#csjj

——

Emma was cold, so cold that she couldn’t stop shaking despite her best efforts. Tensing only made it worse, but she just couldn’t relax either. She cursed herself under her breath, knowing she shouldn’t give in but desperate for the rest she knew she’d never find in such a state.

“Hook?” she whispered, padding over to where he lay apart from the rest, half hoping he would already be asleep.

“Hm?” He turned toward her once more, the smirk returning to his face and burning a hole right through her.

Emma wondered if the embarrassment that set fire to her cheeks would be enough to warm her, but she’d already gained his attention.

“Did you have a change of heart then, love?” Hook questioned. “Are you ready to warm up to me? Or with me, I should say.”

“Nevermind,” Emma rolled her eyes and stepped away from him in annoyance, hoping he couldn’t see her shivering.

“Swan—”

“No.”

“Swan, please look at me,” he pleaded, more softly than she’d have expected. She turned toward him impatiently, ready to go off on him if necessary, but found a gentle look in his eyes and let him continue.

“I may be a bit brash when it comes to making my interest known, Emma, but I assure you I am nothing if not a gentleman. Neverland is a cruel place and I would not wish to make it any more so. If we are to share warmth in a strictly practical manner, so be it.” He waved her over to him, his hooked arm outstretched in invitation to serve as her pillow. “You need rest, and I won’t let you freeze to death in your sleep before we rescue your boy.”

Emma approached him with caution, hesitating before she sat and turned her back to him as she rested her head on his arm. She wondered how he could sleep in that leather duster of his, but as he held her close, pressing his chest flush against her back but making a point to turn his hips away from her, and draped the thick material of the coat over her as well, she realized just how comfortable it actually was. She wouldn’t admit to the sudden and surprising sense of calm that washed over her as she settled next to him, but in the unexplainable safety, it didn’t take long before she was sound asleep.

——

Though it was still dark when she awoke, Emma felt as refreshed as if she’d had a full night’s sleep, a feeling and a feat she hadn’t achieved in a very long time. She huffed out a breath with a roll of her eyes when she realized she’d been pinned by Hook’s other arm which curled loosely around her middle. He must have turned in his sleep, somehow gently enough to not wake her. Her instincts said to shove him away, but he had been decent enough to respect her boundaries in his offer. And, after all, she was much warmer this way, which was the whole point of moving closer together.

He suddenly shifted in his sleep again, and Emma gasped when she felt his clothed warmth brush against her denim-clad ass. Wait, was he actually hard?! Before she could stop herself, Emma let out an involuntary moan when he rubbed against her again and she immediately froze, wide-eyed and praying he didn’t hear her as all the heat they’d shared travelled south, save for that which reddened her cheeks. After a moment had passed without a reaction from him, she allowed herself to relax again, only to be suddenly pulled closer to him.

“Sounds like you liked that, Swan?” Hook remarked and rolled his hips ever so slightly. She could sense the shit-eating grin returning to his smug face.

Her eyes fluttered closed for a moment as he did it again before she responded, “Please, you couldn’t handle it,” and returned the motion, surprising him with the unexpected reciprocation.

“I do love a challenge. But tell me something, love,” he said, his hand traveling down towards her waistband, passing over the zipper and slipping between her thighs as his lips hovered over her neck and his hot breath seared her flesh, “can you handle staying quiet?” He lifted her leg and draped it over his own, giving himself the space to cup her through her jeans. “Everyone else is still asleep, and in any case it’s still too dark to journey on.” He placed a kiss just below her ear and continued, his voice a low growl just above a whisper, “Just say the word, I can help you ease your mind for a while.” The corner of his lips twitched upward as he teasingly flexed his fingers against her and added, “And the ache you might be feeling, if that moan were any indication.”

Emma silently cursed herself for letting that sound escape from her lips, and once more for what she knew she was about to give in to so quickly. He was right, she could use a distraction from her racing mind now that she was more awake again, and he was a damn tempting one. Her breath hitched when he caught her earlobe between his teeth and tugged, eliciting another soft moan from deep within her, and her decision was made.

“Yes.”

“Yes what, love?” he asked, nosing down her neck until his mouth latched onto the space between it and her shoulder, nipping and sucking her flesh and laving over it with his tongue.

“Yes, I can stay quiet.” Her hand reached up to find purchase in his hair, encouraging him to continue his claim of her collarbone. “Yes, I want you to ease my… well, everything.” He chuckled at that, the vibration of his laughter against her skin sending a chill down her spine.

“As you wish.” Hook wasted no time popping the button on Emma’s jeans, pulling down the zipper, and slipping his hand beneath the denim. “Oh?” He said, his eyebrow raised in wonder at the soft, thin material covering his goal. He rubbed his fingers over it, feeling her arousal soaking through it as he teased her. “You certainly do.” Hook pushed her panties aside and sank two fingers inside her.

“Ohh fuck,” Emma choked back another moan, the sinful sounds as he plunged them into her dripping core again and again filling the air instead. His rings bit into her skin with every thrust, the cool metal a jarring, yet welcome counter to the hot friction they were creating. She rocked her hips to meet him each time, and his breathing grew ragged as he rutted himself against the curve of her ass in synchrony. As Emma’s movements grew frantic, Hook’s slowed to a stop, and Emma groaned in protest when he removed his fingers from inside her, dragging them through her folds to brush her clit for just a moment.

“Not yet, Swan.” Hook carefully slipped his arm out from beneath her head and gently turned her towards himself so that she lay on her back. Getting to his knees and stripping off his duster, he knelt between her spread legs. “I’m a fan of every part of you, and I intend to show you just how much of a fan I am.” 

He slipped his hooked arm beneath her tank only to find his access to her breasts blocked by another bit of material. Lifting the top to reveal the offending garment, he looped his prosthetic beneath it, the tip of the hook scraping against her skin as he did, and tugged. He noted that the small scrap of fabric differed from the corsets he was used to removing from women he’d bedded in the past but assumed it would be no less easy to snap than the laces he’d encountered on them.

“Hey!” Emma caught his wrist before he could succeed in his efforts. “I need this! Let me just….” She sat up for a moment to take off her tank top and undo the clasps at her back so she could toss her bra aside. “There.”

“Apologies, love,” Hook said, “and thank you.” He guided her back down with his hand just beneath her now exposed breast, thumbing at her tightening nipple as his mouth tended to the other. “Bloody magnificent, these are,” he mumbled against her as he teased them to stiff peaks. Emma tried to relax as the throbbing between her legs became almost unbearable and she longed for more friction to soothe it.

When he was at last satisfied, Hook released her nipple from his mouth with a resounding pop, flicked it a few times with the curve of his hook for good measure, and gave the same treatment to the other, relishing the way she squirmed beneath him as he nibbled and sucked and kneaded.

Emma gasped when the cold air rushed over her wet skin as Hook finished with her breasts and slid his body lower between her legs, trailing sloppy kisses down her abdomen along the way until he reached the top of her jeans.

Glancing up at her, he kept his eyes on hers as he gently tucked his fingers and hook just under the edge of her waistband.

“May I?” he asked, waiting for her approval to proceed.

“Yes,” she answered, “god, yes.” He grinned at that and very slowly tugged her jeans down her legs, distracted by the view of the place where his hand had been, covered only by the thin strip of fabric that had grown damp beneath his touch, pausing for a moment to slip off her boots when he reached them before removing the denim completely.

“You,” Hook said as he took in the sight of her almost completely naked form, “are absolutely stunning, Swan.” He scanned her body a moment longer, watching the blush spread over her cheeks and across her chest as she flushed pink under his desirous scrutiny. He nosed along the creases of her thighs and up the material that hid his goal before taking the top hem between his teeth, pulling it down until it hung from his mouth and letting it fall beside her on the blanket beneath them.

Fuck, that was hot, Emma thought to herself as she watched him lower his head and raise his hungry gaze to hers. The smirk on his face made her wonder for a moment if she had actually said it out loud.

Any concern she had about her comment was swept away as he gently flattened his tongue against her slick flesh, never breaking eye contact as he slowly licked an inquisitive stripe along her folds, dipping it between them just enough to pass over her clit before departing. The shiver that passed through her whole body at the contact was enough to make him do it twice more before diving in as deep as he could and mapping her inner walls with his tongue. He mumbled soft praises as he worked her—“Delicious…. Exquisite…. Divine….”—without ever fully pulling away to say them, too lost in the taste of her, as if he couldn’t get enough and didn’t want to lose even a drop of her essence. Soon he found the spot that made her hips buck and her thighs pull together, pressing against the sides of his head, and he reintroduced his fingers inside her as he licked at the spot relentlessly, knowing she grew ever closer to her release.

His scruff raked against her skin as her legs locked around him, her heels digging into his back, and she knew the raw streaks of raised red would burn later as they continued through Neverland on foot. But with the way he was making her feel in that moment, she figured it would be worth it.

The shaking overtook her suddenly and her back arched as he gave a particularly strong suck on her clit, and she came as he continued to fuck her with his hand and mouth. He reached up to silence her by pressing the curve of his hook to her lips as an overwhelmed cry caught in her throat. Taking the prosthetic into her mouth, she gently bit down on it and laved over it with her tongue to distract herself from the way he tended to her dripping core in kind. He lapped at her entrance until her waves of pleasure receded and she relaxed against the blanket, their chests heaving in an attempt to catch their breaths. He crawled over her body, hovering above her looking absolutely wrecked before he’d even been touched, his chin glistening with her release and his eyes blown wide with insatiable desire.

Their mouths crashed together and he laced his fingers through her golden locks while her hands anchored in the hair at the nape of his neck. She tasted herself on him as she traced his lips with her tongue and opened hers in invitation for his further exploration.

“You, my wanton lass, are far from quiet.” Hook attacked Emma’s lips with his own, her false rebuttal lost before it could be voiced as his tongue dipped between them and pulled her bottom lip between his teeth upon its retreat.

Emma hadn’t seen him reach for the panties he’d discarded next to her earlier until he pulled away and sat back on his haunches as he replaced his tongue with the wet scrap of material.

“Any other time, I’d love nothing more than to hear how I make you feel, but given the circumstances…,” he trailed off with a glance in the direction of their slumbering company not too far away, before returning his gaze to Emma with a smirk. “Luckily, there are ways to assist you.” He leaned over her once more to whisper in her ear, “Perhaps another time we can meet on my ship, sail far from the shore, just the two of us, and I’ll make you produce all manner of sounds for only me to hear. Hm?”

If he were expecting an answer, Emma couldn’t give him one. She told herself this was a one-time thing, just a way to blow off some steam and clear her head before the next long stretch of their journey through this land of mysterious horrors she wished she’d never have had to encounter like this. She wished Neverland could have stayed a story, though she wouldn’t admit out loud that she did prefer this real version of the fearsome Captain Hook.

Well, that and she now had a mouthful of cotton.

Emma watched as he unlaced his trousers, and she found herself unable to look away when he took himself in hand and passed the tip of his cock along her folds, aligning himself with her entrance before he stopped.

“Swan?” Hook said, bringing her out of her distracted stupor and calling her attention to his searching eyes, all of his bravado gone and replaced with a serious, patient tone. “Emma, are you sure?”

She hadn’t expected him to ask again, and that consideration for her wishes she hadn’t often encountered, paired with his rare use of her first name, only increased her desire to say yes. Unable to actually speak it, she held his gaze, hoping hers looked just as soft, and gently brushed her fingers down his cheek before she trailed them down his arms and gripped his hips with an encouraging nod.

Emma bit down hard on her makeshift gag and her head lolled back as he slowly sheathed himself inside her, the stretch burning in the best way with every inch as her body responded to his entrance with slick heat until he was fully seated within her. The feel of her around him took his breath away, and Hook braced himself on his elbows at either side of her as his head fell forward next to hers and he panted over her shoulder.

“Gods, you’re fucking perfect,” Hook whispered in her ear through gritted teeth. He finally began to move, and she wrapped her arms around him, holding him close as he pulled back and slid home again and again. She pivoted her hips to meet him with each thrust, feeling a euphoric fullness every time she took him in deep that left her softly whimpering in protest upon his retreats.

It was too much and not enough and just right all at once. Emma’s hands slipped beneath Hook’s shirt and she raked her nails up and down his back before digging them into his flesh as she scrabbled for purchase to steady herself beneath him, and to draw him ever closer to her.

Her mouth grew dry as the material between her teeth absorbed what little moisture wasn’t being expelled from her body in arousal and sweat. She wanted to kiss him, but even if she could, his mouth was otherwise engaged, sucking a mark into the side of her neck before tonguing at the hollow of her throat on its way to brand her collarbone. She couldn’t be bothered to care if anyone would see the evidence of his claim, not while he was giving her nothing but pleasure as his hips snapped with purpose.

“Come for me, Emma.” Hook’s fingers returned to her clit to circle and tease it as they both neared their releases. “Let me feel you come on my cock.” He groaned louder than he meant to when her hands cupped his ass through his trousers. “I won’t last much longer, love.”

He almost lost it when she gripped him tighter and nodded with a downward glance before meeting and holding his gaze.

“Fuck, Emma,” he breathed, a lightheadedness overtaking him as everything inside him tensed and he slammed into her with abandon. Looping his hook under the edge of her panties that peeked out from between her lips, he tugged the material to remove it without wasting time to toss it aside, letting it drape over his prosthetic as he filled her mouth with his tongue instead in a hot slide.

“Killian,” she moaned in a whisper against his eager lips, finally able to speak to some extent as he ravished both her mouth and her aching core.

“What?” He said in breathless surprise, unsure of whether he’d heard her correctly or imagined it with his own pulse pounding in his head, his hungry and frantic eyes flitting from side to side as they searched hers. A soft smile spread across his face. That was the first word she’d spoken, not even his more colorful moniker she’d been accustomed to using, but—

“Killian,” she called him by his name again, feeling that same dizzy high he felt as she rocked forward into him. “Yes. Yes.”

Something inside him snapped, and he muffled his pleasured cries against her lips as he poured himself inside her, relentlessly thumbing at her clit to bring her to release. A rush of heat spread through her body as his cock pulsed inside her, and her walls fluttered around him as she rose and fell with him.

He pulled back for a moment and caught the thick whitish fluid that dripped from her core with the tip of his cock before pushing it deeper inside her with a desperate grunt until they both finally slowed their movements to a stop.

“That was—” Hook, the man full of innuendos, fell speechless as he carefully held himself above her, propped up on his elbows, and let his forehead drop to hers as he panted with hot breath over her lips.

A one-time thing, Emma wanted so badly to say, but she had trouble even believing herself then. The way he made her feel, the way she knew he felt, the way they felt together. None of it felt like a one-time thing. She knew what those were, but this right here with him, this could be so much more. And it both thrilled and terrified her.

“I know,” she said instead, trying desperately to process everything that had just happened, and everything she might have wished would happen in the future, if they’d have a future at all. Would they?

She subtly shook her head in an attempt to clear it and pulled him to her for another kiss before she lifted her panties off his hook and pressed her other hand to his chest where it was exposed by the low neckline of his shirt and vest, following his body with hers as she guided him back so she could sit upright. Flattening the material over her palm, she passed it between her folds and stared into the depths of his ocean blue eyes as she rubbed the damp cotton over his wet cock, making his jaw drop as his breath hitched in his throat.

“We can’t leave a mess, now can we?” Emma smirked. Pumping him with her covered hand, she took his cock into her mouth, and he hissed when she passed her tongue over the tip and groaned around him at the taste as it leaked a bit more of his release.

“Gods, Emma,” Hook stuttered as he leaned back on his hand for support before he stilled her by catching her wrist with his hook, and she released him with a soft pop and a mischievous smirk as she looked up at him. “Keep doing that, love, and there’s going to be a much more obvious tell.”

“Fine,” she conceded with a sigh, getting to her feet and slipping on her wrecked panties with a taunting wiggle of her hips as she pulled them up under the weight of his entranced gaze until he realized he’d been staring and cast his eyes toward the ground. She’d probably feel it later, the sweltering heat of the Neverland sun bound to leave her feeling stickier than its induced sweat already would, but knowing he’d know that his effects on her would be keeping her wet long after they’d finished their more enjoyable activities… well, her own potential discomfort would be a cross she’d be willing to bear without regret.

She continued to get dressed, and he gave her the decency of turning his back to her as she did and as he righted himself as well, an admittedly unnecessary gesture after the rather indecent act they’d just committed together, but oddly endearing nonetheless.

“Here, love,” Hook picked up his duster and held it open in offering for her to wear, but she waved him off with a smile.

“I’m okay now, thanks. It suits you better anyway. And besides,” Emma winked at him, “I think I prefer sharing it.”

Hook swirled it around himself with a dramatic flair to put it on, tucked his hand and hook in the pockets, and reached out to enwrap Emma in the heavy leather with him, eliciting a giggle as he held her close.

“ Your son?”  She spits the words with enough venom of her own to kill any number of Shakespeare protagonists.  Neal looks taken aback, cut off in his diatribe.

“Tell me, Neal Cassidy, how is he your son?  Because he’s barely my son.”  She can see Neal gear up for a response and heads him off at the pass.  “Tell me then, Neal.  What’s Henry’s favorite color?  What’s his favorite food?  What’s the thing he loves most?  The thing he wants most?  His greatest fear?”

“Don’t give me that.”  Neal’s voice is cold.  “It’s not like I’ve had time to get to know him.”  He leans forward, his eyes even colder than his voice.  “You’re not being fair.  I’ve barely met him.”

  Emma thinks of endless days on a ship carried by a shadow, of weeks and months in Storybrooke since they got back.

“So don’t give me the goddamn third degree.”  Neal’s voice is grating on her already frayed nerves and she shudders, but he doesn’t notice.  “That’s what this time is for.  Getting to know each other, becoming a family again.”

Weeks and months.  Weeks and months since they returned from Neverland, weeks and months during which just being around Neal has felt nothing but wrong, weeks and months after which he can’t tell her what her son’s favorite color is.

What his son’s favorite color is.

  Emma shakes her head.  Neal always was great with excuses.

“And now you swoop in here with your fucking libido on full display for the whole town to see and ruin everything .  Before I even have a chance of bonding with my son.”

His voice is so loud.

Neal is practically yelling and the head of every single patron in the diner is ducked .  Even Ruby’s.

  Emma squares her shoulders.  Thinks of Killian, thinks of how careful he is with her, how patient, how thoughtful.  How he lets her breathe and gives her space and always lets her be herself.  How he likes her for who she is, not in spite of it.

Thinks of how light and happy she is with him, how much joy it brings.

  But she’s not telling Neal any of that.

There is only one thing she can say to him, because she sure as hell is not going to take the bait and discuss anything involving the word ‘libido’, period.

No, there is only one point to make here.  She leans forward.  Gets into his space for a change.  

“Then tell me, Neal,” she says, voice low and cutting and calm , “how it is that after all this time you still know nothing about Henry?”  Her eyes flash.  “When Killian can answer every single one of the questions I asked you?  Every one?”

Neal gasps.

Emma gets up.

“I’m really sorry,” she says in the direction of Granny, who is scrubbing the grill so hard she’s stripping metal.  “I’m sorry you all had to hear this.”  She looks at Ruby, who shrugs, and then back at Neal, who looks positively apoplectic.  

“We’re done here,” she says.  “Neal, think long and hard how you want to play the rest of this.  Henry is not a bargaining chip.”  She slams her hand down on the table.  “Get it?”

She walks out without looking back, which may be the single most difficult thing she’s ever done, and makes a beeline to the Jolly Roger as if pulled by strings.  

  Killian is checking the wheel as she stumbles up the gangplank, takes one look at her and simply opens his arms.

Emma starts to cry.

And he lets her, just stands there with his arms around her and lets her, and then he says it’s OK in that soft voice full of understanding and it just makes her sob harder.

Minutes pass.  They feel like lifetimes.  When she finally pulls away and looks up her eyelids feel leaden, and his returning gaze is calm, but worried.

“What happened?”  he says.

Emma shrugs.  “I talked to Neal.  It did not go well.”  With a groan she leans her forehead against his chest. 

He bends down to kiss her cheek and and whispers, “Tell me.”

But she can’t.  He’s liable to go and defend her honor or something equally sweet and chivalrous and useless.

“It’s not important,” she says instead.  “Let’s just say I made it clear that you---”  she takes a deep breath---  “that we---”

Her voice trails off.  Silence falls.

Then he lifts her head gently by the chin and forces her to look at him.

“Are you uncertain, love?”  His eyes are large and sad.  “Are you unsure about me?”

The way he says it takes her breath away for a moment and she suddenly realizes that she has never been more sure of anything in her life.  How can she possibly doubt him when he’s looking at her like that?  

She shakes her head and smiles.  

“No,” she says.  “I’m sure.”

And she reaches up to kiss him, to show him beyond any shadow of a doubt just how certain she is.  She feels his sigh of relief through her entire body.

.

An hour later finds her on the wooden platform of the playground castle, watching as Henry walks towards her.  His book bag looks heavy and his cheeks are red from the icy wind.  Emma’s toes are already frozen.

Henry throws his backpack on the platform and pulls himself up to sit next to Emma and looks at her for a long time.

“I heard,” he finally says.

Emma’s body temperature drops several degrees.  “Heard what?”

“There was a scene at the diner?  With Neal?”

‘Neal’.  Not ‘Dad’.  Emma shudders.

“I’m really sorry,” she says.  “I shouldn’t have met him in public.”  She cringes.  “What did you hear?”

“Just that he was not being nice.  That he yelled at you.”  Henry frowns.  “That’s not OK.”

Emma wants to hug him, hard.

“I’m so sorry,” she says instead.  “None of this was about you, you know.”

He looks at her with those eyes that see everything.

“It was a little bit about me,” he says, like he already knows.  “It had to be.”

Emma doesn’t know what to say to that.  She swallows hard, but nothing comes.

Henry crooks his head as he studies her face.  “Do you want him to leave?”

It breaks Emma’s heart, the matter-of-fact way he says it.  Like it’s up to her.

“Henry,” she says, and takes his hands.  “This is not about me.  Neal is your father.  And if you want him to stay, he stays.  If you want him in your life, he will be in your life.  It’s up to you.  You and nobody else.”

Henry nods in that earnest, serious way he has.

“But you’re not together,” he finally says.

Emma shakes her head.  “No, Henry.”  Her voice is raspy.  “We are not together.  We are not going to be together.”

She squeezes his hands.

“I’m sorry we can’t be a family,” she says.  “Not in the traditional sense.  But I would never keep you two apart.”

Henry nods again.  Then he grins a small, mischievous grin.

“What about Killian?”  His eyes flash as his grin grows wider and Emma cringes.  Cringes but doesn’t let go of Henry’s hands and doesn’t avert her gaze.  Just nods.

“Good,” Henry says, and Emma feels a small glimmer of hope. 

“Good?”  She asks.

“Yeah,” Henry answers.  “He makes you happy.  You make him happy.  It’s good.”

And it feels like a metric ton of worry falls away from Emma’s shoulders.   She smiles.

“How did you get to be so smart?”  she says, and finally pulls him into a hug.

“I got that from my grandparents, of course,” Henry deadpans, and they both laugh out loud.

.

That night Emma doesn’t sneak.

She walks into Granny’s diner holding Killian’s hand, and they have dinner in front of everyone.  Henry comes in halfway through and immediately slides onto Killian’s side of the booth and asks for sailing lessons.  Emma watches Killian’s eyes grow very bright as he tells Henry that he is welcome aboard the Jolly any time, as long as it’s OK with Emma.

Emma answers that learning to sail might be fun for all of them and Killian beams at her.  It makes her so happy to see both of them across from her, smiling in unison.  

Henry steals two onion rings from Killian’s plate on his way out the door and Killian’s smile becomes a smirk as he mumbles like mother like son and waggles his eyebrows at her.

Emma laughs out loud.

  After dinner they both walk to the Jolly together for all the world to see, Killian’s arm around her shoulders and her arm around his waist.  He drops the occasional kiss in her hair and she feels warmer than she has in years.

When they get to his cabin she takes off her boots and sits down cross-legged on his bed as he stokes the small oven and pulls out the rum.

“Are you all right, love?” He says as he hands her a glass.  “Or was it a bit much?”

She shakes her head and smiles.  

“It feels good to be out in the open,” she says.  “With you.”

“It does.”  

He sits down next to her, clinks their glasses together, his eyes dark.  Not for the first time Emma thinks about the strain her need for secrecy and silence put on him.  Puts on him still.  How she keeps asking him to march to the beat of her drum, and he always does.

They drink, and Emma holds her glass up for a refill.

“I’m sorry,” she says as he pours.

“For what?”  His voice is light, but she can sense apprehension.

“Always going by what I need,” she says.  “Never asking what you need.”

He smiles.  It’s wistful, but genuine.  “You had a lot to deal with, Emma,” he says and then leans forward to brush his lips past hers.  “It was your turn to need things.”

  The way he understands her.  The way he doesn’t push and just makes room for her life inside of his.  She will change that.  From now on, she will make room for him, inside her own life.  They will make a life together.

  “I love you,” she says, because it’s high time she told him.

His entire face lights up like a beacon and he puts down his glass, cups her face with his right hand, rubs his thumb across her cheek.

And then he leans forward and kisses her, long and slow and deep.

When he pulls back he leans his forehead against hers.

“I am so happy to hear it,” he whispers.  “I love you so much.”

  And Emma gets on her knees to hug him, presses herself against him, and as his arms wrap around her she knows, knows , finally, finally knows, that she is home.

.

.

.

Forgotten Modernity - Killian is the one who goes to the Wish Realm in 6x10

Tiny Commands - A fluffy moment of Daddy!Killian with Hope

In My Dreams - Emma keeps seeing a certain blue-eyed man in her dreams

To a New Adventure - A Captain Swan proposal with a twist (CSJJ 2017)

What’s Missing? - A fun frenemies, Coffee Shop AU (CSSV 2017)

The bachelor life wasn’t as glamorous as I’d hoped. It involved a lot of sitting around, eating and walking. A lot of walks. And while that was fun in the first years, it quickly became boring. There was more life in the house before; I think he gets lonely now. My pet used to laugh more, play more, go out more, now he mostly spends his free time with me or settles in front of the piano for hours when he has to work. My pet’s name is Killian, Killian Jones, he’s a songwriter. I’m Roger, the one with the spots. He took me home when I was just a pup and we’ve been inseparable since. But we’ve been all the other has for so long that I couldn’t see why he shouldn’t have a mate to keep him company. He is a caring and handsome pet, as far as I’m aware, who deserves a worthy mate.

The window seat where Roger lounged while Killian played the piano overlooked the busy Main Street within walking distance of the Storybrooke Park. That was the park which every dog owner in the town frequented, due to the vast green areas and the large lake in its middle. Turning his head to peer out the window, Roger took the opportunity to analyse the humans meandering up and down the street.

I’m not the best judge of human beauty but I should be able to find exactly what he needs.

Strolling down the street, with her nose stuck in a book and completely at the mercy of her Afghan Hound’s sense of navigation, in the direction of the store that always smelled like old things, appeared Belle French. She always gave Roger great belly rubs and a treat or two.

She’d be good, she’s kind, she likes books, just like Killian. And she’s always good to me.

The sound of a bell distracted Roger from his perusal in time to see a man take the book from Belle’s face with a teasing smile at which she laughed. 

That man is an unusual breed, very unusual.

With a kiss, the couple entered the shop.

Ugh, surely not. She has a mate already.

Walking in the opposite direction and completely ignoring the store, appeared the ice cream shop owner - on a summer’s day such as this, it was surprising for her to find the time to walk her French Bulldog. 

Hmm, maybe, she could warm up to us.

Just then, her little dog let out the most high-pitched bark that echoed through the apartment and caused Killian to miss his key, letting out a frustrated sigh before starting all over.

Nope, they won’t do.

Quickly gathering Roger’s attention was the clicking of the Mayor’s heels on the sidewalk.

Now, there’s a fancy breed.

By her side, matching her steps was her Poodle who didn’t usually pay much attention to anyone when they met at the park despite the tempting friendship between Regina and Killian.

Perhaps, a little too fancy. Hmm, too fancy, indeed.

Right behind her, Violet came running out of the ice cream store with her Golden Retriever pup jumping at her legs trying to get a lick of her frozen treat.

Too young.

On the opposite side of the road, the owner of the local diner and bed and breakfast carried her Cavalier King Charles Spaniel in her arms as the animal was already tired of its morning walk.

Too old.

With a frustrated groan, Roger laid his head on the window sill.

It’s a real problem. No one is good enough.

Just then, with the sun shining on her golden hair, came strolling the local sheriff. It was one of her days off so she had her Dalmatian on her leash as they walked. Now, that’s more like it! The most beautiful creature on four legs! 

Thinking of his pet once more, Roger took a gander at the woman.

Oh, she’s lovely too! She’ll do quite nicely. This is it! I won’t find another pair like that in this life or the next!

Soon, they were walking out of his sight, in the direction that Roger knew led to the park. He went there daily, he knew it like the back of his paw.

The park is the perfect place for them to meet. Now, all I need is to get his attention as fast as possible. It is still too early but he can never resist a good begging. I’m not losing our opportunity.

The sounds of scratching nails on wood and of canine whining were able to lift Killian’s attention from the piano keys. He turned to see Roger at the door holding his leash in his mouth with an expectant look.

“It’s still too early, Rog, let me work for a bit longer.”

Killian’s attention was back on the piano until he felt a weight on his thigh. Looking down, his dog was ignoring his request and doing his best imploring eyes.

“Don’t look at me like that. You are too spoiled, I can’t do everything you want, you know?”

That didn’t stop the new symphony of whines and Roger had gotten very good at begging.

“Fine!” Killian sighed in defeat as he stood from the bench and stretched to the victorious yipping of his dog. “I suppose it’s not today that either of us learned our lesson.”

As soon as he put on his jacket, Roger was already dropping the leash in his hand and, at its closing click, he began dragging Killian through the open door, barely giving him time to grab his book.

“Calm down, boy, I can’t keep up.”

Come on, Killian, they are getting away!

Killian stopped resisting his dog’s pulls once he noticed that his insistence wasn’t stopping. His neighbours already knew of the enthusiastic behaviour of his dog and there was no use trying to salvage any kind of reputation he probably had. The lonely songwriter had already caused enough rumours to be interesting anymore. 

Entering the park, Roger slowed his stride and Killian relaxed a little, trying to enjoy the walk. They always settled in the same spot and Roger knew it well, they’d end up there at some point, once his dog finally found what he seemed so eager to find.

Where are they? I’m sure they came here, what dog doesn’t want to come to the park?

A barking sound caught his attention but it wasn’t them, it was Regina Mills’ poodle standing at attention at the new passing company and rejecting it right away. Killian barely had time to wave at the Mayor before Roger was pulling at him again.

“Slow down, what’s gotten into you?”

Roger stopped once more at the bridge where Ingrid and her dog sharing an ice cream caught his attention. He didn’t waste more than a second before turning around to keep looking, almost tripping Killian and ignoring his surprised yelp.

Maybe I missed them. Maybe they didn’t come to the park after all.

Before he could think of giving up, he saw them. Sitting on a bench, close to their usual spot, sharing the same shade they always did when they came to the park - it was almost like fate.

This is perfect! But I can’t depend on Killian, he doesn’t have it in him anymore. He’ll sit by the lake and he’ll read his book and that’ll be it. It's all up to me!

In a much calmer stride, Roger nudged Killian in the direction of their spot, walking in front of the two females on the bench. The Dalmatian with her head on her owner’s lap and the woman with one hand on her phone and the other on the dog’s head. As they walked, Roger could swear the woman looked at them and the dog too.

Now, all I need is to get their attention. Come on, think! Ah-ha!

With a playful yip, Roger mouthed the book from Killian’s hands, lowering his body in a teasing position and shaking his posterior hoping his human would play along.

“Roger, you silly boy, what’s gotten into you?”

With a glance at the bench, he could see the blonde watching him and his owner but quickly turned to her phone again. In a juvenile strut, Roger dropped the book on the bench, right next to the human. That caused both humans to look at each other for the most fleeting of seconds. Killian was sure she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.

With a sigh, Killian rose from the ground and crouched in front of his dog.

“What are you up to, boy? You’re not usually this playful.”

The girl, Killian, talk to her!

But when Roger tried to indicate the woman to his human, she was gone. Her dog along with her. Where could they have gone? He tried to catch their scent while Killian stored his book in his jeans’ back pocket.

“Alright, how about we find a different spot today?” Killian asked as he clicked the leash back into its place. But before he could do anything else, the dog had already caught a glimpse of the duo and he was once again being pulled, this time in the direction of the lake.

I’m not giving up. They have to meet each other, no matter what.

In an impulsive move, Roger was able to catch up to them and tangle his leash around the two humans’ legs causing both of them to yelp in surprise.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I don’t-”

“Get off me, what are you doing?”

With a pull, Roger managed to unbalance both humans leaving them stumbling towards the lake. The woman’s Dalmatian tried to grab her owner’s sweater with her mouth but with their momentum it was no use and both humans tumbled into the lake. In the midst of the sputtering and coughing, they emerged completely soaked. On dry land, each dog seemed concerned with their own humans, the female completely ignoring Roger.

“I’m terribly sorry. Please, let me help you.” 

Always the gentleman, Killian tried offering his hand to the woman who, in turn, swatted it away with a scowl in her face. 

“I think you’ve done enough.”

“I’m really sorry, I don’t know what’s gotten into my dog, he doesn’t usually do stuff like this.”

Perhaps, it was too much. 

Only half-listening to his excuses, the woman ran a hand through her wet hair to get it off her face and stood up, the water hitting them by the knees. He got distracted taking the time to properly watch her and well, he had been right before - the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. It seemed that she hadn’t fully looked at him before either and now, Killian noticed with just a hint of pride, she was taking proper notice of him. With a shake of her head, she finally took stock of what was happening and with a look of shock, removed a dripping phone from her back pocket.

“My phone!”

That seemed to remind Killian of the contents of his own back pocket and after a small struggle, he removed his ruined book.

“My book!”

The humans looked at the other’s destroyed possessions and then at each other and began to laugh. 

Perhaps not!

In between the laughter, the sheriff finally accepted Killian’s help and their shoes squished when they struggled their way out.

“I’m really sorry, please allow me to pay for the damages. It was my dog’s fault after all.”

When she smiled at his apology, Killian almost lost his balance at its beauty and felt instantly ridiculous over that notion.

“No, it’s okay, I have insurance exactly for these situations. You’d be surprised how often it happens.” There was a shy smile and she tucked wet strands behind her ear. “I’m sorry about your book.”

“It’s alright, this was my third time reading it, I know how it ends.” 

They both laughed once more and Roger was sure this was the most Killian had laughed in such a short time. The humans’ eyes shone as they looked at each other and even the other Dalmatian approached in a much better mood than before.

“I’m Killian, Killian Jones.” He introduced himself, only then realising that they hadn’t actually released the other’s hands and he knew that the tips of his ears were impossibly red now - and maybe she found it endearing if the blush covering her cheeks meant something.

“I’m Emma Swan. It’s a pleasure to meet you, though I could have done without the lake.”

They were entering a new record of laughs and there seemed to be a whole slew of unspoken words in their eyes. Roger nudged their still touching hands, finally making them let go with only the smallest hint of regret in their eyes. The animal recognised the nervous tick of his owner when the now-free hand found his ear before acknowledging his dog’s.

“This old rascal is Roger.” Killian’s eyes left Emma’s and settled on his dog only for a few moments, before meeting hers once again with an intensity he hadn’t thought himself capable of.

Emma seemed to have forgotten where she was, so lost in his blue eyes, before almost jumping when her dog licked her hand. “Right, this is Anita.” Her eyes landed on her dog looking for a reprieve from the tension of the moment as she absentmindedly petted her head.

“If I can’t pay for the damages, let me buy you some coffee? Or anything you like to drink.”

Oh, I’ve never seen that shade on his cheeks, this is working better than I expected!

“I like hot chocolate with cinnamon, even in the summer.” Her breathy chuckle was accompanied by her own red shade of her cheeks.

“That sounds delightful.” Roger was sure she hadn’t seen such a brilliant smile on his owner’s face in a long time.

“I don’t think anyone would serve us like this.” Emma gestured towards her clothes, taking the opportunity to break eye contact, at least so that she could normalise her breathing. “I think she’d threaten us with the crossbow I know she keeps behind the counter.”

Killian’s laugh could have powered a whole town and maybe she should present the idea to the Mayor or some other ridiculous thing. Emma was trying not to let her ego explode at the thought of being able to make him laugh like that.

“Oh, I’m sure she would. She is a scary woman. Perhaps later? With less lake?” His face would crack if he didn’t stop smiling but it was impossible. She had a plant stuck in her hair and her eyes fluttered when he removed it.

Emma cleared her throat. She hadn’t felt like this in a long time. “Later, yeah, good call!”

Killian laughed, already unable to imagine being away from her even if for a few hours. A happy yelp caught his attention and he turned to see Roger and Anita playing as if they’d known each other for years instead of minutes.

“It seems they are getting along.” He nodded towards the dogs with a smile.

“Maybe he did it on purpose.” Her hands went inside her back pockets and she barely acknowledged her ruined phone when Killian was smiling at her like that. “We should get going, I feel like there’s a whole ecosystem living in my boot.”

Killian really needed to stop laughing so much but it was out of his control at this point and Emma joined when he removed a water lily from behind his neck.

“Aye, I think that’s for the best. Allow me to accompany you?”

“Sure. Plus, I don’t think we’ll be able to separate them any time soon.”

It remained unsaid the fact that it would be close to impossible for the two of them to separate but Killian understood it and agreed.

They walked side by side out of the park and down the street, ignoring the looks of their neighbours at their less than presentable ensemble. The dogs strolled ahead of them, attention only on the other, while their owners got to know each other - the usual first meeting conversation. By the time they reached the sidewalk leading to her loft, Killian was sure he was halfway in love with Emma Swan. And it seemed to be mutual.

“See you at 6?”

“Aye, I’ll be the devilishly handsome owner of a mischievous dog.”

Her laugh and consequent blushing accompanied her to her door and both dog and owner shared the same look of longing watching the door close on their new friends. Roger leaned against Killian’s legs with a short whine and he sighed before petting his dog’s head.

“I know, Rog, she’s amazing, isn’t she?”

She really is... her pet is great too.

“Let’s go home. We have ladies to impress.”

After that first outing came many more and Granny already had their beverages prepared as soon as they stepped through the door by the second week. At the end of the third week, Emma took the plunge and asked Killian out on a date, to a restaurant, with more formal wear than their trusted leather jackets and even Roger donned a bowtie on his collar. Both females were charmed and Emma’s red blush almost matched the rose he offered when he called her stunning.

That first date ended with their first kiss and this time, Killian was the one to invite her. They kept accepting each other’s invites and six weeks later, they knew they loved each other.

It took another month before they finally told each other and their matching smiles filled their cozy spot in the park. The dogs didn’t have such a concept but they too had deemed the other their partner for life.

Five months after their splashy meeting, they moved in together. It was a good thing Emma was the Sheriff because it took almost the entire day shift to move Killian’s piano down the street before it found its new home by the loft’s giant window.

Roger had been with Killian for years, heard all manner of tunes but ever since that day, each new song was more beautiful than the other. All an artist needs is a muse and Killian had his Swan.

Their move had come just in time for the announcement that Anita was pregnant. Emma and Killian were shocked but so delighted, they celebrated and that night, both dreamed of a human baby surrounded by spotted puppies. Killian dreamed of a girl, a blonde blue-eyed treasure that was theirs. Emma dreamed of a boy, a dark haired green-eyed blessing to fill their hearts. Neither told the other for both thought it was much too soon.

Both humans had suffered plenty of heartbreaks in their short lives. Killian suffered the loss of his family until only he remained and the loss of who he had considered to have been the love of his life. His heart had been closed for so long that now, with such love in his life, he was determined not to lose it. The ring - the one that had been his mother’s, the one that Liam had passed on to him, the one that he planned to use to propose to Emma - had been hiding in his sock drawer for a few weeks, waiting to be used.

Emma didn’t have a family. She had grown up alone and her heart had been protected by mile-high walls that had been built year after year. Walls that one man had been able to break only to break her heart and the rubble didn’t make for good construction. The next one to come into her life had given her a lot, a home in this seaside town and love, but he had left too. Her heart wasn’t broken this time because he had not intended to leave her, there had been an accident, but her heart was tender now. She had taken a leap of faith and Killian’s love helped mend her fragile heart. Finding the ring had all but restored it.

For 3 weeks, Emma waited for the proposal. She was sure it was coming but every day she waited, she grew more nervous. He surely had a plan. She just needed to be patient.

By the end of the 3rd week, Emma found that her patience had paid off. She had just arrived home from work when she saw that the cause of the dim light were the dozens of candles lit all around the coffee table where Killian had arranged their dinner. 

“David offered to look after the dogs. Those candles wouldn’t survive around Roger.”

She chuckled, completely endeared, and the evening was perfect even if by the time they started the first course, Killian had to get up to turn on the lights because the candles were starting to die out. Despite knowing what was coming, Emma was nervous as she ate, especially when Killian’s own nerves were starting to show. When he produced the desert from the kitchen and she saw the ring leaning against the sundae bowl, her vision went blurry. Her heart was beating a mile a minute. He couldn’t get on one knee since they were both sitting on the floor but he made an effort, holding the ring in a slightly shaky hand.

However, sometimes things don’t go according to plan and he had barely finished saying her name and the first verb tense before she all but ran to the bathroom with a hand covering her mouth. Attentive as he naturally was, Killian had followed her.

“I really hope this isn’t your answer, love.” Despite his nervous laughter, he quickly helped keep the hair away from her face and she was soothed by the strokes at her back.

It felt like hours before she could actually reassure him. But she did, after washing her mouth and sitting on the now closed toilet seat. His hands had found hers at her knees and his eyes held all the concerned questions he had and waited for her to answer. 

“This was definitely not my answer.” She hoped her gentle caresses of his cheek made up for the weak tone of her voice. “I’m late and I’m not sure yet but I think there’s more of me to love than what you're proposing to.” She spoke fast and kept her eyes fixed on their hands.

Killian’s exhale was extremely loud in the quiet house. She feared the worst when he removed his hands from hers but looking back, she should have known better.

“In that case,” Killian started, and he was properly on one knee now, holding the ring in his hand. “Emma Swan, will you marry me and hopefully, make us a family?”

Killian was not without fears and not having had a father worthy of taking after, he was afraid of his own role as a father. But, at Emma’s enthusiastic acceptance and fiery kiss, he knew that with his Swan by his side, he could conquer any fears.

Once three pregnancy tests and a thrilling visit to the hospital confirmed that Emma was, in fact, pregnant, time seemed to fly by. Without a family to celebrate with, they decided to marry at City Hall accompanied by David and Mary Margaret - who had become close to family for both of them. Despite their desire for simplicity, Emma was happy to have succumbed to Mary Margaret’s insistence on a white dress, proper photos and a celebratory dinner at Granny’s. The photo album that had come from that event was a more than pleasant result.

In no time at all, the Swan-Jones household was increasing. They both owed much to Ruby Lucas, the local vet and close friend, who had followed the pregnancy and birth of the 15 spotless puppies. They kept all of them. There had been a discussion about it but neither really wanted to leave the future of the pups to chance. They would figure it out. 

The house was full with the yapping of the babies. For 3 weeks since the puppies had been born they had managed it - even with the added stress of the constant calls from Emma’s old colleague who just had to see the puppies and whose number they had quickly blocked. Until the day they came back home from an appointment. They hadn’t spoken for the entire ride home but as soon as the door closed, Killian let out a breath he had surely been holding since he had gotten the news before letting himself lean against the door.

“Twins!”

“I know!”

Emma was pacing. That had caught Roger’s attention and he circled his owners before a new set of yelps brought him back to his family.

“What will we do?”

That question caught Killian’s attention and he quickly left his spot to rush to Emma and hold her hands in a reassuring grip.

“We’ll figure it out, we have done great so far.”

“But the house is so small and now puppies and twins…”

“Then we’ll get a bigger house. Like David and Mary Margaret, with a big yard and lots of room.”

“And a swing and a treehouse, they should have that, right?”

“Of course! Your heart’s desire, Swan, that’s all I want you to have.” Their hands intertwined over her stomach. “Yours and theirs.”

“I love you so much.”

“And I love you.”

Their kiss was everything - sweet, passionate and slightly salty from Emma’s happy tears. 

Soon they would have a Victorian pale-blue house, with a view of the sea, with more rooms than they need and the dogs definitely have their own room, and two toddling babies - a boy and a girl who share their father’s hair and their mother’s eyes. But before that future, they would have to prepare.

“Does this mean we’ll have to move the piano again?”