I don't own OUAT
A man is what he is. The good, the bad. A man may act kind one day, and cruel the next, but he is still the same man. To expect a murderer to become a hero is insane, and to berate him for being what he is, for doing what he does… She comes back to him when he has saved the day, happy to see him as the hero. She says she has always seen the good in him. The next day, he does something bad. She leaves, screaming at him for not being a good man. She demands he always be the good that she claims to see.
He can't take it. The coming, the going. She doesn't want him at all. Just some idealized version. He can no longer bear trying to be good enough for her standards. He needs to be with someone who accepts the good in him with the bad, allowing him to be himself, not one or the other. So he finds himself at the door to the Queen's apartment, a bundle of roses in hand. They had been together once, many years ago. He had been happy with her, reveling in her darkness and his own. But she had left him, too much in the dark to accept his tiny sliver of light.
Now the Queen has returned, her heart back, and lighter than he ever knew it. She was never a good girl and never will be, but she sees love now. The Queen could kill a man without a second thought, but would hate herself for making her daughter cry. She is dark, so very dark, but she has light. She would accept his light.
He raises his hand to knock at her door when he hears voices inside. The first words, spoken by the man, are muffled. Then voices are raised.
"What do you mean, you love him?" Her voice is shrill, and even without seeing her, he knows there is danger behind them. He knows he should leave, but something keeps him there, ear pressed against the door to hear better.
"Well, you know." The man chuckles. "Pirates always have liked Gold"
"This is not the time for stupid jokes. We spent 28 years together on the island!"
"Yes, and I've spent hundreds of years obsessed over him. I wouldn't go throwing around numbers, love. I know you don't like to lose."
"How did you come to this conclusion? The past hundred years have been spent trying to kill him, as I recall. Not exactly loving behavior." The man, the pirate, laughs again. A stupid move, when the Queen is already so angry. But he hasn't been killed yet. The pirate who claims to love him is surviving the Queen's wrath.
"There's a fine line between love and hate, my dear Cora. And you know as well as I that he has certain charms. I recall you telling me about them the first time I kissed you. " She lets out a little shriek, and he can hear angry footsteps, high heels slamming against the floor.
"Get out!"
And he is falling at her feet, the door he had been leaning against thrown open. The flowers spill across the room in the fall, and he is looking up at a pair of red faces, one filled with anger and the other embarrassment. He fumbles to his feet, leaving the roses scattered on the ground.
"Sorry to interrupt…" He looks between the two faces, absorbing all that he had just learned. The Queen of Hearts had been having an affair with Captain Hook. Who, apparently, is more interested in being with him.
Cora is still angry, and the skin above her nose puckers just so, as it always did before. He knows that look, but he'd prefer she give him another one. So he leans forward and kisses her, doing what he came here to do. She doesn't push him back, and he can practically hear the gulp Hook gives when she pulls him closer instead. They break apart, and she's flushed in an entirely different way than before.
"Killian," She says. "Close the door. Be sure it's locked."
He looks between the pair of them: Cora looking at the pirate, Hook sneaking glances his way while doing as he's told. Something about this situation seems dangerous, but he can't bring himself to mind. He knows what Cora is planning this time and is more than willing to do as she asks. A smile spreads across her face.
"I think I may know a way that everyone can get what they want."
The lock clicks into place.