What if meeting your soul mate meant leaving your dreams behind?
If you had a choice, would you choose true love? Or would you choose success beyond your imagination?
What if you didn't get to decide?
What if someone decided for you?
Knock knock.
Knock.
Knockknockknockknockknockknockknockknock-
"Alright already, fucking hell-" Killian Jones flung open the door to his hotel room, glaring at the man smirking on the other side. "Robin, if you don't wipe that smile off of your face within the minute I'll have you thrown out."
Robin shrugged, smiling at the mess in his friend and client's room. "It's 8am, it's not like it's the middle of the night."
"It might as well be," Killian glared and pointed to the folder Robin was carrying. "What's that?"
"Your itinerary for today. Lots of interviews and very little time." Robin sighed and pointed to Killian's clothes - or lack thereof. "You need to be dressed and ready in ten. Regina's meeting you at Good Morning America. If she thinks you just rolled out of bed it'll be me that deals with it." Robin sighed.
"Wouldn't want that would we mate? Regina got you on a tight leash has she?" Killian laughed and Robin glared at him before sighing again.
"I forgot our anniversary thanks to your premiere,"
"Ouch." Killian cringed and Robin shrugged slightly.
"So, I'm in the doghouse, and I will be until I can prove that being your assistant doesn't just mean drinking with you and making you late on set. Apparently your antics are a nightmare for her as your publicist. I do, however, keep trying to explain to her that you're an actor and I'm a, well, I'm a bloody good PA if I do say so myself."
"Keep telling yourself that." Killian smiled. "C'mon, let's go feed the beast. By that, I mean the press. Not Regina."
Robin punched Killian in the arm.
"Shut your face, Jones."
"This morning we have one of Britain's newest rising stars, Killian Jones, who after landing a coveted supporting role, has quickly become one of this year's actors to watch. Killian! It's lovely to have you with us today."
"It's a pleasure." Killian rubbed his hands together slightly, ignoring Regina's hand motions from the side of the camera to readjust his posture.
"How are you liking New York?"
"It's wonderful. It's a great place to be, and I'll be here for a while. I just invested in an apartment here while I'm shooting another film, so I'm planning to explore and make this home for a short time." He sent a dazzling smile to the host and Regina gave him a thumbs up from her position. Killian gave a tiny nod before focusing back on the host.
"-will be released August 3rd. We'll be back after this." The host shook Killian's hand and was approached by the make-up artist, and Killian stood to make his way over to Regina. He paused as he approached, noticing Robin with a glare on his face and Regina's smile slowly dissipating into a frown.
"Jones, get here, now," Regina hissed, and Killian grumbled before stomping over to the two.
"What now?" He groaned and Regina narrowed her eyes.
"What now? What now is this," She shoved a newspaper into his face and Killian frowned at the headline.
Up-and-coming actor creating a bad boy reputation for himself
"Shit," Killian swore under his breath and Regina and Robin both rolled their eyes.
"Shit is right," Regina said, pointing at the paper. "Page 4,"
Killian sighed heavily and turned the page, coming face to face with a picture of himself with a woman on each arm, beer in each hand, and a smug looking grin on his face.
"Killian Jones, the newest young actor to come out of the British television circuit and into Hollywood, is not only taking the silver screen by storm, but is also gracing the New York club scene with his presence too. Jones has been spotted on various occasions, drinking heavily and engaging in what appears to be dalliances with multiple women. Jones has even been involved in an altercation recently with Edward Teach, the owner of popular Manhattan club 'The Ship'. No word yet from Jones' spokespeople regarding this incident." Killian slapped himself in the face with the paper. "Well this isn't good," He moaned.
"Really?" Regina snapped, taking back the paper. "We need to fix this, now. The production team on the film will not appreciate this kind of publicity. You're playing a priest for fuck sake, Killian," She threw her arms in the air and stormed away. Robin smiled apologetically at Killian and slapped him on the shoulder.
"We'll fix it,"
Emma Swan was late. As usual.
"Henry-shit, Henry! What did I tell you about leaving your Playstation controller on the floor?"
"Sorry mom!" Henry called from his bedroom.
"Have you cleaned your room?"
"Yes mom,"
"I've ordered Chinese food for you and Mary Margaret, the money is on the counter, make sure she doesn't pay for it like the last time, okay?"
"Okay mom,"
"Bedtime is-" Emma was interrupted by the door, and Henry barrelled out of his room and swung open the door to reveal a startled Mary Margaret.
"Hello Henry, that was a quick response time," Henry nodded quickly and took Mary Margaret by the hand, dragging her to the living room.
"You know that book you gave to me? It's so cool, I started adding stories to it, I made up a whole thing for Peter Pan and-" Henry stopped talking as Mary tapped him on the shoulder and smiled.
"That sounds incredible, I can't wait to read them, but let me chat with your mom for a second before she leaves, okay?" Henry nodded and ran to Emma, hugging her before retreating to his room, shouting as he went.
"See you later mom! Have fun at practice!" Emma laughed as Henry disappeared back into his room and Mary Margaret smirked.
"He's in a good mood," She rested against the kitchen island and watched as Emma picked up her bag.
"Yeah, he adores the book you gave him. I'm hoping now he's a little happier he'll have more confidence to make more friends. Grace seems to be all he has at the moment." Emma sighed and Mary Margaret shrugged.
"He's just a little antsy about new people. He'll be okay," She smiled and Emma nodded.
"Thanks for this, I just can't find a good babysitter at the moment. Practice times keep changing and it's a nightmare."
"Anytime, you know I don't have a life. Go take your talented ass to dance practice and I'll see you soon."
"Thanks M." Emma kissed Mary Margaret on the cheek and ran out of the front door.
Late as usual.
Three Months Later
"You're in conference room D for the press junket," Regina pointed at her itinerary before looking up at Killian. "Killian. Killian!"
"I heard you. Room D." Killian sighed, playing with his necklace. Regina took a deep breath before snapping her fingers in front of his face.
"Look, I know it sucks that the film flopped. Yes, it was your fault. Which means it's your mess to clean up. You can still have a great career if you play your cards right, so play your cards right." Regina smirked. "Besides, I would have quit as your publicist if I thought you couldn't climb back from this," Killian smiled slightly.
"Thanks. Maybe I just need to clear my head and think through what I'm going to say," He stood from his chair and Regina nodded.
"Be back in twenty minutes or I'm coming to find you."
"Hello?" Killian poked his head into the men's bathroom. Hearing no reply, he eyed the stalls before turning to the mirrors lining the walls. He groaned slightly.
"Positive. Always be positive. Not over-confident, just confident." He straightened up and plastered a smile on his face. "Every actor has a few failures. It's part of the business. You have off days and bad days, but it's not about what you do when you get knocked down, it's about what you do when you get back up."
It seemed fake even to his ears.
"It's not about what you do when you-" A knock behind him in one of the stalls made him jump, and he turned to see one the doors creak open.
A blonde crept out of the stall, eyeing him before approaching the sinks and placing her heels and an open bottle of champagne on the granite. Killian raised his eyebrows. Confused didn't seem to be a strong enough word for the situation he suddenly found himself in.
"This is the men's." He stated, and the blonde flashed him a glance before turning back to the sinks.
"Yep."
Killian waited for her to elaborate, taking in her appearance as she became flustered. She was beautiful, he could freely admit that, but there was something strange and magnetic about her, something he couldn't quite put his finger on. As she started talking again his mind went into overdrive trying to come up with some sort of coherent chat that would mean this woman would stay and converse with him, at least until Regina came barrelling in to drag him away.
"I'm sorry about that, I wasn't eavesdropping I just-" She sighed and took a swig from the champagne. "I was hiding. I heard you come in and say hello, and I was going to say hello to let you know I was here, but then I realised 'oh, this is the men's' and that would be weird so I just, stayed... quiet... then, well, you started talking to yourself and that's even weirder than what I was doing so I gave up and came out."
Killian smiled at her ranting and watched the blush creep up her neck. It was endearing, really.
"Who were you hiding from?"
"Security."
Killian snorted. "Why?"
"I was rehearsing a show in one of the conference rooms and the day ended, and my son is out so I had some free time, so I, well, I crashed a wedding upstairs." She smiled guiltily and Killian widened his eyes, his smirk growing.
"Do people still do that?"
"It was a dare."
"Who the bloody hell dared you to crash a wedding?"
"I did."
Killian snorted again and stared at the woman in front of him. "I crashed a wedding once."
"Oh yeah?" She smiled, moving closer.
"Yeah. My brother's wedding. Bastard told me I couldn't go unless I bought him a gift."
The blonde laughed and eyed Killian, watching as his face lit up a little.
"You've done some real partying from what I hear," She crooked her head and the smile disappeared from Killian's face. "You're that actor that everyone is calling 'Britain's bad boy' or some other such bullshit, right?" She smiled kindly and Killian looked down at the floor.
"Yeah, that I am." He stepped closer to her, watching as her eyes widened a little. "But I also believe in good form, which is why I'm here in this bathroom, trying to perfect a speech to make up for my recent wrong doings,"
She jumped up onto the counter, reaching for Killian's tie and playing with it slightly.
"I heard your movie bombed. I'm sorry about that,"
"It's okay, there's advantages to becoming irrelevant," He shrugged, watching her fingers play with the material around his neck.
"Such as?"
"Well, for one thing, as a low level celebrity, you're never on your own unless you're asleep or in the bathroom," He smirked at her. "Usually. That gets old pretty quickly."
"Really?" She looked disbelievingly back at him and smiled.
"Yeah, I mean, I'm looking forward to spending some time by myself." Killian stared at her and she smiled again.
"I'm going to let you in on a little secret," She patted his tie back onto his chest. "I'm pretty good at knowing when someone is lying to me." She looked back at him. "I think you love it. Maybe not the pressure of it, but you love the work. You love acting, and you love being praised for your work." She jumped back down from the counter and Killian gazed at her.
"Am I something of an open book to you?" He laughed and the blonde nodded.
"Somewhat."
"So tell me, mysterious wedding crasher," Killian smirked. "What about you? Because you're also a little easy to read. As someone who knows what it's like to be alone but not particularly want to be, it's become a gift of seeing it in others, and you," He brushed a lock of hair away from her neck. "Are one of those people. Abandoned recognises abandoned," Killian stared into her eyes as she glared slightly.
"We don't know each other."
"We could."
She smirked. "Please, you couldn't handle it."
"Perhaps you're the one who couldn't handle it,"
The blonde narrowed her eyes and grabbed Killian's tie again, pulling him towards her and attaching her lips to his. It took him no time to respond, wrapping an arm around her waist and using his other hand to grab her neck. Killian turned them into the granite of the sinks and pressed her into it, eliciting a moan from her throat and causing his head to fog and his pants to tighten. He growled into her mouth and ran his hand down her side, making her whimper and thread her fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck. He sighed as he kissed her and was about to run his hand up her side again when the door to the bathroom swung open.
"Jones!"
The two broke apart and looked to see Regina and Robin standing in the doorway. Regina had a glare on her face and Robin stood a few inches back from her, looking gleefully at the two at the sink.
"Press room is waiting for you, Killian," Regina huffed. The blonde grabbed her shoes and champagne from the sink and brushed past Killian.
"It's okay, I really should be going," Killian tried to stop her from running out of the bathroom but she sped past his PA and publicist and out into the hallway.
"Hey! Wait a second," Killian shouted after her and she stopped and turned, before readjusting his tie for him.
"Try something new. Honesty. Don't sugar coat your feelings about this. You might be surprised at how people take it." She smiled and turned, just as security spotted her. She giggled maniacally and rushed down the stairs. "Trust me Killian!" She yelled, and disappeared into the hallways below. Killian stared longingly down the stairs after her, and Robin approached his side, staring at the bottom of the steps where the blonde had just been.
"Who was that?" He nudged Killian's shoulder.
"I have no idea."
So I was watching The Adjustment Bureau and this happened.
Please let me know if this is something you want me to continue, because I haven't written any more just yet as I'm not sure whether anyone wants to read this or whether I'm just being a sad sad person wanting to do this.
Notes - Killian is an actor and not a politician because I wanted it set in NYC still, and he's English, so...
MM, David, Robin, Regina and Gold will make notable appearances in the story, but everyone else will be a passing mention.
There will be some major changes from TAB plotline.
Please let me know if this is something you want, and if it is, I'll spend tomorrow writing so I have 4 or 5 chapters done so I'm ahead.
Much love.