killian, but there was no time to play the dutiful housewife right now. And a man like Killian shouldn’t even be in a place like this. What had she done to deserve such a problematic cover? She took a deep breath, sliding her hand (absent of wedding ring) surreptitiously behind her back. “Listen. I need you to act like you don’t know me, and I need you to leave. No questions asked.”

"It's important to me," Killian responded, his own target forgotten in his confusion - there wasn't anything he could do about the guy now that Elsa was around. He made sure the gun hidden in the rear waistband of his pants was covered by his leather jacket as he slowly tugged on the hem of it. "Not until you tell me what's going on here, Elsa."

"Screw you, I don’t knit. And you’re an even bigger idiot than I thought you were if you think I ever did.” Elsa grabbed his arm, dragging him quickly into a corner where they were obscured from view. “I can’t be seen with you right now.”

"What, why—" Killian followed, yanking his arm from her grasp. He was taken aback by the way she spoke to him - it was so unlike the Elsa that he knew, the Elsa he thought he'd known... "What exactly are you doing here?"

"No. This is not happening. You cannot be here.”

"Me? What the bloody hell are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be at one of your knitting clubs or something?"

Killian ‘Hook’ Jones + character traits

Killian Jones + The Look