category: Once Upon a Time

ships: captain swan (mainly), outlaw queen, snowing, captain charming.

genre: romance/comedy

rating: T

summary: (AU) "TiMER. The newest technology developed to countdown the days until you met your one true love." Emma Swan has had her TiMER for over 10 years now and it still remains blank, reminding her that her happy ending isn't as close as she had hoped. Having her friends find their perfect matches can be disconcerting, but perhaps the arrival of an old friend who is lacking a TiMER of his own might lift her spirits. (based off the movie TiMER)

Here's another story i uploaded on my tumblr (killiansadvocate). Let me know how this was or if you have any questions :) Also, though this is based on 'TiMER', I won't be following the plot exactly. It's more of the idea of the movie this story is based on.


'If a clock could count down to the exact moment you meet your soul mate, would you want to know? That is the claim of our new devices called "the TiMER." The next evolutionary step in computer match making, the TiMER lets you know when your perfect match has entered your life! With it's-"

"Since the data discovered that all humans are on a path to true love, implanted just after the onset of puberty, and powered by body heat, the TiMER monitors level of oxytocin, the love hormone-"

"I zeroed out at midnight the night before, and the next day, I got a soul mate. My one true love. Ellen, I don't think I can even describe the feeling I had when I saw him-"

"This progression of technology has come to the point where it is now telling us who to love? When will this madness end?"

"I think it's amazing! Why choose to settle now that you can know when "the one" is just days away?"

"I didn't get one and I don't think I'm going to. I'd rather decide myself who I want in my life, thanks."

"Who says no to true love? It's unheard of."

"Jesus, is this all they talk about now? What happened to the real news? Like murders! What happened to all of the murders in the world? Let's get back to that," Emma Nolan grumbled, asking her friends who were in the kitchen watching her in amusement. She shut off the television in frustration and turned her body on the couch to face them, expecting an answer.

"I'm sorry, are you saying you want more murders to happen?" Regina Mills, the brunette in a burgundy business suit said, setting her glass on the marble counter top to make her way to the oven to check on her apple pie.

"No, I'd just rather hear about them than this crap," Emma made her way to the counter. Mary Margaret Blanchard, the smaller brunette currently perched on a stool at the counter, placed her chin in the palm of her hand, smiling up at her blonde friend.

"I don't think that makes it sound better, Em," Emma rolled her eyes, before casting them to Regina, who was pulling out her pie, consuming the room in the sweet smells of apple and cinnamon.

"Whatever, I am just saying that this is all that you hear about now! These damn TiMERs and all of the news of people finding love and how much happier they are not that they have it. It's not even new, these things have been around forever!" She went on, looking at the women she calls friends for their agreement. Instead, they turned to each other, raising their eyebrows, daring the other to call her out on what she is saying.

Mary Margaret was the one to speak up while Regina puts the finishing touches of her dinner. "Emma, maybe you feel this annoyed with all of the talk of TiMERs because yours is still blank?" she questioned her frazzled friend, hoping Emma doesn't freak out at the accusation as she has done in the past.

Emma turned her right wrist over, taking in what her friend had said. Her jade green eyes took in the rectangle glass with rounded edges embedded into her skin. The numbers on the clock were blinking the same thing it's been blinking since she got it on her 13th birthday.

000 days 00 hours 00 minutes 00 secs

Whoever her soul mate was, he apparently didn't get the news about these "useful" tools.

And maybe it was the wine talking, but she really wanted to punch him in the face for that.

But she couldn't deny that there was some truth to Mary Margaret's words, not matter how much Emma wants to deny it. She knew petite woman didn't mean anything by them, but they still hurt. She got the TiMER on her 13th birthday, from her mother. It was her gift, something Ruth gave to her children, her brother David got one too, and with it came the promises of true love and happiness to last a lifetime. Although, while David's TiMER came to life displaying the time he would meet his perfect match (1,824 days, 13 hours, 12 minutes, 25 secs), hers remained stationary, mocking her as they blinked zero.

"Give it some time baby, he's just not ready yet," her mother whispered as she tried not to be disappointed.

And heeding her mother's words, she did give it some time. A lot of time, in fact. She waited patiently, hoping to see the numbers flash on her wrist, giving her that spark of hope that she could have real happiness in her life. Sadly, it never came to that.

She is 27 now and still her TiMER remains blank. She doesn't wake up with hopeful thoughts anymore, no longer checking her wrist when she wakes up in the morning. She has continued living her life in spite of the clock implanted in her, falling in love and being heartbroken countless of times. But even though she brushes everything off and puts on a whatever attitude, she still catches herself wondering when her "one" will finally alert her that he's ready to find her.

"No," Emma spoke up, finally breaking her inner thoughts. "You just believe that because your TiMER zeroed out and you met your true love the first day of college." Mary Margaret shrugged her shoulders, letting the real issue drop and just following along to what she said, smiling at the memory of when her TiMER went off.

Mary Margaret Mary Margaret found her true love in the eyes of Emma's brother, David Nolan on the freshman orientation at Boston College and have been together

"Also, Regina's TiMER is blank too, so wouldn't she be complaining too if that was it?" Emma made her point by sweeping her arm to point at Regina who was nodding along, not really paying attention as she moved around to set her pristine table. What they didn't see was Regina's quick glance at her wrist to look at her own TiMER, the glass rimmed in purple blinking the same numbers as Emma.

"Exactly, it is the principle of the matter, Mary Margaret! That and it just pisses me off," Emma went on, moving from the counter to the table, caring the basket full of bread. Regina took the basket from Emma placing it in the right spot before wiping her hands signifying she was done with her dinner preparations.

"Right, sure, whatever, let's change the topic, shall we? When is your fiancé and his guest of honor coming over? Dinner is finished and if it gets cold, David is going to get my shoe up his-"

"Wait, David is bringing someone to dinner? Should you be worried?" Emma jested, turning to her friend who gave her a look but chuckled good naturedly.

"Did you ever get meet your brother's best friend when you came to visit us on holidays?" Emma pondered that question to think over the times when she did use to visit her brother at his school. While David got out of his hometown, Emma chose to stay in their small town in Maine to study law. It was only on those small holidays and breaks that she went with her mother to visit her brother and his new girlfriend to celebrate. Thinking back, she never met any other of his friends beside Mary Margaret and his roommate, Graham Humbert, who also found his true love at Boston College.

"Is it Graham? That was the only person I met when I went to see you guys," Mary Margaret shook her head laughing.

"No, no, Graham was David's friend, but Killian was his best friend. They would cause so much trouble together. Well, more Killian then David, but the statement still stands," Mary Margaret said with a nostalgic smile. "Anyway, he ran into him a couple of days ago at the market no less, and it turns out, he moved back from England just a couple of months ago. He went to go meet him for a drink before dinner … and I am now just realizing what a bad idea that was."

Regina raised an eyebrow at Emma, "How have you not met your brother's friend from school? Did he just not show up when you were there?" Mary Margaret answered while Emma gave a confused shrug.

"Well, Killian was foreign so he went back to England the first two years during holidays. After that, I think his sister got married and moved here, and he would just travel to New York to see her." She explained to the two women before her. Before more could be discussed, they were interrupted be a sudden bang coming from the door and laughter emanating from two men, one who was clearly David and the other that was unfamiliar.

Mary Margaret rose from her seat and rolled her eyes with a sweet smile on her face, "Prepare for the worst ladies." She went to the door to leave Emma and Regina by the table, both raising their eyebrows wondering what was to come.

Mary Margaret opened the door and was greeted with a huge kiss from her fiancé and the laughter of his friend. "Honey, I'm home!" Mary Margaret slapped the other man in the chest before gathering him into a big hug that he returned greatly.

"Please, please tell me you did not get him drunk before dinner, Killian!" The man, who turned her so his back was facing the other two women, not giving them a good view of the man, grasped her shoulder and gave her a kiss on the forehead.

"Oh, I would never do that lass, honest. Who do you take me for?" his voice held a strong accent, but held a smirk all the same. Mary Margaret crossed her arms and smirked right back.

"The infamous Killian Jones," she answered back narrowing her eyes playfully. Killian laughed out loud, throwing his head back.

"and don't you forget it," he tapped her nose in answer before turning around to finally meet the other people in the apartment, giving Regina and Emma to finally look at his face.

Emma held her breath when his eyes met hers, feeing something that she can't say she has ever felt before. She grasped her wrist, fingers grazing her TiMER subconsciously. Whoever he was he sure made an impact already.

His eyes were a crystalline blue, brightening the more he smiled. He was handsome, no one, not even Regina, who was a picky person, could deny that. He had ebony black hair that fell in his eyes in that attractive way that she never understood before, (except now.) His jaw was strong and dusted with dark scruff giving him that rogue look that no doubt made every woman fall in love with him on sight.

The moment of them just staring was broken by David laughing and grasping Killian's shoulders from behind shaking him in his excitement.

"Killian, let me introduce you to our friend, Regina Mills, and my sister, Emma," Regina stepped forward, the only one who saw the charged encounter between him and Emma, and took his hand in a polite shake.

"Well, it is nice to meet you, Killian. We usually have these dinners monthly, so I feel we will be seeing you here very very often," Killian raised his eyebrows at the tone of her voice, taking a quick glance at Emma, who was narrowing her eyes at Regina, knowing exactly what she was doing.

"Well, I do hope so, miss," He gave her a smile, which she returned before turning the hand she had in her own, pulling the sleeve up to reveal his bare wrist.

"Oh, no TiMER? Well," she turned to Emma giving her a mischievous smile, "isn't that something, hmm, Emma?"

"Regina," she said warningly turning her eyes from the woman to shake her brother's friend's hand. He smiled, show her his perfect set of white teeth.

"It is nice to meet you Emma, it is a shame we are only meeting now, but I have heard so much about you; although I must admit, you are much more beautiful than I was told," his thumb grazed over the knuckles of her right hand, and she felt her breath hitch in her throat. Her eye lashes fluttered, but she suppressed the overwhelming feelings she was having and turned to her brother and his fiancée, Mary Margaret watching the two with interest while David was still smiling at his friend and, perhaps, a little bit tipsy.

"Time for dinner?" and if her voice came out a little breathless, she won't be admitting it.

With Regina's famous lasagna almost completely finished and everyone's stomachs still hurting from the countless tales of David and Killian's adventures in college and how Mary Margaret had to bail them out every time, they had now settled down with a plate of her warm apple pie conversing.

"So, when's the special day? And may I add, it is about bloody time, you two were already practically married in college! You should have just took my advice and eloped in Vegas when you had the chance, mate," Killian jested, nudging his friend with a laugh.

"Funny, I think Emma told me the same thing when we told her about that trip we took," Mary Margaret said, turning to the blonde who was finishing her last bite of apple pie. She gave Emma a look that could only mean trouble.

"Well, it made sense," Killian and Emma answered in unison. The two locked eyes from across the table, and he gave her another smile, tilting his head in amusement.

"Oh, this is great," Regina mumbled from beside Regina, smirking into her cup. She then jumped in her seat, feeling someone kick her in the shin and swung her head to Emma, who was innocently wiping her hands.

"Well, I suppose it is time to clean up this mess," Regina stood to gather the empty plates around the table in front of her.

"I would be honor to help, seeing as I crashed your dinner," Killian replied taking the plates from her hands like a true gentleman. Regina looked at Emma and then turned back to the blue eyed man, waiting for her answer.

"Now that is very nice of you, Killian, thank you. You know, it is actually Emma's turn for clean up this time, so I'm sure she would love the help."

"Actually, I," but before Emma could finish he refusal, Mary Margaret jumped in. "Yes she would. So you guys go in the kitchen, and Regina, David, and I will be in the living room," Mary Margaret said puling David to follow Regina. David's face scrunched in confusion as he leaned his head down to talk to his fiancée.

"But, I wanted to talk to Killian about-"

"David, hush, okay?" Mary Margaret said in a whisper, still pulling him away, leaving Killian and Emma with the empty plates of their dessert. Emma turned from seeing her so called friends walk away to meet the beautiful eyes of the gentleman in front of her. He smiled sheepishly and turned to the kitchen. Emma stood in her spot, letting out a breath, before turning to follow him.

"I, uh, I'm sorry that they left you stuck with me and the dishes. Actually, I apologize for them in general," She said, puting the dishes in the sink to start cleaning the dishes. Killian grabbed a dish rag and took his place beside her to dry what she washed. His shoulder grazed hers, and she couldn't help but feel something turn in her stomach. He chuckled, the sound sounding both rough and gentle, making her head spin. 'What is wrong with you Emma, get a hold of yourself!'

She shook her head and glanced his way, "It's no problem, love, honest. I have been in worst situations; besides, I don't think this can be so bad, do you?" His eye brow rose at the question. She smirked and shrug her shoulders, handing him a plate.

"I suppose," she said, leaving her eyes to the sink and not the man next to her. She can't deny she's feeling … something, but it doesn't mean she has to act on it. The weight of the clock on her wrist reminds her of that.

"So, I noticed that you have one of those TiMER things," he started, speaking low as to not disturb the calm air between the two. She felt her body go tense like it does whenever anyone brings up the TiMER issue.

"Yeah, it's blank though, so it's not even a TiMER but more like the clock of a VCR," she joked making him laugh. He dried the rest of the dishes she passed to him in a comfortable silence that she was grateful for.

As he finished the last dish and he wiped his hands dry, he turned his body towards her, leaning his hip against the sink. She mirrored his actions, but took a small step back from his body, feeling too crowded in the empty room. With a tilt of his head, he studied her before speaking up.

"I'm sorry for that. I remember David telling me when he got his and how you got yours the same day. It must be tough to know that the happy ending you are looking for is still hiding from your reach," he crooned, giving her a reassuring smile. For the second (who is she kidding, third) time, her eyelashes fluttered at the sincere lilt of his voice. He only knows her as his best friend's sister, but he still gave her the reassurance she gives herself and he looks at her as if he knows everything that she has been through and knows what she is thinking.

It is both parts terrifying and sweet.

She clears her throat and crosses her arms before answering her defense. "Yeah, sure I guess. I like to think that I'm dealing with it, because it's no big deal really," he gave her a look that simply stated that he didn't quite believe her, but she went on anyways.

"Plus, it's not so overwhelming with Regina by my side, you know? She got hers just a couple of years ago, but it's blank too. We kind of use each other as some sort of support system, so if that's all I get right now, I am okay with that," she finished with a pursed lip smile, confirming that she doesn't quite believe what she is saying herself. He gave her scrutinizing look, before he opened his mouth to answer. Unfortunately, they were interrupted by a sounding coming from the living room.

'Beep-beep-beep beeeeep'

'No fucking way' Emma thought, her eyes going to her wrist as quickly as she could without breaking her neck. Killian perked up, looking at her wrist too, but was met with the same time it said before

000 days 00 hours 00 minutes 00 secs

"If it's not yours, love, then," he was cut off as she ran to the living room and stopped in front of Regina, who was crowded by David and Mary Margaret, the later not being able to keep from squealing.

"Oh my god, Regina, it went off! Your TiMER finally zeroed out!" Mary Margaret had tears in her eyes from the excitement, looking at David, who in turn was looking warily at his sister. Emma kept her eyes on Regina's wrist, said women doing the same in shock.

"I – I didn't think," and with that Emma, grabbed Regina's wrist to finally see what the verdict was. She gasped in shock at the time in front of her.

002 days 002 hours 25 minutes 47 secs…

"Two days …" Emma said quietly, not letting go of Regina's wrist.

"Emma," David started calmly, putting his hand on her shoulder. Mary Margaret took a cautious step forward too, her enthusiasm for Regina lessened. Regina didn't say anything, still looking at her wrist in shock.

"Two days! Are you fucking kidding me?!" Emma yelled, letting go of Regina's wrist before turning on her heel to run off. Everything was closing in and she needed to get the hell out of this apartment for her sake.

She grabbed her coat and purse from the couch and brushed past Killian, who made his way into the living room, not looking at him as she ran for the door. She could hear David and Mary Margaret yelling for her, but she couldn't turn back. She felt humiliated and embarrassed of herself for the way she reacted, but she couldn't face that right now. She'll apologize tomorrow.

Right now, all she needed was a drink.