Title: The Ever Circling Path
Part: 1 of 8
Author: Roguie etc.
Fandom: Once Upon a Time
Pairing: Killian/Emma
Rating: Let's go with T for now.
Spoilers: Just assume everything up to date is fair game; AU from Shattered Mirror on unless I get really creative.
Summary: Tired of the distance between them, Killian challenges Emma with an adventure, one that he controls entirely, at least until the final leg of the journey.
Disclaimer: OuaT isn't mine, has never been, probably will never be unless someone out there is feeling generous and wants to hire a poor girl. Until that day… yep, not gonna make a cent.
A/N: Don't yell at me! Don't yell at me! I intend to get back to Innocent Hearts shortly; my muse is just being stubborn. If it helps any, this one is completely plotted out from beginning to end; all I have to do is fill in the filler. ;)
Oh and I totally stole the basic idea for this story out of Kristy Bromberg's novel Crashed. If you haven't read Driven, Fueled and Crashed and you love an epic steamy romance with characters that will gut you from page one and never let go… yeah, read the trilogy; time well spent! Anyway, I've shamelessly stolen a little idea out of her great creation, just to give credit where credit's due. And yeah, okay, so it's not the same circumstance, and really has nothing to do with anything, but yeah, she gave me the idea. (*cough* read Driven *cough*)
Stroke the muse if you want chapters faster, just remember there are only 8, so the faster you ask for them, the faster this will be over. :)
~~~?~~~
It was quiet in Storybrooke without the threat of the Snow Queen looming over their heads. Days had passed without event, the ice wall surrounding the town had melted away, and life returned to the normal dull chaos that was natural for the transplanted fairy tale icons.
Emma's days grew together in mediocrity: climb out of bed in the morning, shower, dress, meet Mary Margaret in the kitchen for coffee, play with Neal, head to the station, organize paperwork or stare at the walls. At lunch she'd meet Killian at Granny's; they would walk through town, steal a few kisses, talk about nothing important until he walked her to the station and they parted ways.
She wished she could say that they'd moved forward from the initial days of awkwardness following their return from the past. She wished she could say she'd easily forgiven him for his secretive doings with Gold. She wished she could say he'd forgiven her for not realizing his heart no longer beat in his chest, no matter how desperately he'd tried to make them both believe nothing had changed. In the end, trust had fractured between them both. They'd built their relationship on the understanding that each could read the other like an open book, that their thoughts, their emotions, their very souls existed on display for the other to understand, and yet, they'd failed each other so completely that her heart had yet to recover. He'd dealt in secrets and betrayal, and she'd failed to see beyond the mask behind which he'd taken cover. He didn't trust in their love enough to believe she would stay, and she didn't believe enough in their love to trust the whispers in her heart that told her something beyond Ingrid's mirror dark shards was tearing him from her arms.
The progress they'd made in the days before he'd traded his heart for his hand was all but lost in the days that followed normality. Fortunately, the energy that grew between them couldn't be fractured as easily as trust, and rather than lose each other entirely, they started over at square one. Coffee dates at Granny's took the place of candle lit dinners. Slow, chaste kisses filled in for make out sessions that had once tested their will power and left them panting for more. Their talks, which had once consisted of private, painful details of their well protected histories, now skirted along the edge of acquaintance; how was work, how is Henry, is Killian looking to move from the bed and breakfast, does Emma still wish her own place? So on and so forth they circled each other, once again caught in an uncertain dance that left them both sad and alone, neither willing to make the first move to put them back on track.
The stupidest part was that she'd already forgiven him his mistakes; she just couldn't find the words or actions to show him that she finally understood. Everyone's emotions get the better of them at some time or another in their lives, the only difference with Killian is that when his emotions cloud his judgment, it's Killian's emotions clouding Captain Hook's judgment. The result of Hook making emotion based decisions was never less than messy, especially when fear of loss, something of which he was intimately familiar, was the dominant feeling he'd struggled to control.
The whole Killian situation is how she found herself leaving the Sheriff's station alone that night, where normally Killian would have walked her home just to steal a few moments of privacy away from their over filled lives. Instead, she twirled the keys to her bug around her fingers, fighting the urge to call Killian and beg him to forgive her obstinance.
She was so distracted by her thoughts that when her phone buzzed with Killian's text tone, the keys she'd been spinning on her fingers flew out of her grasp and landed a scant inch from the sewer grate in front of the building. She couldn't keep her instant scowl off her face as she dug the keys out of the slush filled puddle, shaking them off briskly.
"Captain Hook, my ass; Captain Bad Timing more like it," she muttered to herself as she pulled out her phone, quickly reading the text, frowning and then rereading it to make sure she understood.
Where as normally good form would see that I escort you home, princess, I was hoping, instead, that you'd be up for a bit of an adventure. If so, see the window of your yellow vessel. I look forward to your response, love, and perhaps your attention throughout this evening.
Curiosity getting the better of her, she moved towards her car, noticing the carefully wrapped box that lay on the dash within. She climbed into her driver's seat, shutting the door behind her, before reaching out to take the small box in her hands. Before opening it, she shot a quick text back to the pirate.
What're you up to, Killian?
It only took seconds before he replied.
Just an adventure, love, nothing more. Don't you trust me?
His words were like a knife through her heart, and her fingers sped across the virtual keyboard, answering as quickly as she could to avoid any accusation of hesitation.
Implicitly.
She could almost feel the sudden warmth that came through with his final text, a small smile lighting her face as she definitely could feel the tension beginning to bleed from her body.
Then I suppose I'll see you at the finish. Happy adventuring to you, Swan.
Without further delay, she tore the small bit of paper from the box, her brow furrowing in confusion as she held up a single bean, wrapped in an ornate metal clasp, dangling from a silver chain. Beneath it lay a folded paper, Killian's distinctive scrolling penmanship visible between the layers.
Emma,
Due to circumstance, I fear I cannot ask you to return to the very first adventure we shared. With only one bean remaining from my trade of the Jolly Roger, I cannot promise that if we returned to our beanstalk we'd ever again see the shores of Storybrooke. So rather than tempt the cruel mistress of fate, perhaps you would find it in your heart to return, instead, to the fields in this world that once grew fertile with beans, and tempted your return to my lands. At the center of the field you will find your next leg of our adventure. A woman as astute as yourself should have no trouble recognizing where I have placed your next clue.
With great affection and respect,
Yours,
Killian.
A small tremble coursed through Emma's body; it had been many long days since they'd been on a level that spoke of love rather than acquaintance. It seemed the adventure he set her upon was his version of taking the first step out of their seemingly unending neutrality and back onto the path of something more.
For the first time in what felt like forever, a genuine smile reached her eyes as she turned over the engine and headed just out of town to where the old bean fields remained. A shimmer of excitement flushed her cheeks; she couldn't wait to see what he had in store.
~~~TBC~~~
Coming Soon:
"As you once imprisoned me, love, I, too, imprisoned you. How far have we've come in our battle to deny our hearts' desires? These last days with you, yet apart, have shown me that nothing again will come between us; you have imprisoned me once again, love, only this time you've taken my heart and locked it far away. Further than even the impish fingers of Rumplestiltskin could ever reach. Would it be poor form to tell you that I truly wish for you to never set it free? Perhaps we could negotiate a prisoner exchange of sorts? If you find yourself willing, I would carry your heart with me in place of my own, always."
How soon it's posted is entirely up to you!
Remember, much like magic, all muses come with a price. This muse's price is that little box down below. Please don't make her chase you for payment, it's a bloody awful waste of her time, and just makes it that much longer between updates.