A/N: this is a story I wrote based on a Storyline I have with another writer in a twitter RP so basically, she is my muse and I hope you love reading it as much as I loved writing it…
It had been in his early years of being a pirate when he had met a woman in a place called Sunny-dale. He hadn't been sure what to do with her though he must admit he hadn't been thinking… or maybe he was.
With his other brain.
She was beautiful, strong, intelligent, and could hold her end of a conversation. She had also been a great person to flirt with and he had liked her so much that when he decided it was time to leave that town and she had asked if she could come with him, he had just said yes.
Hook had no idea what he was getting himself into. No idea whatsoever when he had allowed Willow onto his ship, the Jolly Roger.
No one could have seen it. She had looked so fragile and harmless and they had spent morning noon and night just talking… which was a big step for him, considering normally, he did less talking and let his mouth find other more important and artfully delicate things to do to a lass.
But that hadn't been the case with Willow. He had actually talked, much to the chagrin of his crew men and many a few found themselves feeding the fish whenever they disagreed with him on what Willow should be doing with her time.
Apparently, in their sick deprived minds, when he had brought her aboard and said: "Ahoy, Mateys! This Lass shall be staying with us aboard this jolly Roger" they had assumed he meant using her as entertainment but they had learned soon enough that that was not what he meant.
He and Willow had gotten along very well until that fateful day when they had chanced on a place called the Enchanted Forest. And then suddenly, she started behaving weird as if something in the place was giving her allergic reactions and for the life of him, he had no idea what to do about it but he knew for a fact that there was no way he was living that forest without exploring.
The wenches, the bars and even the people in general… not to mention a few thieving escapades but he was staying and once he decided, he didn't need permission. He had walked on into the forest for an adventure that brought him both great joy and extreme sadness.
He'd come home from the forest and headed to the docks where the Jolly Roger rested, concealed from the naked eye only to walk aboard and find Willow in a sensitive mood. There was no reasoning with her and he had no idea now, what they had been arguing about but what happened next, that had been something he hadn't been expecting.
Her eyes glazed over, not in that sensational way a lass' eyes glazed over in passion when they're writhing under you and you feel proud of yourself because the thought "I did that" keeps repeating itself in soft dulcet tones in your head.
No, that hadn't been the kind of look she had. Her smoky green eyes actually looked smoky. Except that there was nothing green about them. They looked dark… black. And she was clenching and unclenching her fists so tight that he had alternated between looking at her face and her hands as his frown got deeper and deeper.
He hadn't been, and still isn't sure if what he felt was fear for everybody aboard the ship or worry for her because she barely was holding in her anger and she looked ready to explode anytime soon so he did the only thing he could.
He never thought he'd ever have to "Abandon ship" but in that instant, that had seemed to be the only logical reason. Everyone had left and Willow still seemed not to have noticed at all as she was lying on the ground, vigorously rubbing her temples as if trying to will her brain to stop.
He had obviously not been thinking because he'd walked to her and tugged on her arm, trying to get her away…from what, he had no idea, considering she was the problem to begin with.
And then she'd finally looked up at him and it was as if her eyes weren't there. Like deep dark holes of doom had replaced them and that was when he had felt real fear. Fear that her body may not be able to survive the force of the turmoil going on inside her.
But more potent was the fear that his Ship, his most prized possession, his home, fortitude, and legacy, wouldn't survive her. And his crewmen would be rendered homeless along with him.
She had yelled "Get Out!" then, complete with a growl and the only thing missing from that had been the fangs. She'd have looked pure evil if that image had been complete but it wasn't, so he had stayed, saying just about anything to calm her down.
Nothing had worked no. absolutely nothing and a second "Get Out!" had been all he needed before he was bolting out the door and fighting his way to the deck. He had barely stepped onto the forrard when a loud rumble tore through the ship, sending him hip first against the hard wood floors.
He turned around to look and then wish he hadn't because… there really was nothing to see. Half of his ship was literally just gone. Like it was never there but it had been, and the smoke coming from the edges of the ship where it had been ripped off by whatever force Willow wielded was proof of that.
He had been tempted to weep over his loss. Of all of their losses because their rum supply as well as the grub they needed while on sea had been in that part of the ship but thank god their bank had been on the side he was standing on, because that would have been a real tragedy.
But amidst all thoughts of self doom, his thoughts strayed back to Willow and that was enough to propel him into the direction he supposed she was in.
He had seen movement and he had thrown caution to the wind, shrugging off his clothes before jumping into the water. When he had found her, she was unconscious and he'd managed to pull her back to the surface. Of course he had two hands then.
Two amazingly capable hands that could… but that is a train of thought he refuses to follow. No need thinking about the losses, which by the way included his ship!
He'd found a warm blanket and wrapped it around her, having to literally bark at his crewmen to get him some warm water, who at that time, wanted nothing more than to tear her to bits.
Not that he blamed them because the only thing that had stopped him from leaving her to die was the friendship he had with her… nothing else or else, he'd be the first to vote that she be flogged, made to kiss the gunner's daughter, or keelhauled till they were satisfied but he couldn't bring himself to do that.
Besides, he wanted- needed- an explanation, or even an excuse. A good one. So he had waited and tended her back to consciousness and what had he gotten from her instead?
: "Killian I am so sorry. I should have told you. Warned you but we were getting along so well and I didn't want to ruin that with something like that."
To simply say he had been angry was an understatement. He had been livid! Shaking with angry tremors he swore he'd have killed his mother if she had tried to touch him then but for very apparent reasons, he had reigned in his anger. No need to anger her and have her blow off the other half of the ship.
Instead, he'd calmly asked: "what are you talking about, Willow?"
"I'm a witch. Believe me I'm a good witch. I just—"
"He couldn't let her finish that self righteous train of thought and scoffed... "Surely, you have had very little experience with the prospect of being a good witch because blowing off half of a ship has not been recorded in the book 'history of good witches' as one of the many good deeds you could do to save a life!" he'd screamed at her, feeling his patience running thin by the second.
"I know… and I am so sorry" she was welling up…no no he wasn't done with her yet so her grabbed her by the arm and swiveled her around sharply in the direction of the torn off edges of the ship.
"You're sorry? That's the best you can come up with? Sorry is the word you use when you step on someone's foot on the bus and even then, you keep repeating it to drive your point home. This, this is destruction. You decimated my home, Willow. You destroyed the homes of everyone on my crew and all you can say is 'sorry'?!"
She closed her eyes, obviously looking at it was painful for her but it was for him too and he wanted her to feel miserable about it. "Open your eyes! Damn it, wench! Open your goddamned eyes and look at what you did!"
Surprisingly, she hadn't burst into flames and dragged him along straight to hell like he anticipated she would but she had started crying. Gut wrenching sobs were tearing out of her throat and for some reason, he hated himself for being responsible for them so he'd snatched his arm away abruptly as if he'd touched a hot or sharp object and she'd crumbled to the ground in a painful heap though she seemed not to have noticed.
The longer he looked at her, the more it hurt he felt and the more he hated himself. "g…" he started and swallowed around the lump in his throat before starting again. "Get out!"
She looked up at him then, her eyes puffy and reddened and new tears replaced the ones she swiped away from her cheeks almost immediately. "WH…what? And go where?"
His eyes widened... and go where? What? The audacity of the woman! "Are you honestly asking me that? You think I care where you go or where you don't? I don't want to see your face on this ship, or what's left of it so get out! Get away from me before I change my mind and set you on fire!"
It had obviously been her turn to have wide eyes and apparently, he had been convincing enough that a few of his crewmen came out and pulled her away from him to a safe distance. "I said I was sorry, Killian. I really am."
"I don't care about what you did, you idiot! Well, not as much as the fact that we have been friends for three years, Willow, and not once in those 1096 days that we spent together did you feel the need to at least warn me of the fact that you have a darkness in you. You knew! And you refused consciously to tell me because what, 'things were going so well between us'? You could have killed somebody and for some reason you think feeling and saying 'sorry' makes it all better? Get away from here or I swear I won't be responsible for my actions!"
She had been hesitant but his hands hadn't been and they'd dragged her off the remains if the ship to god knows where.
It took months to repair the ship and in those months, he had only seen Willow once. Somehow, he realized that his anger towards her was as fresh as ever and he didn't think it was going to fade anytime soon so when the ship was ready to sail, they had packed their supplies and he'd sailed away from the Enchanted Forest, not looking back.
Without her.