There are some days when Killian really, really hates his job. More often than not, his frustration is due to one blonde savior named Emma Swan, who literally could not be doing a better job of almost getting herself killed daily if she had been trying. As her guardian angel, the constant near-death experiences were really beginning to wear on Killian's nerves; he hadn't been on Earth this much since the bloody planet had been created.
Just as he was ruminating on the various inconveniences of Emma Swan, he felt a familiar twinge that indicated that the woman herself was in fact, about to be in trouble. Again.
Feeling more irritated than a being with extremely minimal feelings had any right to, Killian swooped down to Storybrooke, landing not in the heat of battle, but in the Sheriff's office. Invisible, he watched Emma strapping her gun into its holster, probably definitely preparing to do something stupidly heroic and terribly dangerous. Letting his frustration get the better of him, Killian revealed himself and drawled, "And just what in the bloody hell do you think you're doing?" Emma started violently, pulling her gun back out and spinning around to aim at the unexpected presence.
She was greeted by the sight of an unfairly attractive man leaning against her desk, sporting a well-fitted leather jacket and enough eyeliner to give Kim Kardashian a run for her money. Of course, her analysis of his eyeliner became rather insignificant in light of the enormous black-blue wings attached to his back, each almost five feet tall and as wide as the man's body. Without lowering the gun, Emma demanded, "And just what the hell are you?"
Chuckling lowly, he used his hands to push off the desk, and replied, "Well, I asked the first question, but I happen to be your guardian angel, love," Though Emma secretly thought that would explain the wings (wings, for goodness' sake), she remained outwardly dubious and motioned to his all-black, modern pirate-esque getup with her gun, then asked, "Aren't angels supposed to be all white-robed and hippie-haired? If, you know, angels do even exist, which frankly, I'm not buying." Tilting his head and licking his lips, (which was so, so illegal, by the way), the maybe-angel responded, "Angels can appear in whatever form they so desire, this just happens to be my preferred visage. I can assure you that whatever knowledge you think you have on the subject of angels is skewed in many aspects. However, it is true that as your guardian angel, I have been watching over you for almost all your life."
Completely bewildered and trying to process the implications of freaking angels, Emma lowered her gun and lashed out, "Where were you when I was being shuffled between foster homes? When I was stuck with abusive foster parents, and…." She petered out, both out of breath and in danger of giving too much away if she continued. Killian, even angrier at the implication that he had been negligent in his duty to protect her, all but hissed, "Had you ever noticed that right before things became truly unbearable, you were always relocated, without fail? That foster parents who had been capitalizing on their abuse of their charges for years suddenly decided to give you up without realizing why? It was all me! Everything I have done has lead to your son, to you finding your parents, your home!"
Panting while Emma stared on, wide-eyed, Killian abruptly realized that he had let his cool, collected veneer slip away in his rage at his charge's accusations. Straightening his jacket, he shook his head and let the usual cocky grin overtake his face. As Emma continued to gape, Killian explained, "The real reason I'm here, love, is to stop you from foolishly putting your life in danger so that I must dash to your rescue once again. Flying down here to save you isn't as easy as it sounds, and the commute between Heaven and Earth is a real bitch."
Shaken out of her stupor by the return of her 'guardian angel's' cockiness, Emma fired back, "I have to go save my family, thank you very much, and I've wasted enough time chatting here. The drakon could have taken half the town by now!" Raising his finger as if to clarify, Killian queried, "Wait, you were going to take on a drakon, all by yourself, without any backup?" Shrugging, Emma responded, "My parents have a new kid now…I won't let them grow up parentless, like I did. Now, are you coming, or what?" She punctuated the question by storming out of the office, gun blazing, and Killian found he had no choice but to follow.
They exited the building, searching for the drakon. Of course, a giant, venom-spitting snake was not difficult to find on the streets of Storybrooke, as it wound its way down Main Street, leaving the residents of the town to either dive for shelter or run. Of course, Snow and Charming were already running to the monster, weapons drawn and baby Neal nowhere in sight.
Emma raced towards them, skidding to a stop right in front of the pair, brandishing her gun at the serpent, which seemed a bit absurd, as the creature was the size of a school bus. Killian ended up right next to her, and raised his eyebrow as she ineffectively shot at the drakon, the bullets ricocheting right off of its scales. Almost lazily, he waved his hand, and the creature disintegrated, leaving behind nothing but ashes in its wake.
Emma gaped indignantly, because how many monsters had she almost died fighting? And her 'guardian angel' just swoops in and magically saves the day. Her parents gaped openly behind her back, and she could almost feel their questions incorporeally strangling her. Killian just smirked and remarked, "I believe we were in the middle of a conversation, darling." Emma only wanted to strangle him a little bit. (Was lying to oneself actually a sin?)
Turning to her parents, Emma motioned at Killian and introduced, "Mom, dad, this is Killian, who is apparently my guardian angel." She tried not to make her disbelief evident in her tone, but apparently the straightening of her lips and raising of her eyebrows did the job for her, as both of her parents looked at her like she had informed him that she secretly had a second head. She motioned towards his back and said uncertainly, "Well, the wings are a promising start to that, at least…?"
Snow and Charming just looked even more vaguely alarmed at that, because as far as they were concerned, the man in front of them looked like just that, a man. A man with too much leather and swagger to be allowed within a mile of their daughter, but a human man nevertheless. Killian tilted his head to the side and laughed, explaining, "Swan, darling, I am your angel, and as such, only you can see my wings." Using his head to motion towards Granny's, he continued, "As much as I would love to stay and chat, Emma and I desperately need to have a bit of a conversation."
They headed towards the outdoors seating of the diner while the rest of Storybrooke's citizens slowly realized that death by giant snakes was out of the cards for the present. Killian sat down in one of the plastic seats, motioning for Emma to take a seat. Before the events of the afternoon could sink in and Emma dissolve into hysterical laughter, Killian leaned forward and earnestly declared, "Darling, you need to stop throwing yourself in front of every damn thing this town throws at you. I can protect you to an extent, but what if I get here too late one day, only to find you already dead? What if you pit yourself against something or someone more powerful than even me? I understand that you want to protect your family, but it's alright to let someone else take care of it once in a while." Emma looked at him intensely, almost leaning forward across the table to look into his impossibly blue eyes, and responded, "Why do you care so much about me dying? Nobody up there could claim that you hadn't tried to save me. Besides, I'm literally the Savior, saving people is what I do. So what's with the bodyguard act?"
Killian looked away, shutting his eyes tightly before he turned back to her and gritted out, "Because you're the best person I've ever seen; no matter what happens to you, your soul is pure, and I couldn't bear to see it extinguished." Emma, who was terrible with emotions on a good day, blushed heavily and tried to form words with her mouth which aspired to coherency but never quite reached it. She knew that being so flustered by a few sentences by a (really, really) hot guy was out of character for her, but she'd never heard a compliment quite so sincerely given, and certainly not from someone who had seen her soul.
Once she'd regained control of her mouth, Emma decided to change the subject from herself, and asked Killian to tell her about his time in Heaven. So, he did. He told her about the beginning, when there had been nothing but a blue orb floating in space. He told her about the millions of years of waiting, and the way the first humans had fought for survival, but ultimately triumphed. He told her about the other people whose guardian angel he had been, like Alexander the Great, Emperor Hadrian, and Benjamin Franklin among them. (Apparently, he was somewhat important upstairs.) But among all of them, he told her, he'd never seen a heart as pure as hers. However, he also informed her that despite the apparent flawlessness of her soul, it was still a pain to haul ass all the way to Earth to save her every five minutes.
(And she kind of loved him for it, because he'd done it anyway.)
Nobody she'd ever known had truly known all of her, all the good with the bad, let alone even had the chance to judge her for her. The closest anyone had come to knowing her was Neal, and he'd left her pregnant in jail, the fact that she had changed immensely since then notwithstanding. So, maybe that was what compelled her to temporarily lose sight of her sanity, grab the collar of his leather jacket, and kiss him. And apparently, he had taken leave of his sanity for the moment as well, because he kissed her back. She was making out with the angel she'd only met today. In public.
She knew that she should stop, but she didn't want to, and besides, he'd known her for practically her whole life, so he didn't count as a stranger. Or, that's how she justified it to herself in the moment in the few coherent moments she had during the encounter. Clearly, millennia of experience had not been wasted on this one. In addition, he didn't seem to need to breathe, as it was Emma who pulled away first, panting for breath while he sat there looking as though he was breathing normally. He looked at her with intense pain in his eyes and practically rasped, "Emma, you know I have to leave." With a hand unconsciously on her bottom lip, Emma exclaimed, "What? Why?"
He signed heavily, running a hand through his already-mussed hair, and responded, "I can't leave Heaven for an extended period of time without risking my powers, I'm only meant to be here for the few minutes it takes to save your life, an hour at the most. And that's in incorporeal form; maintaining my powers in a body takes even more force. It's been hours, and as much as I would like to stay, if I remain any longer, I risk being unable to return at all." Emma knew that she shouldn't have been propelled to the depths of despond by the departure of the man she'd only met that day, but her love life seemed just as unable to catch a break as ever.
Pressing one last kiss against her lips, he cradled her right hand against his chest and promised to return again, if he was able. With a whoosh of air, he was gone, leaving nothing but the smell of the ocean behind him. Sighing, Emma looked at the hand he had just been holding, and gasped.
On the inside of her wrist was the delicate shadow of angel wings.
A/N: So, maybe they meet again, and maybe they don't. Probably going to remain a one-shot, but I am always a sucker for review-induced peer pressure. Hope you enjoyed it, guys!
Love,
ancientgreekfreak