Notes:
I like to believe that because of Emma's sky-high walls, she didn't fall for him as fast as Killian did. And for this AU, I think Emma is far more likely to actually fight the colours, just because she's so terrified of being left alone again.
These are ficlets I wrote for the CS Hiatus Meme.
Graphics to go with them are here;
Killian: iswearonemmaswan*tumblr*com/post/106560014277
Emma: iswearonemmaswan*tumblr*com/post/106948284632
Killian.
He looked around, they had finally arrived on the island called Neverland. It must be beautiful, he thought. He read that trees were green, sand some light brown kind of colour, and water blue. But what all these colours looked like? He had no idea. Bloody soulmate thing. Legend said, if you met your soulmate, you'd see the colours of life. Until then, everything was black and white.
Some people would fall in love with someone that was not their soulmate and accept that they'd never see colour. But to keep searching seemed like a small price to pay, to see colour.
...
When he met Milah and they fell in love, he was somewhat disappointed that the colours didn't come to life around him; but he did understand those people who settled for love, rather than colours.
One day, he noticed the green in her eyes, but that was all: beautiful green, and he decided that green was the most beautiful colour in the world. The green sometimes showed in the seawater or in one of her few gowns.
But when she died, he stopped seeing it. His whole world turned back to a world without colour.
...
After three hundred years, he had somewhat accepted that he'd never see colour. But then he found himself in the enchanted forest, being questioned by a woman named Emma, and when she smiled at him, it seemed as if her lips slowly started turning pink. But it wasn't until she held the knife against his throat, taking none of his bullshit that he started seeing her golden locks.
Killian looked at the beanstalk. The ladies were standing a few feet away from him, discussing who would accompany him upstairs. For him there wasn't even a question, not only because she was the only colour in his life, but if she was his soulmate, he'd love to get to know her better. She seemed very interesting, strong, has no problem with kicking your ass (or feeding you to ogres, for that matter.) But she was also very beautiful.
He sighed and shook his head to himself; if Emma had seen any colour at all while looking at him, she was amazingly good at hiding it. So maybe she was his soulmate, but he wasn't hers. He cleared his throat.
"Ladies," Killian starts, receiving their attention. "In this world, we are slaves to time. And ours is running out. In other words, tick-tock." Emma approached him and held out her hand. He smiled wide, patting his shoulder and she laid her hand there.
"I was hoping it'd be you," he said, looking into her green eyes.
Emma.
Emma's life had been colourless for almost all of her life. But she wasn't surprised, exactly the two people that were supposed to love you, weren't even present in her life. Her parents gave her up, going from foster home to foster home until she finally managed to slip out, she was unwanted, and when she learnt the reason why her life was black and white (find a soulmate and it'll be fixed, what the hell?), she knew that the odds she'd see colour were small.
...
When she met Neal, while stealing the same car, and after falling in love, it was somewhat different. She didn't see the colours, but sometimes she'd catch a glimpse of brown in his eyes. It was interesting to see (and then he'd ask why she was staring at him, and it was adorable.)
Of course, when he abandoned her, just like everyone else did, she never saw that colour again.
...
Years later, when she ended up in some fantasy world: she had her parents, her son, and it was all so beautiful, she could have doubted it was real, but then again if it wasn't she'd probably have seen colours.
...
In a stunning twist of events she then ended up in the world she was born in, called the enchanted forest, and met even more characters she would have never believed to be real. Mulan, Sleeping Beauty - and ogres that were actually more handsome than the ones she dated.
And Killian Jones, who would usually go by the alias of Captain Hook. Somewhat thanking the Gods that he looked nothing like the Captain Hook from the Peter Pan movie, because no matter how impressed she was with him, laughing in his face because of his ridiculous hair would still be rude. And Emma Swan was not rude... most of the time.
No, Captain Hook was actually attractive, she had to admit. (Really, not a sentence she ever would have thought to make sense.) Dark hair and bright eyes, blue or green maybe? But Captain Hook also looked at her like he had never seen anything like her before (somehow she worried he saw colours when he looked at her). And then there were his poor attempts to seduce which left her both unimpressed and amused.
Captain Hook had fucked her and her town over and over, and she wondered if this guy was simply made of poor life choices. But when he made another bad choice - to shoot Mr. Gold (who were apparently archenemies for around three hundred years) 's girlfriend - and then proceeded to be hit by a car, she couldn't help but worry a bit.
She'd grown fond of this man, even if he made poor choices, there was something about him. They were the same in many ways, and he understood her most of the time - in ways her parents didn't.
...
And when she thought he had disappointed her once again, Captain Hook was the first person ever in her life to come back after he left her behind.
"I thought you didn't care about anyone but yourself?"
"Maybe I just needed reminding that I could," he told her and it happened so sudden, but it happened: his hair got a brown glow.
...
"That was..."
"A one-time thing," she told him, but she couldn't deny that when she opened her eyes again after the kiss, his eyes had started turning blue. And when he confessed his feelings for her in the echo cave, leaving her wordless, his lips too, gained colour.
...
She wore a red gown, she knew because she could vaguely see the colours. When she was with him, she saw every colour, just not as bright as she imagined colours to be. Or maybe it was just her own doing, because she was still holding back. But when he looked at her, with those vibrant eyes and smiled: reminding herself that he jumped into the portal for her (really, he could have stayed behind, but he didn't; he wouldn't, and she saw that now), yet somehow she was still afraid. There were things he hadn't told her and kept from her.
And everybody always left. (But not him. He came back for her, always.)
...
She found him outside, together with his flask of rum.
"So..." She started, sitting down next to him, he looked at her. Sometimes he looked at her like she was the most beautiful person in the world. But sometimes he also looked as if he felt guilty and he would look away. She knew he had started seeing colours far before her, and even if she never explicitly told him, she knew he knew that her world stayed black and white until long after they met. "Do you think Rumpelstiltskin is right?" Emma raised her eyebrows, "I'm in the book now." Killian smirked but looked down, "He said everything besides our little adventure would go back to normal, do you think that it is?"
"He's right. Otherwise I'd remember that damn bar wench I kissed," and finally he looked at her. She gave him a little smile (but only because she was trying to suppress a far bigger smile: he never failed to make her smile when she worried). She tilted her head a little,
"How would that prove anything?"
Killian gave her a flirty smile, "I know how you kiss. I'd have gone after her." He confessed. Emma felt her heart in her throat, taking a breath. She saw him so clearly now, she realised she would kiss him again, being with him felt all right, it felt good, it felt like home. Killian continued to talk, "But I didn't. My life went on exactly the same as before."
"Yeah," Emma said softly - as if speaking any louder would cause her voice to break, "must've been the rum." Killian nodded.
"Everything's back to normal," he paused, "You're a bloody hero, Swan."
Emma smiled, "So are you." He snorted, and Emma knew why, all they ever did was pointed out he was a pirate, and no matter how many times he did good, he'd still be Captain Hook. But he was far more, he was an honourable man, he was Killian Jones, just as much as he was Captain Hook, maybe even more so. "I wanted to thank you, Killian," he looked at her suddenly, like he still wasn't used to the fact that she was using his name now. And she caught herself staring at him for a moment before continuing, "For going back for me in the first place in New York. If you hadn't -"
"It was the right thing to do," he interrupted her, saying it as if it was nothing at all. She looked at him, wondering. It couldn't have been 'nothing at all', travelling between worlds was complicated. But he never told her, and admittedly, she was curious.
"How did you do it? How did you get to me?"
"Well, the curse was coming. I ditched my crew and took the Jolly Roger as fast and as far as I possibly could to outrun it," he answered. Emma raised her eyebrows.
"You outran a curse?"
Killian smirked, "I'm a hell of a captain." Emma laughed; it was true though. "And once I was outside of the curse's purview, I knew that the walls were down. Transport between the worlds was possible again. All I needed was a magic bean."
She frowned, he made it sound so easy, but she knew. "Those are not easy to come by." Killian shook his head
"They are if you've got something of value to trade," Killian spoke slowly, a strange tone in his voice.
Emma smiled, "And what was that?"
"Why, the Jolly Roger, of course," he gave her the most unexpected answer, accompanied by a giant smile, as if it was the most logical reply.
Emma was stunned, "You traded your ship for me?" She asked, coloured her voice, never had anyone done this big of a thing for her. The Jolly Roger was his home, and he gave it up for her. His giant smile left his face and he turned serious all of a sudden, then he nodded.
"Aye," Killian spoke softly, leaving Emma wordless. It was a trigger; the colours she had seen so vaguely until now, the feelings she had held back all this time, they were so bright and vibrant now. This man traded his home for her, there was nothing to be afraid of anymore.
She leaned forward, feeling the warmth of his lips against hers, his hand through her hair. She felt loved. She felt in love.