#matchmaker jolly

She feels torn. Killian had loved Bae, once, and so she had loved him too. But Bae had hurt him badly. And now, he was a threat to what she knew needed to bloom between Killian and Swan. The turmoil she feels is so intense her planks creak with the strain, her sails snapping forcefully, and Killian looks around in concern. Shhh, he soothes her under his breath, We’re alright. He doesn’t understand what she’s stressed about, only able to feel her anxiety but not why. Because this is not Bae. This is not the boy Killian had wanted to become part of his family. This is Neal, and he is an enemy. She can sense Swan’s indecision, her fiery desire for Killian battling against a sort of weary obligation to be with Neal - that Swan even has to think about this choice is bloody ridiculous, by the way, and not just because her Killian is far more beautiful than Neal. Out of respect to the memory of sweet Baelfire, she will not hurt him, but she makes it very clear he’s not welcome around Swan. She just barely tolerates Neal being on board at all, but they are too far from land to “accidentally” tip him overboard without a high risk of drowning him - as much as she dislikes the man he has become and the threat he poses to Killian and Swan’s budding relationship, she prides herself on being too much a lady to do something so heinous. 

And it will be a oneshot. (Probably.) Maybe like 6k ish words? Though that could entirely change depending on what my muse wants haha

Killian’s hand is fiercely tight around the spoke of her wheel when they crest the last wave of the portal, landing into the darkness of Neverland. She can feel the anxiety radiating from him, the thick tension surrounding his uneasy alliance with these strangers only heightening his discomfort. She knows only one of these new people on board - she doesn’t quite recognize him like this, but the ancient evil he still carries with him is something she will never forget.