Author's Note: Written for a fic prompt I got on Tumblr by anon. =) Italics are flashbacks. Reviews are appreciated.
The cold air nipped at Emma Swan's cheeks as she walked away from Granny's Diner, hand in hand with Killian Jones. Having just had dinner and several glasses of wine (Killian had rum), she was feeling pretty freakin awesome. She looked around at the beauty of the town. The snow on the ground, the Christmas lights around the light poles. It was pure magic in it's own way. She was happy. Shivering, she hunched her shoulders up, trying to block the light wind. "Geez, it's freezing!" she exclaimed. Killian, chuckling, released his hand from hers and put his arm around her, rubbing her arms with both hands.
Emma, stumbling and smiling, leaned into him, remembering that, indeed, he did have both hands. Months ago, having already established that she and Killian were a couple, she confronted Gold about the left hand that was sitting in his shop. He refused her when she asked for it, but when Emma kindly reminded him that he owed her a favor, he had no choice but to give in. Gold, however, would not be the one to re-attach it. He informed her that she was on her own with that one.
Having had to do some more magic in Neverland, Emma felt a bit more comfortable and practiced using her magic. She would never forget the look in Killian's eyes when he brought his left hand to his face, stretching his fingers, shock and awe all over his features. He looked at her then, bringing his new hand to her face, running it along her cheeks, through her hair. "Thank you." he had said, with more emotion than he could ever describe. Later that night, he showed how grateful he was, with both hands.
Emma smirked, reliving that memory. She had been with Killian for about a year now. After their Neverland adventure, they had grown closer, there was no doubt. After months of denying she had any type of feelings for the pirate to everyone who asked, including Killian, he had decided to test that theory…
She was running as fast as she could towards the docks. He couldn't be leaving. What had she done? she thought to herself. Hours earlier, Captain Hook, Killian Jones, had confessed his feelings to her. "I love you." he had said, swallowing. "I can no longer fight it….nor do I wish to." he had said, waiting for an answer. Needless to say, Emma freaked out. Not physically, just staring at him, but mentally. She didn't want to deal with this. She didn't want to face it. She swallowed. He was backing her into a corner, forcing her to face what she felt. He was a sneaky bastard, indeed.
"Killian, I…." she had paused, looking down. She couldn't look at him, standing in front of her, just waiting, unmoving. "I'm sorry." she had said, and ran, leaving him at the docks. At the time, she didn't know what else to do. She had gone home and acted like everything was ok, when inside, she was trying to hold her walls up. They were crumbling. After hearing from her mother a little while ago that Leroy had spotted Hook preparing to leave port , she was running again. This time, not away from him, but towards him.
Spotting his ship, she thanked the Gods above that he was still there. She ran up the stairs, onto the deck. "Killian?" she called, slowing, trying to catch her breath, holding her side. He emerged from below deck. "What are you doing here, Swan?" he asked, brows furrowed, waiting, again. "You're leaving? Just like that?" she asked, breathing hard, stepping toward him. He shrugged. "There's nothing here for me. It's time I go." he said evenly, map in hand. As he walked past her, towards the wheel, she caught his arm, turning him around. She closed her eyes, tired of fighting, and opened them again. "Don't go." she said quietly. Killian swallowed. "Why?" he asked, eyebrow raised.
She looked him straight in the eye. "I need you here." Killian released his arm from her grip and turned towards her, inches from her. "Why?" he asked again. Emma swallowed again, blinking, releasing a single tear she hadn't realized had been forming. Killian was breathing heavily, waiting, looking directly in her eyes, still. "Because….I love you." she sighed, the confession finally escaping her lips. There it was. Out in the open. "You've bested me." she said, lips trembling slightly. She was afraid. She knew Killian could tell.
Stepping towards her, he cupped her cheek with his right hand and put his forehead against hers. "It's about bloody time." he said, smiling, sighing.
She was shaken out of her memory at Killian's words. "You know, when I was a young lad, my father taught me how to make snowballs in just the right size to have the most effect on your target." he chuckled. She looked at him, an idea beginning to form as she remembered the snow around them. "Really?" she asked. She stopped suddenly, making Killian stop as well. She reached down, forming the snow in her palms into a ball, standing and smirking, still stumbling slightly. "How's this size?" she asked playfully. He slowly stepped back. "That's…not quite right." Before he could say anything else, she flung the snowball at him, hitting him on his shoulder. Killian laughed. "Ah, lass, if that's how you want to play it." He reached down and made a snowball himself as Emma screamed and ran behind a car, reaching to make another.
Popping her head up, she ducked quickly as she saw him aiming and the snowball fell into her hair. She screamed, feeling the ice dripping onto her face, laughing. "My Dear Captain, you're gonna regret that." she said, coming out of her hiding spot, charging at him. Since they were both buzzed, it didn't take much for them to fall backwards on the ground, laughing. She sprinkled the ball over his head as he screamed "Bloody hell, that's cold!" He rolled over and pinned her to ground, sprinkling snow all over her, chuckling as she screamed.
She was drunk, she was playing in the snow, and Emma Swan was pretty sure she'd have a killer hangover in the morning; but that didn't matter. Like she said, she was happy.
End.
