A season 1 Neverland AU. Emma is still trying to adjust to her new life as Sheriff of Storybrooke and mom to Henry, who still believes everyone in town is a fairytale creature. When she finds a badly beaten, one handed man while patrolling, she’s convinced he’s crazy. He is, after all, rambling about fairies and shadows and crocodiles. But when Henry is suddenly taken by what Emma swears (but can’t believe) was a shadow, the madman in the hospital might be her only hope of getting her son back. Whether he likes it or not.
Rated M
Ao3
Tumblr 1 2 3 4 5
Thank you always @elizabeethan and @the-darkdragonfly for your help with this feral fic <3 <3
*****
Part 6
“Where are we going?” Emma demands as he leads her through the hospital corridors, ignoring the strange and concerned looks thrown their way by staff and patients. He doesn’t answer, back to her, shoulders tense either from pain or to make sure she knows it’s intentional.
Emma sighs. She’s pretty sure she’s going to have to let a lot of things slide today if she’s going to get her son back, letting him be angry with her - and ignoring how he somehow knows the inner workings of the hospital - feels like the least of it.
He stops her outside of what looks like a storage closet, casting a look up and down the hall before trying the door, locked. He sighs in frustration, reaching towards a pocket before obviously remembering he’s not in his own clothes and letting out an annoyed curse. He turns to her then.
“Do you still have the keys?” She shakes her head, having left them behind at the front desk. “Too bad,” he says before turning back to face the door and kicking hard next to the handle with the flat of his sneakered foot.
“What the hell are you doing?” she demands as he moves to kick again. “You’re gonna break your damn leg! Just- hold on,” Emma tells him, reaching into her pocket and finding a once discarded bobby pin.
She gestures for him to step aside, kneeling before the door and trying to remember how to do this without her lock picks. It’s been ages since Neal taught her, the one good thing he left her with - besides Henry. Frowning as the door remains stubbornly locked, she jiggles the wire more aggressively and hears a scoff from above her.
“Give it here,” Killian demands, snatching the barette from her hand and shoving it back into the lock with practiced ease. He jiggles it twice and the door clicks open, not waiting for her as he steps inside and searches the shelves, picking through the labelled bags, tossing some to the floor, opening a few only to discard them with angry huffs and groans. “Where is it?”
“It would help if you told me what we were looking for,” she reminds him and his glare is annoyed.
“My effects.”
“You mean your clothes?”
“And my cutlass.”
“Your what?”
“My sword,” he deadpans like he’s talking to an idiot, as though everyone knows the names for swords and she’s the odd one out here.
“All of that stuff is down at the station.”
“The station?”
Emma sighs. This language barrier is becoming a problem. “The sheriff’s station. You know…” she elaborates when he frowns, “the brig.”
Killian frowns at her and she remembers a foster parent once warning her that her face would stay that way permanently if she didn’t stop. His is nearly there. “Why?”
“Because you attacked me with it.” He’s clearly not satisfied with that answer. “You’d just taken a doctor and me hostage. I hadn’t decided if I was gonna arrest you yet. I thought it was better to keep your sword…” She eyes him suspiciously, “And whatever other weapons I’m starting to assume you probably had on you, somewhere safe.”
“Take me there.”
“I thought you said we didn’t have much time,” Emma reminds him. Clearly getting his clothes back shouldn’t be the main priority right now.
He glares at her. “I thought you said you needed my help.”
“I do,” she sighs, ready to add a ‘but’ to the end of that sentence when Killian steps forward, expression stern and still angry, and she backs down.
“Then I’ll ask that you stop questioning me. This may be your realm, Swan, but Neverland is my domain. So if you want to get your boy back you’ll do what I say, understand? I give orders, you follow them.” She wants to smack him for talking to her like that, for thinking he can just demand that she do whatever he says. But she can’t, because he can. He’s her only shot at saving Henry. She nods. “Good. There are things in my possessions that we’ll need. As well as a few others.”
“Like what?”
He sighs. “What did I say about questioning me?”
It’s a test. She knows it is. And as much as she wants to tell him to go screw himself, she needs his help and challenging him isn’t going to get him to cooperate. “Fine. Let’s go.”
Emma follows him out of the room and is about to tell him where to go when he takes off down a hallway - the right one. He’s only been in this hospital a few days, only travelled from the ER to the back exit and his room to the psych ward and somehow, he has those paths memorised already. She knows because he’s currently leading her towards that same back exit where they’d had their standoff, where she’d betrayed him… The first time. Her track record with this guy isn’t great.
“Hold on,” he says suddenly as they pass the long-term care unit. Emma stops, following his gaze. She can’t tell what he’s focused on. Everything is normal. Patients in sick beds, nurses taking vitals, Mother Superior and two younger nuns handing out small care packages and sitting by bedsides. “I’ve just found something else we’ll need.”
Before she can stop him, he’s marched up to the head nun and Emma runs after him, hoping to stop whatever the hell is about to happen. But Killian comes to a halt just behind the woman, a small, knowing smile crossing his lips before he says, “Blue.”
A season 1 Neverland AU. Emma is still trying to adjust to her new life as Sheriff of Storybrooke and mom to Henry, who still believes everyone in town is a fairytale creature. When she finds a badly beaten, one handed man while patrolling, she’s convinced he’s crazy. He is, after all, rambling about fairies and shadows and crocodiles. But when Henry is suddenly taken by what Emma swears (but can’t believe) was a shadow, the madman in the hospital might be her only hope of getting her son back. Whether he likes it or not.
Rated M
Ao3
Tumblr 1 2 3 4
Listen, I don’t know what’s happening either, but this fic is writing itself right now so here’s another chapter…
Thank you always @elizabeethan and @the-darkdragonfly for your help with this feral fic <3 <3
*****
Part 5
“Sheriff Swan.” Regina walks into her office like she owns the place, not bothering to knock. “Where’s my son?”
“Excuse me?”
“Well he’s not at home so I assume he must have snuck off to do something ill-conceived with you as that seems to always be the case.”
“What are you talking about? I haven’t seen Henry since the weekend.” In fact, he’d told her that they needed to hold off on Operation Cobra because his mom was getting suspicious. She knows though that it’s because he’s mad at her. He has been since she had to tell him she had Killian committed. And he’s been avoiding her. “Are you telling me you don’t know where he is?” Emma demands as Regina’s face grows from smug and annoyed to concerned. “It’s after seven!”
“He didn’t come home from school. I just assumed… He’s probably with a friend.” Emma wants to snap at her. Even when Henry is concerned she can’t back down, needs to be right rather than admit she screwed up and needs help.
“He doesn’t have any friends - at least none his own age,” she reminds the woman, even though it’s painful to say. It’s Regina’s fault Henry never befriended any of the kids at school. How could he, with a terrifying mother who kept him under lock and key? “Did you check his castle?”
“No. I came straight here.”
Emma grabs her keys off the desk. “You go check the park. I’ll go to Granny’s and see if he’s been there.” She may hate the woman, but this is Henry. It seems Regina’s willing to put their mutual distaste aside for this as well since she shockingly agrees and follows her out to her own car.
“Call me if you find him,” the Mayor orders and Emma nods, demanding the same courtesy in return.
She reaches Granny’s quickly, both the owner and Ruby hurrying over to her when she walks in and she realises she must look as worried as she feels. “Have you seen Henry? Is he here?”
Granny shakes her head. “No. But he was here earlier pouring over the storybook and a couple others.”
“Which books?” Knowing her kid, wherever he is it probably has something to do with the damn curse.
“I’m not sure. Kids books from the looks of them. Ruby, you served him.”
Ruby shrugs apologetically. “It was busy. But yeah they looked like regular kids books - fairy tales and stuff. One had a picture of a ship in it. I only remember because he covered it when I came up to him.”
“A ship?” Ruby nods. “Maybe he went down to the docks?”
“Hey Leroy!” Granny calls and the gruff, stout man looks up in annoyance. “You see the Mills boy today?”
“Why would I be hanging around with kids? I ain’t a babysitter.”
“You’re looking for Henry?” David walks over to them, a tray of takeout cups in his hand. “Is he okay?”
“He’s missing. Have you seen him?”
“He came by the animal shelter about an hour ago. Wanted to know if we’d found any crocodiles.”
A season 1 Neverland AU. Emma is still trying to adjust to her new life as Sheriff of Storybrooke and mom to Henry, who still believes everyone in town is a fairytale creature. When she finds a badly beaten, one handed man while patrolling, she’s convinced he’s crazy. He is, after all, rambling about fairies and shadows and crocodiles. But when Henry is suddenly taken by what Emma swears (but can’t believe) was a shadow, the madman in the hospital might be her only hope of getting her son back. Whether he likes it or not.
Rated M
Ao3
Tumblr 1 2 3
Thank you always @elizabeethan and @the-darkdragonfly for your help with this feral fic <3 <3
****
Part 4
It’s still early when Emma makes her way down Main Street towards the pawn shop, most of the town still asleep - except of course her roommate who had been heading to school early every day this week, out of the house by the ungodly hour of seven. She’s not sure she believes her - some excuse about a science fair Henry never mentioned - but she has more important things to deal with this morning. She’ll ask Mary Margaret about it tomorrow.
Making her way past Granny’s, she notices David leaving, nudging the door open with his elbow, a coffee in each hand. He offers her a friendly but guilty smile and Emma nods back at him. She doesn’t have anything against the guy personally; it’s not his fault he broke her friend’s heart. But there’s something to be said about girl code, she reminds herself as she reaches the shop.
She doesn’t notice the glass until it crunches under her boot. Emma looks down, lifting her foot and noticing the shards that line the sidewalk just outside the door. Hand on the doorknob she notices the shattered pane in the window above it, patched up with cardboard and duct tape, and frowns. Another break-in? She double checks that she wore her holster today even though it looks like this happened a few days ago if Gold’s already patched it up. But he didn’t call her to report it and suspicion and intuition prickle at the back of her neck.
The bell above her head lets out a small chime when she enters the shop. “Good morning, Miss Swan,” Gold says, looking up from the ledger in front of him. “To what do I owe the pleasure?” His grin is polite, as always, but she fights the urge to narrow her eyes at him, at the constant hint of sarcasm that always accompanies that smile. There’s a cut above his eyebrow, just barely hidden by his hair falling over it, but noticeable to someone used to looking.
“What happened here?” she asks, shutting the door behind her and crossing the shop cautiously. She can’t put her finger on it but something looks out of place. It’s not as if there’s ever been any real, discernable order to the store, but something just feels… off. She notices an empty display case, the glass missing where the others are locked shut and gives the owner a look she thinks might be a bit too accusatory.
Mr. Gold shrugs. “Local vandals.” His tone is dismissive. “Came in, took a thing or two. Nothing valuable.”
“And you didn’t think to report it?”
“They were teenagers from the high school. I came out of the back and scared them off - they must have thought the shop was empty. I didn’t want to get them into trouble. I’m sure you know better than most how devastating a run in with the law can be at such a young age.”
Emma bites the inside of her cheek at the sympathy mimicked in his tone, the knowing reminder hidden beneath it. “You didn’t have any trouble reporting Ashley when she broke in.”
“Ah, but you weren’t the law then, Sheriff,” he adds with a small, conspiratorial smile. She doesn’t believe him.
“They do that to you?” She nods at the cut on his forehead, bruising visible as he brushes his hair back to touch it, much worse than she originally assumed.
“This? No, no. That was another matter entirely. I was tidying in the back room and forgot my cane in the front of the store. I’m afraid my leg wasn’t up to it,” he explains, patting the leg in question. “I took a fall and hit my head on the desk.” Another lie. She eyes him suspiciously as he feins embarrassment, but it’s not as though she can do anything about it.
“Were you looking for something?” he asks then. Emma raises a brow in confusion and he sweeps a hand out towards the store. “A gift for the boy perhaps? I just got some books in that I think he might enjoy very much.”
Emma shakes her head. “No, um, thanks. I was actually hoping you might be able to help me find someone - or something.”
The corner of Gold’s lips twitch up. “How very cryptic and fascinating,” he muses. “I thought finding people was your specialty, Sheriff.”
A season 1 Neverland AU. Emma is still trying to adjust to her new life as Sheriff of Storybrooke and mom to Henry, who still believes everyone in town is a fairytale creature. When she finds a badly beaten, one handed man while patrolling, she’s convinced he’s crazy. He is, after all, rambling about fairies and shadows and crocodiles. But when Henry is suddenly taken by what Emma swears (but can’t believe) was a shadow, the madman in the hospital might be her only hope of getting her son back. Whether he likes it or not.
Rated M
Ao3
Tumblr 1 2
Thank you @the-darkdragonfly for helping me figure out what the hell is even happening in this fic and thank you @elizabeethan for letting me complain and virtually shout ideas at you <3
***
Part 3
Emma glances up over her phone at the man lying motionless on the hospital bed, wrist firmly secured to the railing with her cuffs. The cuffs that Whale had refused to let her take off him, right before he’d refused to let her leave the hospital while ‘that psycho’ was still in here. Take him to a jail cell or stay here with him; I don’t care. But I’m not taking responsibility for him! the doctor had insisted, rubbing gingerly at his neck, his eyes nearly as crazed as his patient’s had been a moment before.
She’d taken a look at him, the bruising and the dried blood - he needed a hospital, not a cell. And so here she is, nearly three hours later, curled up in an uncomfortable hospital chair, switching between apps on her cell while she waits for this guy to wake up. She could have sworn she saw him move or heard him make a noise but as she watches him still as the dead, she knows it was just wishful thinking. Whatever was in that syringe really did a number on him.
Groaning, Emma looks at her watch. She wonders if she’ll have to spend the night here. Maybe the Sheriff’s station would have been a better idea after all. At least there she could have gone home and taken a nap or at least used the cot Graham had kept in the back. The hardest part had been convincing Henry to go home - even after Regina had shown up and chewed her out for putting her son’s life in danger. Emma hadn’t bothered to explain that she’d explicitly told Henry not to come.
“You let him run wild while there was a violent madman with a knife on the loose?” she’d demanded.
“It was a scalpel-” Emma corrected somewhat under her breath.
Rating: Mature to start with, some later chapters will probably end up being explicit.
Warnings: Abduction, Ransom, Mortal Peril.
Summary: One night, in every corner of every magical realm, every boy aged nine to seventeen disappeared. Not one remained. That was when Pan made himself known to the realms, and from that night the eve of every boy’s ninth birthday meant their disappearance, until finally the realms demanded to know what he wanted to return their children to them. Pan told them he wanted the saviour, and while most realms were confused Snow and David knew what he meant and confessed the role their daughter was supposed to have played in breaking the curse. The realms voted and agreed to Pan’s terms, and Pan stopped taking the realms sons, holding the children he’d currently taken as insurance of their compliance. For the next fifteen years Emma’s birthday wasn’t a celebration, it was another tick on the countdown clock to the end of her freedom. Not that she was ever free in the first place, but to save every male child in the United Realms including her younger brother, Leo… She understood that she had a job to do, and she would do her duty with her head held high. What she didn’t count on was the sparkling blue eyes of the man Pan sends to escort her to Neverland in time for her twenty-first birthday.
Notes: Thanks to the @neverlandnewyear mods for running this event again, and to @kmomof4 for the amazing work you have done bringing this fic up to scratch. Once again, not sorry about the cliff-hanger last week, but there’s some nice stuff in this one to make up for it, among other things and Emma’s time with Pam begins. Link to AO3 is down there somewhere!
As always, let me know if you’d like me to add you to my taglist for future fics :)
Read on AO3: Chapter One | Chapter Two | Chapter Three | Chapter Four | Chapter Five
- - - - -
“Swan, get below, now!” he ordered, but before she could reply, obey, or even think about moving, a piece of his ship knocked her off balance. He was reaching for her as she stumbled, but then a wave had him gripping the helm like his life depended on it and he could do nothing but watch as she was pressed back against the side of the ship and scream as she fell overboard.
“EMMA!” he bellowed, his voice laced with panic.
He didn’t even think as he ripped off his coat, stuffing it down the hatch into his cabin as the sound of her scream cut off abruptly but before she’d even hit the water.
Rating: Mature to start with, some later chapters will probably end up being explicit.
Warnings: Abduction, Ransom, Mortal Peril.
Summary: One night, in every corner of every magical realm, every boy aged nine to seventeen disappeared. Not one remained. That was when Pan made himself known to the realms, and from that night the eve of every boy’s ninth birthday meant their disappearance, until finally the realms demanded to know what he wanted to return their children to them. Pan told them he wanted the saviour, and while most realms were confused Snow and David knew what he meant and confessed the role their daughter was supposed to have played in breaking the curse. The realms voted and agreed to Pan’s terms, and Pan stopped taking the realms sons, holding the children he’d currently taken as insurance of their compliance. For the next fifteen years Emma’s birthday wasn’t a celebration, it was another tick on the countdown clock to the end of her freedom. Not that she was ever free in the first place, but to save every male child in the United Realms including her younger brother, Leo… She understood that she had a job to do, and she would do her duty with her head held high. What she didn’t count on was the sparkling blue eyes of the man Pan sends to escort her to Neverland in time for her twenty-first birthday.
Notes: Thanks to the @neverlandnewyear mods for running this event again, and to @kmomof4 for the amazing work you have done bringing this fic up to scratch. I’m not sorry for last weeks cliffhanger at all, but I’d love to hear what you this about this weeks chapter! Link to AO3 is down there somewhere!
As always, let me know if you’d like me to add you to my taglist for future fics :)
Read on AO3: Chapter One | Chapter Two | Chapter Three | Chapter Four
- - - - -
It was late, and the cabin was dark.
The door crept slowly open with barely a squeak of its well oiled hinges.
The footsteps on the wooden floorboards were barely audible over the swell of the sea around the hull.
The figure navigated around the sloppily discarded clothing and towards the bed where the blankets lay over a sleeping body.
Slowly, quietly, the figure drew a knife from the inside of its cloak, and surveyed the sleeping captain with curiosity.
He leaned over and brought the knife up under the captain’s chin, pointing the dutifully cared for blade at the pirate’s throat.
He would end this insanity once and for all, and he would do it now, while everyone else was asleep. And before anyone realised what had happened, it would all be over.
Rating: Mature to start with, some later chapters will probably end up being explicit.
Warnings: Abduction, Ransom, Mortal Peril.
Summary: One night, in every corner of every magical realm, every boy aged nine to seventeen disappeared. Not one remained. That was when Pan made himself known to the realms, and from that night the eve of every boy’s ninth birthday meant their disappearance, until finally the realms demanded to know what he wanted to return their children to them. Pan told them he wanted the saviour, and while most realms were confused Snow and David knew what he meant and confessed the role their daughter was supposed to have played in breaking the curse. The realms voted and agreed to Pan’s terms, and Pan stopped taking the realms sons, holding the children he’d currently taken as insurance of their compliance. For the next fifteen years Emma’s birthday wasn’t a celebration, it was another tick on the countdown clock to the end of her freedom. Not that she was ever free in the first place, but to save every male child in the United Realms including her younger brother, Leo… She understood that she had a job to do, and she would do her duty with her head held high. What she didn’t count on was the sparkling blue eyes of the man Pan sends to escort her to Neverland in time for her twenty-first birthday.
Notes: A huge, huge thank you to @kmomof4 for betaing this for me, and for being super supportive while I’ve been tearing my hair out over this. Thank you to the @neverlandnewyear mods for running this event again, I have had so much fun writing this! I won’t be posting whole chapters on tumblr because they are so damn long… but there’s a link to the full chapter on AO3!
Rating: Mature to start with, some later chapters will probably end up being explicit.
Warnings: Abduction, Ransom, Mortal Peril.
Summary: One night, in every corner of every magical realm, every boy aged nine to seventeen disappeared. Not one remained. That was when Pan made himself known to the realms, and from that night the eve of every boy’s ninth birthday meant their disappearance, until finally the realms demanded to know what he wanted to return their children to them. Pan told them he wanted the saviour, and while most realms were confused Snow and David knew what he meant and confessed the role their daughter was supposed to have played in breaking the curse. The realms voted and agreed to Pan’s terms, and Pan stopped taking the realms sons, holding the children he’d currently taken as insurance of their compliance.
For the next fifteen years Emma’s birthday wasn’t a celebration, it was another tick on the countdown clock to the end of her freedom. Not that she was ever free in the first place, but to save every male child in the United Realms including her younger brother, Leo… She understood that she had a job to do, and she would do her duty with her head held high. What she didn’t count on was the sparkling blue eyes of the man Pan sends to escort her to Neverland in time for her twenty-first birthday.
Notes: A huge, huge thank you to @kmomof4 for betaing this for me, and for being super supportive while I’ve been tearing my hair out over this. Thank you to the @neverlandnewyear mods for running this event again, I have had so much fun writing this! I won’t be posting whole chapters on tumblr because they are so damn long… but there’s a link to the full chapter on AO3! I know you probably don’t believe at this point, but there is a happy ending, I promise!
As always, let me know if you’d like me to add you to my taglist for future fics :)
Read on AO3: Chapter One | Chapter Two
- - - - -
The next morning, Emma was awoken by a knock on the door. The night before, she’d sat in the library, alone with her thoughts, until the flames had dimmed to embers and then she’d made her way through the dark castle to her chambers. She didn’t feel like she’d had any sleep, but she forced herself to call out and accept the intrusion into her solitude.
Her maid came in wearing a gentle smile as she set the tray on the dressing table and moved to open the drapes as Emma rolled out of bed and saw to business behind the screen before returning to bed and sitting up against the pillows.
“Her majesty thought you might not want to attend breakfast with everyone else this morning,” she said as she brought the tray over to the bed.
Normally, unmarried young ladies were expected to attend breakfast with everyone else. It was only once you were married you had the right to breakfast in bed. She’d never minded having to rise to join the household, but Emma would never get that post-marriage luxury, and apparently Snow realised this concession- just this once- was more than earned.
“Thank you, Delilah,” she said quietly as she surveyed the spread in front of her. She started to pick at it as the maid moved around the room, getting out the items they were going to need to get her ready, checking what was to go in the last trunk. They’d had things packed for weeks, clothes that Snow had custom ordered for her daughter that were more practical than anything Emma tended to wear on a day to day basis.
Thick breeches and tall boots, comfortable shirts that would fit under an over corset that fastened just at the front. Emma was going to have to get used to dressing herself, doing her own hair. Delilah had been giving her lessons for the last couple of months at Emma’s request, too. Tailored jackets that would keep out whatever weather Emma was going to encounter. Layers had been the name of the game; life at sea meant swinging between harsh winds and burning sunshine and they didn’t want her to get caught unprepared. No expense had been spared- Emma would still look more than a commoner, but she would be dressed practically for life on a ship…
After today at least.
Today was another matter entirely. Emma was not looking forward to putting on the dress they’d designed for today.
It wasn’t even in the room yet and Emma could feel the weight of it pressing down on her. The people were going to be lining the streets to see her today and her parents had insisted that she was going to look her best. The only thing she’d be missing was a tiara, there was no point in taking a tiara to Neverland. She wouldn’t be attending any balls there, she was sure.
When Emma had eaten as much as she could, Delilah took the tray away and told Emma her bath would be ready for her. Moving like one facing a firing squad, Emma crossed her room and opened the door to her bathroom. The room was full of scented steam and she lowered herself into the tub with a sigh. She didn’t know what the bathing facilities would be like on the ship so having a good bath now was probably the best idea they’d had. She reclined in the hot water and let her worries seep out with the steam for a moment before Delilah came back in. She washed her body and hair, and stepped into the towel that was held up for her, drying herself quickly and putting on her robe.
In the short time she’d been out of her room, it had transformed into a bustling hive of activity. Final packing took place as she was dressed in the appropriate undergarments before the two largest trunks were whisked from the room. She sat in the chair in front of her mirror and for the last time in her life, she let the servants get to work on her appearance, nodding in agreement at suggestions and turning her head when she was directed.
Emma watched as the exhaustion from her lack of sleep disappeared beneath powders and potions carefully applied to highlight her features. Her hair was dried and curled, twisted and pinned up onto her head. Regal and youthful but with the sea wind taken into account for later, flowers took the place of a tiara, the variety of middlemist that had been created for her birth following the evil queen’s defeat.
From the neck up, she looked every inch the princess she’d been born as, just as her people would expect to see.
They cleared everything away, the items she would be taking with her packed into the last case that remained and then it, too, was taken out of the room to join the rest on the cart that Roland was taking down to the docks.
Most of the maids left, and when the door opened again, her mother was standing there, dressed demurely but regally. She would not be making the trip down to the docks. Behind her, the dress Emma was to wear was being carried by three maids.
Emma swallowed and stood up, dipping her head as she dipped her knees in deference to her queen.
“You look beautiful, darling,” Snow said softly, her hand ghosting across Emma’s cheek. She wanted to turn into it, to let the emotions out and sob and beg her mother not to make her go.
But she didn’t. The time for all that had passed long ago. Now she could only move forward, accepting her fate.
Snow waved her hand and the dress came in. Emma stepped into stockings, riding breeches and boots. She lifted her arms for her corset to be put on, letting them lace it up and squeeze the breath out of her. And then came the actual dress.
It was a mountain of ivory tulle with gold embroidery. The family crest was mixed in with middlemist and buttercups and twisting vines over the layers of ruching and poof. It had an off the shoulder neckline without sleeves and Emma was handed sheer gloves that had been endowed with a warming charm to keep off the chill. They added jewellery, dangling earrings and a heavy necklace.
When Emma finally looked up at her mother, Snow had tears in her eyes, and held her hand delicately in front of her face, lost for words.
Emma realised now that this was how Queen Snow had hoped to see her on her wedding day. That this was the one chance they were both going to get to see her like this.
She stepped forward and took both her hands, looking her in the eyes as she spoke. Eyes that were so alike in colour and how they showed just a slice of their hearts.
“I am unspeakably proud of you, Emma. You are so much more than I ever could have dreamed, and I promise that this kingdom is never going to forget what you’re doing for us today,” she vowed, her voice tight and her eyes swimming with tears.
Emma didn’t hesitate to believe her mother. How could she do anything but? This was the woman who had defeated the evil queen by refusing to stoop to her level. If there was any other way out of this, Snow White and Prince Charming would have taken it.
But there wasn’t.
Emma squeezed her mother’s hands and nodded, not trusting herself to speak.
Snow turned and looked at them in the mirror in front of Emma. The only thing she was missing was a veil, but that would have been too much, too poignant.
Snow pressed a kiss to her temple and released her hands.
“I’ll see you downstairs,” she murmured quietly, leaving Emma alone.
She just needed a minute, a minute to take this in, the last time she was really going to look like a princess.
She’d been stupid to allow even a sliver of hope that something would happen to stop this to take root, and now she was going to have to let that hope break her heart with every step towards that damn pirate ship.
Summary: A CS Neverland Canon Divergence: When Emma and Hook find themselves in Neverland, with only one another as ally, they must find a way to put their past and distrust aside in order to rescue Henry from Pan’s clutches. Emma needs Hook to help guide her past all the dangers the island has to offer, while Hook needs Emma’s help to not make the same mistakes he made the first time he found himself trapped in Neverland. Trapped in a deal of his own making; one he is most unwilling to repeat.
Rated M / Available on ao3 and ff.net / buy me a coffee / add to tag list / Chapter 1 / Chapter 2 / Chapter 3 / Chapter 4 / Chapter 5 / Chapter 6 / Chapter 7 / Chapter 8
beta’d by @whimsicallyenchantedrose and @kmomof4. Submitted for the 2021 & 2022 @neverlandnewyear. Banner credit goes to the event.
Rating: Explicit, mostly for the violence. But there’s significant smut in the last chapter.
Warnings: Abduction, Ransom, Mortal Peril.
Summary: One night, in every corner of every magical realm, every boy aged nine to seventeen disappeared. Not one remained. That was when Pan made himself known to the realms, and from that night the eve of every boy’s ninth birthday meant their disappearance, until finally the realms demanded to know what he wanted to return their children to them. Pan told them he wanted the saviour, and while most realms were confused Snow and David knew what he meant and confessed the role their daughter was supposed to have played in breaking the curse. The realms voted and agreed to Pan’s terms, and Pan stopped taking the realms sons, holding the children he’d currently taken as insurance of their compliance.
For the next fifteen years Emma’s birthday wasn’t a celebration, it was another tick on the countdown clock to the end of her freedom. Not that she was ever free in the first place, but to save every male child in the United Realms including her younger brother, Leo… She understood that she had a job to do, and she would do her duty with her head held high. What she didn’t count on was the sparkling blue eyes of the man Pan sends to escort her to Neverland in time for her twenty-first birthday.
Notes: It is finally finished… only a month and a half late… ooops. I hope you all enjoy it and think it was worth the wait! I am so excited to share it with you all, so do let me know what you think! I won’t be posting whole chapters on tumblr because they are so damn long… but there’s a link to the full chapter on AO3!
A huge, huge thank you to @kmomof4 for betaing this for me, and for being super supportive while I’ve been tearing my hair out over this. Thank you to the @neverlandnewyear mods for running this event again, I have had so much fun writing this!
As always, let me know if you’d like me to add you to my taglist for future fics :)
Read on AO3: Chapter One
- - - - -
The ship had first been seen just after noon, exactly as Pan’s most recent missive had told them it would. It had been delivered as all the others had been by the wingless fairy he kept in his employ, the magic that transported her to and from his lands not strong enough to take more than just her. So, he was sending a ship, and his envoy should be given all the courtesy one might expect upon arriving at a Royal Court before departing with the promised cargo the next morning.
Cargo.
The wind whipped off the water, tasting salty on Emma’s tongue as she sucked in shallow breaths while the cool air tore past her lips. It was strong enough that Emma could feel strands of her hair whipping about her shoulders having been torn from the intricate hairstyle it had been twisted and pinned into by her maid as they’d finished preparations for their meeting the ship at the docks.
She shivered, but with trepidation rather than cold. It had been one of the finest days they’d seen in a while as spring finally turned towards summer. So, despite the breeze, Emma was almost sweating in her tight-bodiced blue dress. The embroidered tulle overlay of her dress and the off the shoulder puffed sleeves fluttered in the breeze as she stood between her parents. Both stood straight backed, but maybe a little closer than they might ordinarily have done, and Emma took comfort from that.
As much as she could in that moment anyway.
If she was being honest, there wasn’t much comfort to be had.
She looked at her mother, dark hair streaked with grey and her pale green eyes on the horizon. Sensing her daughter’s movement, she gathered her hand and gave it a squeeze. Emma dropped her gaze and then glanced across at her father, his hair starting to grey at the temple and his neatly trimmed beard peppered with it. Beyond him she could see the violently clenched jaw of her younger brother. Leopold, named after their grandfather, was only fourteen and far too young to bear the burden that Emma should have carried as the oldest child of Snow White and Prince Charming. He was angry- had expressed it often and at great volumes. He didn’t understand why Emma was so willing to let this happen.
She was supposed to have been Queen one day, and now Leo would be King in her stead.
That was the price of being the Saviour, for her anyway. She had to save her people and give up her life to do so. She had no idea what was going to happen to her after she set foot on that ship; but even if all she did was live out the rest of her life in Neverland, she was still giving it up. But there were hundreds of young men trapped there that he had taken from their beds in the middle of the night. She was the only thing he had wanted to secure the safe return of those he had taken. He would allow her to grow up, to experience the love of her family, but when she was twenty-one, she would be his.
We had such an amazing turnout this year with 21 new (and old) fics about our favorite couple falling in love in Neverland all over again!
Here are all the fantastic contributions in case you missed any. Go and give our talented shipmates some love!
**
January 6th - know my name as it’s called again by @elizabeethan
January 7th - Blood in the Water by @the-darkdragonfly
January 8th - Invisible by @killiansprincss
January 9th - It Was Only a Kiss by @donteattheappleshook
January 10th - Lost Girl: Found by @motherkatereloyshipper
January 11th - A One Time Thing? by @kmomof4
January 12th - Second Galaxy to the Right by @xhookswenchx
January 13th - Neverland New Year by @jgvhfi
January 14th - Fight for Me When it Matters by @snowbellewells
January 15th - Reaching for Tomorrow by @sailtoafarawayland
January 16th - Unwilling to Repeat by @hollyethecurious
January 17th - The Jolly Matchmaker by @justanother-unluckysoul
January 18th - Going Away Means Forgetting: Jones Family Backstory by @stahlop
January 20th - Hearts Like Wildflowers by @myfearless-love
January 21st - Mokamotani by @ilovemesomekillianjones
January 22nd - Fairy Tales, Curses, and Family by @jonesfandomfanatic
January 23rd - A Gentleman Never Tells by @cosette141
January 24th - Heart of the Savior by @zaharadessert
January 25th - Art by @everything-person
January 26th - Not Broken At All by @donteattheappleshook
January 29th - Back in Neverland by @deckerstarblanche
*
Thank you to everyone who participated as writers, artists, betas, and cheerleaders - This was an amazing January! Thank you all for sharing your wonderful work ❤️❤️
After Emma’s dramatic flight from the diner, Killian promises the Charmings that he’ll find her and do everything in his power to convince her to stay. As he walks he considers the different ways of approaching her: his usual “cocky pirate” bravado probably wouldn’t convince her to stay, but acting like the lovesick fool he is inside would send her running for the hills.
“You’re making a mistake,” Killian says bluntly. Emma turns to watch him approach with a grimace, full defenses up.
“I don’t want to talk to you about this,” she replies, turning her gaze back to the pond as she crosses her arms over her chest.
“If you won’t listen to me, listen to your son. He thought this might remind you of what you’re leaving behind, your family,” Killian tells her, convinced that she’ll change her mind if shown enough evidence. He grabs the book out of his satchel and sticks it in front of her face until she takes it.
“Henry is my family, and I’m taking him where he’s safe. That’s it, end of story,” she says firmly, setting the book down next to her without a glance. Although he usually admires her iron will, the fact that she’s using it as a shield right now just pisses him off.
He has clearly underestimated her powers of denial, even though he already knows that she’s stubborn as hell. Memories of how many hoops he’d had to jump through to coax her away from life with the Monkey Man fill his brain, and it makes him see red.
“For fuck’s sake, Swan! The safety first nonsense is just that,” he cries, no longer willing to let her walk away without a fight. “I saw your life in New York, and I know that you thought you were content. Yes, you and Henry had a home and a life together, but your head was stuffed with Regina’s memories! What did you have there that you need to return to so desperately? Why do you want to go back to a life of lies?”
Emma looks stunned by his words, so she must have forgotten about his ability to read her so clearly. Her cheeks are aflame and her eyes appear glassy, but at least she’s willing to have a conversation.
“It was real for us, Hook! You don’t understand — for as long as I can remember, I’ve been running, looking for home. I hadn’t ever found it, until New York,” she tells him wearily, slumping down on the bench. He hates to see her physically deflate like that, and he curses himself for it.
“I know what that feels like, Swan; truly I do,” Killian admits, shifting uncomfortably. The sadness in his eyes gives her an idea of how deeply his pain must sit in his soul.
“I believe you, but eventually you found a home, on your ship. For me, running away was the only consistent thing I ever did before going into Bail Bonds. I want to give Henry a stable life, and we had that in New York,” she says, and he agrees — but only about what Henry deserves. The part he hasn’t told her, about where his home truly lies, will have to wait for another day.
He searches her eyes, wondering why she’s willfully ignoring Henry’s wish to live in Storybrooke. He asks her directly: “You know that Henry doesn’t want to leave, Emma. What’s stopping you both from having a life here, with your entire family?”
“Because of this, Killian!” she says with exasperation, pulling the book into her lap and opening it to the page illustrated with a curse cloud rolling over the Enchanted Forest. “I don’t see my family here. I see fairy tales, and stories of princes and princesses. Henry and I are from the real world — we were never meant to be a part of any of this.”
For a moment, he seriously considers telling Emma the whole truth: that he knows exactly how she feels, because without his ship for the first time in more than a century, he’s completely unmoored, and that he doesn’t know what he’s going to make of his life if she rejects him. She has no idea what he gave up, but finding out would be too much of a burden for her right now, so he keeps his mouth shut and continues moving forward.
“Then what are you a part of, Swan?” he asks gently, folding himself down next to her on the chilly bench. She looks down at the book, and when her gaze returns to his, there’s so much sadness in her eyes.
“Aside from this year with Henry, I don’t think I’ve ever been a part of anything,” she admits, and his heart screams at him to tell her how wrong she is. But he waits, because instinct tells him to be patient.
“But, Emma, you could be,” he says hopefully, but she's already covering her emotions back up, and the moment is lost.
She snaps the book shut, handing it back to him. Putting her palms on her knees, Emma looks down at the ground for a few seconds before standing up, and her eyes are devoid of emotion. Killian is pretty sure that, short of a miracle, Swan’s going to fly the coop.
“I learned something a long time ago, Hook: home is the place that, when you leave, you just miss it. So yeah, I’m gonna keep running until I feel that,” she tells him, sounding bitter and broken. He feels quite bitter too, trying desperately to keep his emotions in check.
"So you're just going to keep running, then? Swan, think about your parents - don’t you even care about them, or anyone in Storybrooke?”
“Of course I care…I just have to do what I think is right for me and for Henry —“ Emma tells him. The blinding burst of magic in the direction of Zelena’s hideout puts an end to the conversation.
What happens next is a blur, but within less than a minute, the out of control vortex of magic sucks them into its orbit, sending them hurtling towards the unknown…
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
A season 1 Neverland AU. Emma is still trying to adjust to her new life as Sheriff of Storybrooke and mom to Henry, who still believes everyone in town is a fairytale creature. When she finds a badly beaten, one handed man while patrolling, she’s convinced he’s crazy. He is, after all, rambling about fairies and shadows and crocodiles. But when Henry is suddenly taken by what Emma swears (but can’t believe) was a shadow, the madman in the hospital might be her only hope of getting her son back. Whether he likes it or not.
Rated M
My entry for @neverlandnewyear (the same entry as last time lmao)
Ao3
Tumblr 1
Thank you @elizabeethan for reading this over for me!
****
Chapter 2
“Is it true?” Henry demands when he meets her around the corner from his school.
She probably shouldn’t be sneaking around seeing him while Regina is at work, but the woman leaves him alone all evening. Emma had been a latchkey kid for most of her life, so many foster parents not caring enough to be home when she came back from school, and it sucked. So what’s the big deal if they grab a hot chocolate at Granny’s? What’s Regina going to do, curse her? Probably, according to Henry.
“Is what true?”
“They said there’s a man in the hospital and that you brought him there.”
“Who said?” she asks, frowning. What the hell kind of gossip mill does this town have that the events of last night have already reached the elementary school? Maybe she should be wary of seeing Henry like this, in case someone tells the Mayor.
“Everyone’s talking about it! Who is he?”
“I don’t know. He hadn’t woken up yet when I left.”
Henry hums. “I wonder if he’s in the book. He didn’t come here with the curse like everyone else - nobody knows him.”
Emma nods vaguely. She hadn’t recognized him. Though it had been hard to tell with so much blood fresh and drying on his face. She’d gone with him to the hospital, following the ambulance with the cherry on her bug after they loaded the unconscious man in. He’d been still by the time the paramedics arrived - Emma had been scared he was dead, her hand steady on his pulse to make sure he wasn’t.
Crocodile, the word’s been bouncing around in her head since he spoke it, voice laced with pain and anger and something darker, sadder, tired. What’s crocodile? It can’t be an actual giant lizard. Storybrooke is strange, she’ll give it that, but they’re in Maine, not Florida; there aren’t any gators roaming around the streets of this small town. So what then? A place? The name of a bar maybe? Or a person, she wonders, a code name or some kind or an alias. She shakes her head at herself. This is Storybrooke, she reminds herself again. There are no secret gangs and codename, no seedy underworld, just small town fundraisers and spiteful mayors.
SUMMARY: Emma and Killian have finally free to have their honeymoon and with Neverland now back to a place of dreams an desires Killian decides its the perfect place to get away. The island has a few surprises for them but Emma has her own surprises for her husband.
A/N: This is my entry for @neverlandnewyear. My writing muse was dead but my art muse decided to step in. The picture of Emma is my first manip so please be gentle with me.
Rating: This peek is Teen, I guess. I expect the rest of the fic to be Mature, maybe straying into Explicit? I’m not sure, it’s not finished yet!
Warnings: Abduction, Ransom, Mortal Peril.
Length: Currently over 70k… and still going…
Summary: One night, in every corner of every magical realm, every boy aged nine to seventeen disappeared. Not one remained. That was when Pan made himself known to the realms, and from that night the eve of every boy’s ninth birthday meant their disappearance, until finally the realms demanded to know what he wanted to return their children to them. Pan told them he wanted the saviour, and while most realms were confused Snow and David knew what he meant and confessed the role their daughter was supposed to have played in breaking the curse. The realms voted and agreed to Pan’s terms, and Pan stopped taking the realms sons, holding the children he’d currently taken as insurance of their compliance.
For the next fifteen years Emma’s birthday wasn’t a celebration, it was another tick on the countdown clock to the end of her freedom. Not that she was ever free in the first place, but to save every male child in the United Realms including her younger brother, Leo… She understood that she had a job to do, and she would do her duty with her head held high. What she didn’t count on was the sparkling blue eyes of the man Pan sends to escort her to Neverland in time for her twenty-first birthday.
Notes: So this is a sneak peek for my NLNY fic for 2022. I was hoping to have this written in time, but it’s become a monster and it’s not done. I can’t start posting properly until I’ve finished writing, so instead please enjoy the art up the top there and the opening of chapter one…
A huge, huge thank you to @kmomof4 for betaing this for me, and for being super supportive while I’ve been tearing my hair out over this. Thank you to the @neverlandnewyear mods for running this event again, and for letting me push my date back, even if the only thing it’s achieved is me getting the art done so I can share that… Ooops!
A Gentleman Never Tells (Chapter 2) | Neverland New Year 2022
Author: cosette141
Rating: T
Words (chp 2): 6.4k
Summary: Right after saving Henry in Neverland, Pan puts Emma under a Sleeping Curse that only romantic love can break. Hook's kiss wakes her, but in the confusion of the moment, it appears to everyone else, including Emma, that it was Neal's kiss that woke her. As the group celebrates and Hook empties his flask alone, he can't help thinking it is better this way. CS
Read chapter one here!
Read chapter two on AO3
Chapter Two
A/n: This would not be here without @kmomof4 requesting it. Thank you :)
Thanks also to @once-upon-a-pirate-ship and everyone in the CS discord who were cheerleaders for this, you guys really helped me get it written! :)
Emma opened her eyes to warmth.
It spread like sunlight through her whole body. There was a sense of calm, of utter contentment in her chest. Like something just felt right.
The only other time she'd felt something like it was when she'd woken Henry from Regina's Sleeping Curse.
Yes, that was what it felt like.
Love.
But there was something else to this feeling, something exciting, some elated part of it that she felt before. She just… couldn't quite… place it.
Emma blinked a few times, staring at a wooden ceiling. She was lying on something soft, but her mind was a few steps behind.
A bed?
The last thing she remembered was rescuing Henry. They had been on their way back to the ship.
But after that… nothing.
But her puzzlement halted when she heard a door open. A voice floated in, and Emma managed to recognize it as Neal's.
"…tried twice, but I—Emma!"
Emma turned her head, noting, albeit delayed, that she was in a cabin that looked like one of the Jolly Roger. And not just any cabin; Hook's. "Where the hell am I?" she mumbled, even more confused.
Neal was at her side in seconds, pulling her into a crushing hug. "It worked!"
Emma tensed in his hold, her mind crashing into the present.
She didn't exactly like being touched, and she'd barely started to hug her own parents. But hugging him…
She'd realized it when he'd embraced her in the Echo Cave.
She didn't want to.
It was a hold that used to bring so much comfort. He was the first person who ever held her like she was worth something.
Now, it all felt tainted and empty.
Neal, however, was too elated to realize the embrace wasn't reciprocated. And Emma was still too confused about the whole situation to shove him off. "What worked?" she mumbled, seeing her parents, Regina, and Gold standing in the room. Her parents looked over the moon.
Barely, Emma could make out Hook behind them.
Neal pulled away, smiling. "True Love's Kiss!"
Emma froze.
That tingle at her lips.
That warmth.
She went rigid.
"It took a little longer than I thought it should, but it worked!" said Neal, that huge smile still on his face.
"Pan put you under a Sleeping Curse," explained Snow with a soft smile. "Your father and I couldn't wake you. Neal did."
Emma blinked, feeling like her mind came to a screeching stop.
A terrifying stop.
No.
No.
It couldn't be.
Not…
Not Neal.
"He did?" she echoed blankly.
Emma swallowed. Hard.
True Love.
They were True Love?
"Because from the moment I saw him again I knew… I never stopped loving him."
She had to admit she meant her words to her parents earlier—she had loved Neal and she hadn't gotten over what happened with him. He wasn't just her first love…
He was the only person who had ever loved her.
Up until she came to Storybrooke, Neal was the only person who showed her love. And after he left, after he seemingly used her… the day he told her he loved her…
Realizing that he left her in an attempt to help her find her family, that he didn't want to leave her, that he did care for her…though not enough…
It was a whirlwind of utter confusion.
But…
But after everything, she'd given it plenty of thought every free moment in Neverland since Neal showed up.
And she'd made her decision.
Her words to Neal in the Echo Cave had been the truth, as it proved to be, and her feelings were not about to change.
Ever.
After what Neal did, there was no way she could trust or love him now. Hell, because of him, she could hardly trust or love anyone. A part of her probably always would love him, but…
She loved the person she thought he was, not the person he is.
Not the person who left her.
She didn't look at him now and remember the love and the comfort.
She looked at him and she remembered the years of pain.
She was tired of being in pain.
She had been planning to break the news to him when they returned to Storybrooke.
But…
They were True Love?
"My own daughter," said David suddenly, snapping Emma from her thoughts, "the product of True Love, found her own! I couldn't be happier." To Neal, he said, "Thank you for saving her."
Emma blinked, never having felt so disoriented in her life.
And she felt the very familiar urge to run.
But she quite literally had nowhere to go, trapped on this ship, but her eyes darted around as if looking for an escape. A knee-jerk reaction she hadn't felt since she was a kid in a new foster home.
But her eyes landed on Hook, hovering in the doorway behind the rest.
The look on his face stole her breath.
He wasn't looking at her; he was looking at Neal.
Emma has never seen a look of pure heartbreak before.
But it was right there. In his eyes.
Something in him broke.
And not a moment later, he was gone, turning and walking away.
Emma blinked.
But Neal grabbed her in another bear hug, startling her again, and her parents took turns for hugs of their own.
But her eyes stayed on the doorway where Hook disappeared.
It suddenly clicked.
That tingle on her lips.
That feeling she woke with, the one she knew she'd felt before, but couldn't place.
Something like wonder passed through her chest.
Her lips tilted a little, even as Neal pulled her into yet another unreciprocated embrace.
Because he didn't wake her.
And she knew who did.
It was the end of the day by the time Emma found Hook alone.
Everyone was beginning to get ready for bed, as Hook had said—of the few words he'd spoken all day—that they wouldn't be home until midday tomorrow.
Not long after she'd woken, Emma had broken through her daze enough to remember Henry. He'd been sleeping soundly in one of the cabins when she awoke. Emma spent hours at his bedside, reveling in the fact that he was safe. After he woke—giving her the biggest hug she's ever had—everything finally felt like things were calming down. They were on their way home. Finally.
And as things quieted down, Emma couldn't help thinking about this morning.
True Love's Kiss.
Emma was surprised it took her as long as it did to place that elusive feeling.
"Please. You couldn't handle it."
"Perhaps you're the one who couldn't handle it."
That kiss.
That damn kiss.
She hated to admit it, but she knew it the moment Hook's lips touched hers.
She couldn't handle it.
The moment they pulled away, she felt it.
That feeling.
Neal had been the first person to make Emma feel like she was worth something, but…
In that kiss with Hook…
Just through touch alone, she didn't just feel like she was worth something to him.
Somehow, she could feel she was worth everything to him.
That… that feeling…
It was something so strong and raw and pure…
She knew she was screwed.
Because that contentment she felt both then and again when she woke felt like it was worth everything to her.
How could one kiss convey all that?
"You and I. We understand each other."
Maybe their connection went far deeper than Emma had originally thought. Far deeper than just understanding.
She'd known since the beanstalk that they were similar.
And she'd known since they'd met that he had a… level… of… attractiveness…
But that kiss?
"It was what the kiss exposed."
His words couldn't have described how it felt any better for her as well—that kiss exposed just as much for her as it did for him.
The curiosity she's always had for Hook was now a full-blown feeling for him.
And the moment she realized it, in the middle of that passionate moment, his jacket in her hands, his fingers in her hair…
She couldn't linger for a second.
"That was…"
"A one-time thing."
Little did he know, she wasn't telling him.
Because, hell, she hadn't even felt such a connection with Neal, back when things were great with the two of them.
True Love's Kiss.
That exact feeling she had when they'd kissed was lingering on her lips the moment she woke.
It was Hook.
She knew it was.
Over the course of the day, Emma had gathered that Neal tried to kiss her awake more than once with no success. But when he'd left and come back, it they'd assumed it was only delayed.
Somehow, Hook must have kissed her when Neal left the room.
The fact that Hook had even tried to kiss her awake, let alone been successful, touched her in a way words couldn't describe.
And the theory that it was in fact Hook became more and more sure as the day went on, just something that felt so right in her chest.
She wanted to get a chance to talk to him, confirm her theory for sure.
Yet, Hook had been either fixed at the helm among the others on deck or he's been a ghost, convincing Emma the Jolly had some secret passageways that only he knew.
He was clearly avoiding her, and though Emma could think on more than one occasion in the past that she'd wished for him to get lost, she was quickly finding that she hated not having him around.
She hadn't even gotten a chance to be alone herself. Neal had been practically glued to her damn side.
All day long, Neal had been telling Henry about all the things they were going to do—the three of them—as a family. Emma had let it wash over her, hadn't commented on any of his plans for them, since, she mused with irritation, he hasn't asked her anything. Ever since she'd woken, it seemed that he thought they were suddenly… together again.
But even if Neal had woken her with True Love's Kiss, Emma knew her feelings wouldn't change at all.
She simply couldn't fall back in love with someone who hurt her so deeply, and that was that.
He didn't deserve a third chance, and barely deserved the second.
He simply didn't deserve her.
Emma let out a breath. She'd managed to tell Neal that she needed some air, so she walked up the stairs to the deck.
And there at the helm, flask in hand, standing alone in the moonlight was Hook.
He was staring in the distance at nothing in particular, the muscle in his jaw working furiously.
And at the sight of him, Emma suddenly realized…
She wanted it to be him.
Regardless of the fear that crept up in her chest at the notion of it…
It was clear to her now, no matter how much she tried to deny it.
She simply wanted him.
A little flutter of fear—fear of what, she wasn't entirely sure anymore—in her stomach, Emma took a breath, climbing the rest of the stairs.
He didn't notice her.
He looked utterly lost in thought, and Emma unfortunately knew she was most likely at the center of them.
She sighed, and said softly, "Hey."
He jumped a little, startled at the sound of her voice, and Emma's brows rose. She didn't often catch him by surprise. He was either that deeply lost in thought, or buzzed.
Or both.
He snapped his head around, seeing her, and went rigid. He attempted to regain his composure, and Emma couldn't remember ever catching him so off guard before. "Swan?" he said blankly. "Shouldn't you be… resting?" he tried.
"I've had my fair share," she said dryly. The air suddenly felt as if it grew tense in their silence, so Emma walked to look over the side of the ship, at the clouds passing, though it didn't ease the feeling. She waited a little, wondering if he would tell her now that they were alone.
But he remained silent.
"I haven't seen much of you today," said Emma carefully, wondering just how to bring up the topic. When he didn't say anything, Emma turned to him, and asked, "Why aren't you sleeping?"
He gestured to the wheel with his hook. "Someone's got to keep an eye on her."
Emma caught the half-lie in his eyes, but she let it go.
She hm'd, turning back to the clouds, feeling that tension ebb in the air between them.
"I'm glad you're all right, Emma," she heard him say quietly.
She smiled a little. "Me, too," she said honestly.
"Baelfire…"
Emma's chest squeezed a little.
He said it like it physically hurt him.
Hook cleared his throat a little. "He is a lucky man."
Emma watched him carefully.
He wasn't looking at her.
That muscle still worked furiously in his jaw.
The heartbreak from earlier was still in his eyes, deeper than the ocean below them.
She turned back to the clouds.
A smile tugged at her lips.
It was him.
He kissed her.
And from the clear torture in his face, he wasn't about to say a damn thing about it.
"I'm always a gentleman."
Perhaps he was.
For some reason, her usual fear, her walls, weren't stopping her from saying her next words.
Somehow, knowing what she knew, True Love's Kiss and all, made her a little less afraid.
"So, you weren't going to tell me, then," she said, words shaped by her smile, still tilting her lips.
She turned to look at him.
The look of shock on his face was almost comical.
He looked like a deer in headlights. She watched him, and he gathered the semblance of composure. "What?" he managed.
He'd heard her, and every unsaid word.
And he still didn't want to tell her?
Her burning curiosity overrode any ounce of fear that should have stopped her from saying, "Who woke me." The clarification was unnecessary; he knew. But he was still frozen where he stood, and he almost looked lost.
That heartbroken look on his face mixed with the lost one, making him look so horribly young Emma felt a painful tug in her chest.
She took a step toward him. Softly, she said, "I know it was you."
His eyes widened a little. The truth Emma had been looking for was right there in them.
And as much as it should have scared her, it didn't.
"I…" He breathed. "You… how?"
His voice was so small.
It was so different to hear from him.
He was waiting for her response, and Emma suddenly realized she needed to explain how she knew. Which… was a bit more vulnerable than she cared to share. Though, the fact that he woke her told them both the most vulnerable secrets of one another. It was already out there, and they both knew it now. Evidently he loved her and she loved him, with the purest form of love in existence. Yet, they were only just beginning to explore what their connection was. It felt as if they'd been given a message from the future about something that hasn't happened yet. It felt both reassuring and like a surprise had been spoiled.
But when love was such a terrifying thing, Emma would take the reassurance any day.
However, she couldn't help shifting with shyness that rose color to her cheeks, averting her gaze a little as she stumbled through, "I didn't see anyone when I woke up, but I just… I had this… feeling." She hesitated, her now-flimsy walls barely able to hold back her next words. But she let them out anyway. "I had the same feeling when we…"
She didn't say it.
But again, he heard it.
A spark of hope cut through the brokenness in his eyes.
He looked utterly speechless.
Emma smiled a little, definitely feeling the vulnerability now. She cleared her throat a little. "I just knew," she concluded. Looking back up at him, she met his eyes. And asking the question she's been asking herself all day, she asked, "The only thing I don't know… is why you didn't say anything."
His eyes found the floorboards. The hope was dashed, the sadness deepening all too much. Like broken glass was shattered all over again. "Emma," he said heavily, painfully. "You deserve more than me, love."
Emma released the breath she didn't know she was holding.
Because a part of her—a very tiny, fragile part—was afraid that he didn't tell her because he didn't want it to be true.
Now that heartbroken look made so much sense.
He found out that he was her True Love, and he was going to keep it to himself?
Let her think she was in love with another man?
Emma knew that Hook was interested in her, and after that first kiss, more than interested. But now? For him to find out that the woman he was vying for not only had the potential to love him back, but actually did?
In the highest, deepest, purest possible way?
And he still kept it to himself?
He was willing to sacrifice his own happiness to ensure hers?
No one, no one, has ever done that for her.
It took Emma a moment to find her voice.
"And you thought Neal could give me that?" she said with a raised brow, when she found her voice.
Hook lifted his eyes back to hers, and it looked like it took his every effort to do so. He swallowed. "He's the father to your son," he said hollowly. "He… loves you."
That lit a fuse in her that's been building for quite some time, and Emma muttered, "He also set me up for his crime and left me to go to jail for him. Right after he knocked me up." she huffed. "Granted, he didn't know, but he's still not exactly hero material. It's not like he ever cared to come back to see if I was okay," she said heatedly, the anger and hurt building. She's pushed it down every time it rose up after Neal had come back into her life, and it seemed so much less pertinent when she'd thought Neal was dead. But now that he was back and being as self-involved as ever… She shook herself, finishing, "He can't exactly promise to never stop fighting for me when he's already broken it several times over."
If Hook's shock had looked comical earlier it was nothing compared to his face now.
Her history with Neal certainly was the last thing he expected to hear.
But as his shock cleared, Emma saw that the hope from before had returned.
As tiny a spec as a star in the sky.
Emma's brows kneaded. "Did you think I wanted it to be Neal?"
He was silent, but it was answer enough.
Emma let out a breath. She has never met anyone with lower self-worth than she had herself, but Hook tipped the scales and broke them.
It suddenly hurt to know how little he thought of himself.
He saved her life.
Emma suddenly had an urge her fear usually fought to the death, but she acquiesced. And she stepped even closer to him, and kissed him lightly on the cheek.
Even that touch alone sent a flutter in her stomach and seemed to affect him all the same. He looked at her in awe.
"Thank you, Killian," she whispered.
A different kind of shock colored his eyes.
She'd never called him by name before.
Then, he smiled, and Emma has never seen anything more beautiful.
Emma smiled right back, feeling a little shyness touch it again. Even though magic had unveiled their fate before their lives unraveled it, she didn't want that kind of a change.
Not… yet.
But when they were home…
Maybe it was time to try something new.
Emma turned to head back below deck, but paused, turning back toward him.
He was still looking at her, something soft in his face.
It was the first time she's ever seen him look happy.
"I'm glad it was you," she said quietly.
Shock and joy brightened his eyes in the moonlight, and he smiled, his response in the expression alone.
That certainly made two of them.
Emma still had a faint smile on her face as she walked back below deck.
It was Hook.
The confirmation came with a rush of emotions that settled on joy.
After checking on Henry who was sleeping in Hook's bed, Regina sleeping on the floor next to him since none of them were letting him out of their sight for the next, well, ever, Emma decided Sleeping Curse or not, she was going to try to get some sleep.
Emma opened the door to the cabin. The cabin was empty except for Neal, who was scrutinizing one of the beds.
He turned when he saw her, smiling, "Ems!" He gestures to the bed. "They're a lot smaller than I remember them, though I guess I was when I last slept on 'em." It took Emma a moment to remember that he had spent time on the ship before. "It'll be a tight fit, but all the cozier, you know?"
Emma blinked. "What?"
He looked at her like he didn't understand what was wrong with his insinuation that was wrong in every single way. "Purely a sleeping arrangement," he said. "I mean, unless you… wanted…"
"No!" snapped Emma, brows narrowing at the very idea.
He laughed a little, hands coming up in a mock-surrender. "Woah, okay, easy. It was mostly a joke."
"Considering that the last time you slept with me you knocked me up," growled Emma before she could stop herself, "it damn well is a joke."
He looked stunned. "What? I—I kinda thought we were past that…" he mumbled, rubbing at the scruff on his chin.
"You—" Hot rage from too much pent-up anger and hurt was beginning to overflow. Emma took a breath, trying to steady herself. They were almost home. If she could just make it through the night…
"Emma," came Neal's voice, cutting through her attempt at calm. "You seem kinda moody. Maybe you should get some rest, or something." He again gestured to the bed, with the same intention of crawling right in after her.
Emma breathed out slowly, trying to keep the lid on her anger. "Yeah. Sleep sounds good. But I'll sleep by myself, if you don't mind."
Now his brows kneaded, something between puzzlement and frustration. "Emma, I don't get it," he said, voice strangled with confusion. "You love me, I love you, the damn curse proved it—what's the problem?"
"The problem is I don't love you, Neal!" growled Emma, breaking down her self-control. "Maybe I did once, but… but I am not in love with you, so you just need to—"
"Emma," said Neal just as heatedly, "I know you're not from a world of magic, but when you need True Love's Kiss to break a curse, and a kiss wakes you, that person is your True Love!"
"Well you didn't wake me, Hook did!"
Neal froze.
The moment his name left her lips, so did Emma.
So much for waiting until they were home.
"What?" he breathed.
Emma huffed out an angry breath. "When your kiss didn't work, Hook tried. And then I woke up. Do the math."
Neal went rigid for a moment, his mind seeming to work furiously. Perhaps putting together the delay between his kiss and her waking.
Anger touched his own features. "I'm gonna kill him."
Emma's expression went from angry to bewildered. "Are you kidding me?"
"Are you?" snapped Neal. "He takes my mother from me and then he takes you?"
"Hook didn't take either of us," ground out Emma.
But Neal steamrolled ahead. "He and Pan probably worked together to make a Sleeping Curse to trick you into—"
"Pan hates him!" growled Emma. "Why the hell would he do that?"
Neal's face reddened with a losing argument. He shut his eyes, like he was attempting to hold down his temper, but it was a rope that already slipped from his grasp. "You love him?" he managed. "Hook?"
"I—" Emma swallowed. "I… I don't know," she stammered, "we haven't really known each other that long, we we just starting to—" She shook herself. "I don't need to explain myself to you. And you just said that if magic says you're True Love, you're True Love."
"He's a pirate, Emma!" hissed Neal. "He's a murderer and a jackass and he only cares about himself! He—"
"Well that selfish jackass didn't even tell me he was the one who kissed me until I asked him!"
"He—" Neal blinked. "What?"
"He thought I wanted it to be you," said Emma lowly, words heavy with anger. "So he was set to take the secret to his grave. I can see how selfish that is."
Neal looked speechless. "I—Emm—"
She took a step toward him, anger fueling her entire being. "And you know what, Neal? Even if it was you, even if you did wake me, I wouldn't be with you! You were the first and the only person who ever cared about me, who treated me like maybe I wasn't an accident, maybe I wasn't worthless, and you made me feel like I could be wanted." The emotions were rushing out like water through a bursted dam and she couldn't have stopped them if she tried. "You told me you loved me and you let me go to jail for you! You left me alone!" Her voice choked on the last word, all of the feelings rushing back at once. Neal opened his mouth but she steamrolled ahead. "I don't care what your reasons were! I went to jail thinking you had used me that whole time. I went to jail for you thinking you didn't give a damn about me! I had your baby handcuffed to a bed! And you never even bothered to see if I was okay!" She took another step toward him, and his back hit post of the bed. "August told me that he told you when I was in Storybrooke and you didn't even bother to see if I was okay then! You rubbed your fiancé in my face and you only told me you loved me after you found out she was batshit crazy! When I found you in New York you didn't apologize to me once! You fricken laughed!" Tears were streaming down her face now, raw hurt and anger ripping through each word. "You were too obsessed with yourself and how your father left you and your father hurt you and you were so busy thinking about yourself that you didn't even realize you were just like him!" He flinched, but Emma's eyes only narrowed. "So you better look in a damn mirror before you call Killian selfish because the only jackass I see here is you."
Neal was frozen, staring at her in shock.
She must have finally found a way to shut him up, because he didn't even bother trying to find words to say.
Emma turned sharply on her heel to leave, only to freeze, for her parents were standing in the doorway, faces just as shocked as Neal's, but just as angry as Emma's.
Emma didn't stop to hear anything they had to say if they were planning on it, so she just walked past them, heading for the first quiet room she could find to cry herself into oblivion.
However, she didn't miss the distinct smack and thud coming from the cabin she just left, and even managed a little tilt of her lips at what was clearly her father letting out his own anger with Neal in the best way he knew how.
She knew she had forgotten to do something.
-.-
David shook out his fist, anger boiling under his skin.
Neal laid sprawled on the floor, and the blue-black bruising was already forming over his eye.
"Prison?" he breathed, turning to Snow in bewildered dismay. "Prison? Emma was in prison?" he hissed, trying to imagine his little girl, his princess, locked behind prison bars. "Did you know?"
Snow's face had gone paler than her usual. "I… She mentioned it in passing, but she didn't want to… elaborate," she said, her eyes narrowing at Neal, still on the ground where David's punch left him.
"She had Henry there?" David's voice took on a higher pitch, anger consuming him.
"She… she didn't tell me any of that," whispered Snow, eyes misty with tears.
But David's chest tightened. "It doesn't matter," he muttered, anger only with himself. "We don't know because we didn't ask."
But shaking himself, because they'll have to process that—and fix that—later.
There was something else that was suddenly a concern that felt almost as pressing.
Hook.
Hook.
Not only did he kiss his daughter—twice now—but he woke her?
A new emotion surged, and David felt his instincts pull him harshly out of the room before he could think twice.
Just as he reached the hallway, footsteps were hurrying down the steps.
"What the bloody hell is going on down h—" began Hook, face more exasperated than anything.
The exasperation in Hook's face snapped to sudden shock, as he froze on the last step.
He visibly swallowed.
And it was the first time David has ever seen the pirate look intimidated.
"I…." began Hook, standing stock-still, suddenly looking years younger, like a child caught doing something they shouldn't be.
But a door opened, and Emma rushed out, standing before Hook, blocking him from David. Reluctantly, David stopped.
"David," said Emma quickly, almost warningly.
But David just looked at Hook, his hard gaze meeting Hook's uncertain one. "You kissed her awake?" he demanded.
A muscle twitched in Hook's jaw. His eyes met the floor, before meeting David's again. "I…" he trailed off.
But it was true; he had.
Hook—notorious Captain Hook, thorn-in-his-side Captain Hook—woke his daughter.
Was his daughter’s True Love.
David simply stared at him, trying to wrap his head around it.
Hook took David’s silence as a bad sign. Swallowing, he said, “I… I didn’t think—“
But David didn’t let him finish, and cut him off, saying with firm sincerity, "Thank you."
Hook froze once again
Emma and Hook suddenly had a look of shock so identical it was almost humorous.
David took a step forward, and Emma stepped aside. He extended his hand to Hook, gesturing for him to take it.
Hesitating, Hook took it.
That uncertain gaze in the pirate's eyes was even more surprised now.
"You saved her." said David, pulling back his hand.
It was true.
He had.
If he hadn't….
David didn't even want to consider it.
"Emma told us you didn't even tell her," said David seriously. At that, Hook's fingers scratched behind his ear, his eyes finding the floorboards.
And he suddenly looked nothing like the man who had presented himself to them weeks ago.
He looked nothing like the ruthless pirate they met, or even the man on a quest to win Emma's heart, caring only about himself, and what he wanted.
The fact that Hook had let Emma, let all of them believe that Neal had woken her…
That wasn't the act of a selfish pirate.
That was the act of an honorable man.
To have learned that the woman he cared for loved him back, with True Love, no less, and let her walk into another man's arms?
David didn't even know if he could have done such a thing for Snow.
David cleared his throat a little, feeling the heat of his initial reaction die down. Hook looked at him as David said, "I was wrong about you." said David quietly, and Hook's eyes lit with so much surprise that David was surprised the man's jaw didn't hit the floor.
For he was wrong about Hook.
He treated Hook like vermin, like the scum of the world.
And he, as well as Snow, had treated Neal like a saint.
Neal had left Emma to rot in jail, in his place, when she was practically still a child.
And Hook…
Hook had done nothing except protect Emma, and save their lives turn after turn.
Hook's own throat cleared, and he said, "David, you don't have to—"
"Yeah, I do." said David. He looked from Emma's little smile, back to Hook. "And if Emma and you are..." he couldn't exactly say it, but he grinned a little anyway. "Well, I think I can get on board with that." Then, with a touch of that protective anger he'd punched Neal with earlier, he narrowed his eyes a little at Hook in seriousness, and said, "But True Love or not… don't hurt my daughter."
Emma didn't have a father to protect her before, and he would feel the guilt for that for the rest of his life. However, David didn't truly believe Hook would, or was even capable, of hurting Emma. But he had to say it, in light of what he had just learned about Emma and Neal.
No one would ever hurt his daughter again; David would make sure of that.
And he had quite the idea that the man standing before him would make sure of it just the same.
Hook met him back with a gaze just as serious. He looked first to Emma, then back to David, to say, "I'd die first."
A little blush touched Emma's cheeks, something warm in her eyes.
David held Hook's gaze, and he didn't need Emma's superpower to know he was telling the truth. David smiled.
David felt Snow step up beside him. She gave Hook a soft look. "You fought for your first love for two hundred years," she said, a little pain reflecting in Hook's eyes. Snow looked from David, back to Hook, and said, "After seeing how much you cared for her… I think our little girl is more than lucky to have you."
Hook suddenly looked like he'd been given an absolutely precious gift.
And David smiled, because so had they.
Emma found herself climbing back on deck a while after the… excitement of the evening.
Everyone had more or less retired to a cot in the cabins, but she simply refused to be so close to Neal.
Or, she simply wanted to be around someone else.
She let herself believe it was the first, and climbed up the rest of the stairs.
Emma found Hook—Killian—exactly where she left him.
He heard her footsteps this time. When he saw her, a little pleased surprise jumped into his eyes, and he gave her a soft smile. "Swan."
Emma smiled just as softly, and Hook's eyes lit up brighter than the moon at the sight of it.
She's noticed that.
How her smile elicits one from him.
It suddenly made her want to smile more.
He made her want to smile more.
"To what do I owe the honor?" he asked, a smile tilting his lips.
Emma just smiled, and kept walking toward him, watching the question develop in his eyes.
And without warning, she grabbed his coat, just like she did the first time, and she kissed him.
She could feel his surprise, but it only lasted a moment.
He kissed her back, matching the tenderness, mirroring her emotion.
It felt like relief, it felt like safety, it felt right.
That warmth that his kiss brought her both times their lips had touched returned, wrapping her in an embrace just as securely, just as tightly as his arms did.
They pulled away, and Emma found herself staring into surprised, warm blue, like sunlight reflecting off ocean waves.
At the question in his eyes, Emma said, "I didn't get to enjoy the last kiss." And for whatever reason, the shyness that should have tingled inside her, didn't.
Killian smiled. "Neither did I."
Emma smiled.
Slowly, gently, he kissed her this time, something soft and precious, his hand in her hair, his arm around her waist, pulling her closer to him. And at his every touch, she felt loved.
Emma broke the kiss, looking back into his eyes, the emotion bringing forth some of her fear. "Are you going to… to stay in Storybrooke when we get back?" She didn't intend for the words to sound as unsure as her heart felt.
Killian smiled, easing Emma's every fear. "I will go wherever you wish, love." A little color touched his cheeks in the moonlight, as they both caught the epithet in a much different context. But he smiled, embracing it, and whispered, "I am yours." Emma felt something so touched at the words. Killian brushed a thumb over her cheek. "I have loved you long before magic proved it."
Absolute warmth filled her chest.
She has never, not once, felt more wanted than she did right here, right now.
Emma opened her mouth, feeling the urge to say it back, feeling the same, but familiar fear tugged at her.
Before she had the chance, Killian said, "Don't." Emma looked at him, puzzled, but he just smiled, it fading a little when it said, "After what Baelfire did to you…" Emma felt pain tug at her. "Don't say anything you aren't ready to," said Killian. "I'm a patient man, and I'm not going anywhere. So—"
Emma cut him off with a kiss.
Her eyes shut, and she melted into him, trying to convey every word she couldn't say, everything she couldn't tell him into the kiss alone.
This morning, his kiss told her everything they both needed to know.
And from the brilliant smile he gave her when she pulled away, hers did just the same.
