"Safe Place To Land" by Lori Triplett - MiLiam
Song and Ship Drabbles for @pirate-owl
It's almost a drabble this time!
Safe Place to Land
WORDS: 900
RATING: T
Pairings: MiLiam
SUMMARY: "I made a wish at the well and it didn't come true. I knew it was silly when I did it, but it is still a bit disappointing."
Ao3
Milah stared down into the dark abyss until she heard the coin plop at the bottom of the well. She bit her lip and looked around, for a moment daring to hope that it might actually work. Nothing changed around her, the only sounds were the wind through the trees and birdsong.
One long sigh later she pushed herself away from the well before turning to walk back into town. She'd remembered the well from the Underworld and had hoped when she found the coin in Rumple's castle that it would work. Her ex husband had told her that the magic was gone but let her bring it back anyway. Apparently, guilt made him nicer to her. It was…disconcerting.
For weeks she'd resisted. Milah could pretend she was fine during the day, could smile and hold conversations. During the day she could be happy and watch Killian start a family and listen to stories of her beautiful grandbaby from the mouths of his mothers. Hell, even arguing with Rumple was almost fun now.
Night was a different story. When darkness fell she was on her own, remembering what it was like to stretch out into nothingness, to be nothingness. To forget herself completely over the years until she was nothing more than one of the lost souls she had pitied moments before joining them. Then there was the absolute agony of all her memories being forced back within her, the good and the bad, circling around in her skull in confusing chaos.
Then there were the other memories. A lifetime on a ship she could never have back. Over a century of mourning and self exploration. Then, finally, a few short decades where two people finally allowed themselves quiet happiness, whispering promises to each other in a bar as cloth tied around their hands and hoping no one heard them. Like the ship that was gone, too, her last chance having literally just slipped through her fingers.
She stood in front of the diner and stared at the door. It was a good place to get food, and at least it didn't have the wrong bartender. And, if nothing else, she could lose herself in the stories of others for a little while.
"Are you alright, love?" Killian had been hiding in plain sight, waiting for his Swan to get off work while he kept the outdoor table glued to the floor with his feet propped against it.
Her lips pressed in a thin line as she wrapped her cardigan more securely around her. "I am."
"And a terrible liar," he said, an eyebrow arched.
"You're still annoyingly perceptive." The other eyebrow joined his first and she huffed. Fine. "I made a wish at the well and it didn't come true. I knew it was silly when I did it, but it is still a bit disappointing."
"To see your boy again?"
Milah smiled softly. There had been a time when she'd wished she could have two wishes before thinking better about it. "I couldn't ask Baelfire to leave where he is. Emma's told me he's happy. That should be enough." And it was,most days.
"If not him, then who?"
Milah gasped at him. "I did know how to make friends down in the Underworld, Killian." They never really talked about it. Her death still hurt him and she just wasn't ready.
"'Friend' friends or 'I like punching your face' friends?"
Milah laughed. "A bit of both. What's eternal boredom without a few bar brawls, hmm?"
"Fair enough. So who–" He cut off just as Milah felt the breeze in her hair and the scent of salt. She closed her eyes and she was back on the Jolly on a perfect day to sail.
Another voice tore her focus from Killian, causing her eyes to sting as her breath caught in her throat. "Milah?"
She turned and her joy turned to horror. He walked off the ship, away from the brilliant, perfect sailing day, and moved toward her. "Liam, no, go back, I didn't know that's where you–"
He cut her off with a desperate kiss that ended with a sigh of relief as he held her close.
Milah forced herself to pull back. "You need to go back before it's too late. I wouldn't have wished for you had I known you'd moved on."
"I've searched for you endlessly. " He pressed his forehead against hers, hands not stilling as they brushed back her hair, touched her cheek, slid down her arm, before starting all over. The portal behind him closed and he didn't flinch. "There is no happier place without you. I promised you forever and I meant it."
She felt herself relax completely for the first time since the last time he'd held her like this. She buried her face against his neck and wrapped her arms tight around him, all the safety she'd been missing over the years flooding into her."Good. Because I've really needed you."
His arms were nearly crushing her. "I'm here now," he promised, softly. After a few minutes he asked her, just as soft but with a bit of caution. "You didn't tell Killian about us, did you."
Milah tensed. "Does he look angry?"
"Slightly horrified. More confused, I think, than anything."
She pulled away but held her hand out to him. "Well, let's go, then. Hopefully your being here softens the blow."
It didn't, at first.
But then it did.
