As Real As You Want It To Be - I know, I know. It's SO shocking that this is my favorite fic you've done. ;p Although The Other Prince is quickly working to over come even my love of Sharpie Killian....
You? Sharpie Killian? Pfff, no way 😏but since you brought it up, a certain prisoner left this on my doorstep….
“You know, I brought home that stack of Hemingway books so that I-” Emma said, flopping down in the chair across from him and sliding him a hot cup of freshly brewed coffee. “-could brush up on twentieth century fiction before it takes over my lesson plans next week.”
“Aye, love, but you know better than to leave a pile of ammunition on the kitchen table,” he quipped as he took a sip from the mug she offered him - a blue one that matched his eyes and had the word ‘bookworm’ scrawled humorously across the front. “Really, Swan, you were kind of asking for it.”
“It is a pretty hefty collection though,” she teased. “I’m not sure you can handle it.”
“Despite your dedication to the craft, I must say I’m quite sure you’re the one who can’t handle it, darling,” he returned with a wink. “Plus, any well-read scholar knows that man was not made for defeat.”
“Hmmm,” she smirked, leaning forward to see what text he was perusing. “Which classic tale did you pull that legendary claim from?”
He kept his eyes narrowed as he propped the book up so the cover was visible, his studious sight appearing to absorb the words lining the pages in a manner that was far too captivating. It took Emma a moment to quit staring, but once she did, she quickly noticed the embossed title with a growing grin - one of Hemingway’s last published works labeled 'The Old Man and The Sea’.
“Awww, that could be your autobiography.”
Giggling at his unamused but very handsome smile, Emma could only think one thing as the steam from her own drink filled her senses.