#oncertwice

it was revealed that merida is in there too and they talked a bit before they formed an alliance

And when she made up her mind to avoid him and risk getting caught, the complete opposite happened as Killian said her name. She froze and sighed inwardly before slowly turning towards the voice. He hadn’t changed at all in the year since she had last seen him. It isn’t until someone joined them and grabbed his hand that Ariel realized something had changed.

A little boy was staring at her, a plushie in his left hand. Aside of being two feet and nine inches tall, he looked exactly like Killian. No room for doubts, Killian was his father. The latter looked at the child fondly and took him in his arms after putting his basket down. He kissed his cheek and finally met her stare.

“So, this is Ryan, my son.”

“Hi there, Ryan. My name is Ariel. Can you give me a kiss?” She offered her cheek and Killian came closer so his son would peck her cheek. She kissed the boy back and stroked his little fist. “God, he’s gorgeous,” she whispered as if the little boy could understand her.

“Tell me about it, he always attracts the ladies,” Killian chuckled and kissed his son’s temple. “And he’s only two.”

“Two? How come I’ve-”

“I’d rather have this conversation somewhere else,” he almost snapped at her before sighing. “I’m sorry, Ariel. Would you like a cup of coffee? I have to get this little buddy home for his nap.”

“No!” Ryan reacted at the infamous word. He put his little hands on Killian’s cheek and mouth and giggled when his father pretended to bite his tiny fingers. The pair were so adorable that Ariel didn’t want to bother their cute moment.

She agreed in coming to his place, though, too many questions popping in her head. If his son was two, he had already been born when she got to know Killian, and seeing how the latter loved his child, it was weird to think he wouldn’t want to talk about him. There was something wrong, hence the reason he wanted to talk with her elsewhere.

Ariel didn’t know much about him and her step sister’s relationship though. They dated for a few months and broke up without anyone knowing the details. It wasn’t her business but now was the chance to learn more about it. When it came to her crush, curiosity always got the best of her, even if he might be with someone already.

They finished the rest of their errands together, Ryan pushing the basket on its wheels, Killian ignoring his son’s protests when he refused to buy him what he wanted and Ariel buying the sweets, unable to resist the puppy eyes.

Once they were done, Ariel followed them, smiling at the sight of a sleepy boy in Killian’s arms. She grabbed his bag when he looked for his keys as they reached his building.

“You can put our bags on the kitchen table,” he whispered when they entered his apartment. “I’m going to put him to bed. I’ll be right back.”

Just as Killian disappeared down the hallway, Ariel looked around and headed towards several framed pictures on the wall. They were all about Ryan; either he was with his father or with elderly people, Ariel guessed they must be Killian’s adoptive parents from Ireland. Finally, she saw a picture of Killian and his brother, it was stuck to the fridge with drawings pinned underneath. She then returned to the table as if she never peeked at all.

After a few minutes Killian returned, picked up his grocery bag and started putting things away in the cupboard and fridge. “Please, sit down. What would you like to drink?”

“A cup of tea would be fine, thank you.” A few moments later, he was pouring tea in their mugs and sat in front of her. “Your apartment didn’t change much, except for all the toys around,” she chuckled.

“And every time I gather all of them in one place, a little tornado called Ryan ruins all my efforts in a matter of seconds,” Killian shook his head and sipped his tea. “I apologize for snapping at you earlier, I didn’t mean to sound so rude.”

“It’s no problem,” she assured him with a smile. “I was just surprised.”

He looked down at his mug, his thumbs slowly stroking it and nodded before letting out a deep sigh. “I may be paranoid because he’s only two but… I don’t want him to hear anything about what happened.” He paused and raised his head to meet her gaze. “I didn’t know I had a child until my ex, the girl I dated before Veronica, came one day and handed me Ryan. He was only a few months old. She told me she couldn’t take care of him, that she was sorry and then she left.

I was standing in the hallway, a baby wrapped in a blanket in my arms, and panicked. I didn’t know what to do, I was so shocked. But then, when I looked at him, his gorgeous blue eyes were staring back and… he smiled at me when I spoke. I stroked his little fist and when his hand wrapped around my finger, I just… God, I can never forget that moment,” Killian finished his speech in a voice, thick with emotion.

“That’s terrible. How can she abandon her child like that?”

“I have no idea, nor do I intend to know,” he said firmly before looking behind him where his son’s bedroom was. “He’s… He’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

Ariel smiled at the soft tone in his voice, she could feel the unconditional love he had for his little boy. She ran her fingers through her red hair and sipped her tea.

“You never mentioned him. Did Veronica know about him?”

“I didn’t tell her at first,” he turned around and looked down at his mug. “And when I did… Well, it was one of the reasons why we broke up.”

She widened her eyes at his words, did it mean her step sister didn’t approve of him having a child? Ariel never thought she’d react that way, not that she was particularly close with her anyway.

“What about you, though? And your family, how are they all doing?” She realized he was changing the subject, she understood it wasn’t easy to be the only one talking.

“I just graduated from Law school but other than that, everyone’s doing great, thanks. There’s just…” Ariel paused and hesitated. “Well, I haven’t heard from Veronica ever since you two ended things. Though I know she still keeps tabs with everyone else, I wonder why.”

“I don’t.”

She jerked her head at him, frowning in confusion. What did he mean by that? How could he know when the last time he saw her step sister was their break-up?

“What do you mean?”

Killian broke their eye contact and let out a sigh. He scratched his ear and she remembered he used to do that when he was either nervous or embarrassed. “Killian?”  He looked up, clenching his jaw.

“Veronica and I didn’t break up just because I had a child. The other reason was that I liked someone else.”

“What does it have to do with-” She stopped talking when he looked up. Everything was falling into place; of course her step sister wouldn’t want to keep contact with her.

She could feel her heart beating furiously in her chest when she realized he liked her all this time. She looked down for a second, her face flushing until she raised her head, forgetting that he was probably waiting for her to say something.

“I had no idea,” she whispered as if she didn’t trust her voice.

“Of course,” he nodded and her heart ached at the sight of his smile, which didn’t quite reach his eyes and seemed tinged with self-loathing. “I’m not expecting anything, just so you know. I just wanted you to know the truth.”

It was her turn to nod. She covered her hand with his and there he was with his fake smile. She entwined their fingers together, waiting for his reaction. Killian met her gaze for a few seconds until he mirrored her smile and squeezed her hand. “When?”

“Ever since we met each other.” Her face broke into a shy smile while his thumb stroked her hand. He shifted in his seat and removed his hand, staring at her with a more serious face.

“You must understand though Ariel, Ryan will always come first.”