This is by far my favorite one shot I've written. I had the idea when I was on pinterest(I may or may not be addicted) and saw something about bucket lists. One of the things was buy a random ticket at the airport and this was born. Hope y'all enjoy it.
And ANNOUNCEMENT: I am working on a new mutli chapter fic that will be released sometime this year. First 5 people who comment on this fic can choose a name to be used in that new fic! So, comment away!
Thanks for reading. Review and enjoy!
Emma wanted this she convinced herself. She needed this. She needed to let go and relax, and this was the way to do it. Either that or this was completely stupid and a waste of money.
She went with she needed this.
Emma had walked into the airport, bought the cheapest ticket to who knows where, and boarded the plan without a thought. It was only now that she had spent the money and was actually on the plane that she was starting to think this might not have been her greatest idea.
But it was too late. She was on the plane and going through with this. She had been lucky enough to get a window seat at least. Maybe this wouldn't be that bad. She would land in her mystery destination, spend the weekend there, and return to Boston recharged and ready for work.
All of the sudden a man, probably around her age, came up to her isle and put a bag in the overhead. She prayed that he wasn't in her row, that she could just be by herself for the flight, but she knew she had terrible luck. Sure enough, the scruffy man with bright blue eyes came into her row and sat right next to her.
"Killian Jones." He smiled at her, extending a hand. She took it, but didn't offer a name, only giving him an eye brow raise and a bit of a strange look. Emma was praying that he was not one of those "let's talk" guys.
But her luck hadn't been great all night, so why should he be different.
"No need to fear me love." He said to her.
"Not your love." She waited a moment, seeing a woman walk up to the intercom. "They're about to start the pre-flight announcements. Better be quiet."
"No one listens to those. They merely tell you the destination and how to use the oxygen masks."
"Well, I'd like to know both of those things." She quickly retorted.
"You don't know the destination?" He raised an eyebrow at her.
"Not really." Emma said, hoping be wouldn't ask her to explain herself.
"Then by all means, listen to the boring announcer lady." He motioned to the front of the plane. The woman started talking in a mellow toned voice that was sure to put a few people to sleep. She,sadly, started out with all the safety regulations. Emma zoned out a bit, despite her telling her obnoxious neighbor that she wanted to hear it. She was a natural at survival, she would figure it out.
Eventually the woman wished everyone a wonderful flight, adding in they would be landing in Nova Scotia in a few hours. Emma grunted softly to herself. What had she gotten into?
"Happy with the destination, love?" Killian piped up. Emma rested her head against the seat, rolling her eyes.
"Still not your love. And it's fine." She muttered.
"You don't know where it is, do you?" He laughed. This guy was getting more annoying by the second.
She sat up to face him. "And what makes you think that?" Emma challenged him.
"Well, love." She made a face at him again. "You're something of an open book to me. That and the fact no one really has heard of it."
"Open book, huh?" She chuckled. Who did this guy think he was? "Well, pal, I'm not a book you'd want to read. "
"And what makes you say that? You seem quite enjoyable." He told her, with a slight smirk.
"And you don't seem annoying at first glance and yet you are." She said, hoping that would end the conversation.
But it didn't.
"You're a fiesty one, aren't you?" He said, waiting for a response. When she remained silent, he kept talking. "Some men would take your silence as offputting, but I love a challenge."
"Do you now?" Emma finally spoke. It wasn't like she could get away from this creep and he obviously would not stop bugging her, so why not have some fun.
"You're afraid to talk. To reveal yourself. To trust me." He said as if it were a sure fact.
"Because I should trust every stranger I meet on a plane?" She countered.
"No, but I'm not a murder so you haven't worry. You can trust me."
"Oh yeah?" Emma questioned, annoyed. "And why should I?"
"Like I said, love, open book."
She let that last love slip by. He was annoying, yet intriguing. Something told her he was different. Something told her she could trust him. But that something clearly needed to shut up.
"You are looking for adventure." Killian continued. "You want to escape life and do something for yourself. "
"Well, life sucks,so" Emma muttered, a bit to loud because he obviously heard her.
"But you don't want to leave the people in your life. You don't want to abandon them the way you were abandoned." She opened her mouth to argue, or maybe ask what he was talking about,but he put up a hand to stop her. "It's the open book thing love. "
"How would you know that?" Emma asked, slowly.
"I've seen the look of someone who has been abandoned. They all have the same look in their eyes. It's the look you get when you've been left alone. "
He understood her-a fact that terrified Emma. He was the first person who actually got it and she barley knew him. He challenge her, made her think. He was not being rude, as much as Emma wanted to think he was. He cared. It was a foreign feeling, someone genuinely caring about her, and from a stranger non the less.
"And how do you know the look of someone whose been abandoned?" She finally asked.
He leaned a bit closer to her. "Maybe we are not that different love."
"Maybe we're not." That something that told her to trust him was back, a strong pang that told her he wouldn't her. She had always listened to her gut, so why not now. The only difference was this time her gut wasn't telling her to run away, it was telling her to stay put.
She decided to trust her gut once again and take a leap of faith.
"My name is Emma Swan."
The hours of the flight had almost been...enjoyable. They had been more than enjoyable if Emma was honest with herself, but she wasn't pushing it. Killian Jones was a genuinely nice guy. They had talked the entire time, telling each other about jobs, families, pasts and futures.
He had been an orphan too. His mother died when he was young and his father walked on on him and his brother, Liam, when he was only eleven. They spent a brief time in the system in Ireland before a relative in America offered to take the two boys in. It was not ideal he said and no where close to a happy family, but they were safe and they were together. When Liam turned eighteen, he fought for legal custody of Killain, who was the time was fourteen. The relative keeping them did not care much one way or another, so Liam took him. The next four years were hard, but they were happy. Killian turned eighteen and went to university on a scholarship while Liam enlisted in the Navy, rising quickly through the ranks. Seeing his brother's success, Killian thought about joining to, but those ideas were squashed with Liam' s death. He fell into a state of depression, accompanied by a reliance on alcohol. He remained like that until he met a girl named Milah. Their romance was short lived as she had neglected to mention that she was married. He trudged on after that, for his brother's sake, rising through the journalism ranks. He was currently 29, only a year older than Emma, and residing about a half hour outside of Boston.
Emma revealed her past about being left on the side of the freeway and growing up in the foster system. When she got out she met a guy, Neal, and thought she was in love. He turned on to be a phony, but was considerate enough to leave her the gifts of eleven months of jail and nine months of pregnancy. She kept the baby, naming him Henry, and made a fresh start for herself in Boston, becoming a bail bonds person. She had few friends, really only David, a coworker and his wife Mary Margaret, who were watching her son for the weekend.
They left the plane in silence, neither one wanting to be the first to address their inevitable goodbye. They claimed luggage and went through the motions, only making small talk.
"So, where are you staying? " Emma asked casually, hoping to nonchalantly slide into the goodbyes.
"There is a small privately owned hotel a few miles away. Berta' s, I think. "
"Cool." Emma breathed out. "My hotel is on the other side of town I think."
They continued in silence, until they were outside, the cold air waking her up. She shivered slightly, as she had been in short sleeves, not knowing where she was going when she had purchased the ticket. Killian noticed this and shrugged off his leather jacket and placed it around her shoulders.
"No, Killian, I'm fine." She protested, moving back a bit.
"No, you're not, Swan." He said, using his nickname for her."And now, I have an excuse to see you again."
Emma smiled slightly, looking down as she pulled the jacket tighter around herself. A car pulled up to the curb,and Emma frowned. It was Killian' s coworker who had flown in a few days prior. Killian had told Emma he was here for some type of convention.
"Well, Swan, it appears this is goodbye." He said, moving towards her a bit.
"Yeah it is."
"I hope I'm not to forward when I say that I will be thinking of you."
She smiled up at him. "Good. " She went onto her toes and placed a soft kiss on his cheek.
"My business card is in the front pocket. My work phone is on the front and I wrote my cell number on the back." She gave him a strange look, but he rushed into explain himself. "When I saw just how bloody breathtaking my neighbor on the plane was, I thought I should put it down, just in case."
Emma couldn't help but laugh at his. He reached forward to move a strand of hair that laid in her face to behind her ear. She looked down at the ground, blushing. "Goodbye, Killian." She whispered.
"Goodbye, Swan. " He said, slowly making the distance between them larger until he was entering the car, giving her one final look of goodbye before riding away.
Emma grabbed her stuff to get a cab so she could enjoy the rest of her weekend. But all she really wanted to do was go back to Boston and spend time with Killian Jones.
The second time Emma and Killian flew together was even better than the first. Their hands were interlocked, Killian softly rubbing her knuckles and every now and them grazing her wedding ring. They both looked out the window in anticipation, fully knowing where they were going. Their honeymoon.
Emma thanked her lucky stars she had gotten on that plane four years ago to Nova Scotia. Maybe her luck wasn't that bad after all.
