A/N: Hey guys! So I'm finally keeping a promise, and giving you another story. This is my first Once Upon a Time story, so I really hope you like it!

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters or events in this story.


It was his eyes she noticed first. Ever since they pulled the dead bodies off him and he met her gaze, she couldn't get rid of the image of those striking, electric blue eyes that seemed to bore right through her, seeing straight into her soul.

It was his eyes that made her almost tell him about Neal. She looked at those eyes and saw part of herself in themㄧsomeone who had loved, and lost that love. She wanted to tell him, for a split second, so she hesitated. She realized she wasn't sure if she actually had been in love with Neal, and besides, if she's such an "open book" to him, he'll know, right? He seems to see right through her walls.

"No," she answered, giving him a small, sad smile. "I have never been in love."

It was his eyes that nearly convinced her to unchain him in the giant's lair. Those eyes looked pleading, hopeful, desperate even, striking her more than usual. She considered itㄧunchaining him, trusting him, but decided against it. She had spent so long not trusting anyone that it was too hard for her to change so suddenly. She ignored his imploring "Swan, please," ignored the way those eyes stabbed right into her heart. She blocked out the sound of his voice calling her name as she turned her back on him, pushing down the guilt rising in her stomach as she climbed down the beanstalk.

His eyes and her heart persuaded her mind to give him that first kiss in Neverland. They looked at her playfully, but also hopefully, as if he'd been waiting a long time for this moment. She had to admit, he wasn't a bad kisser. When she pulled away, she saw a future for herself in his eyes. It terrified her. "A one-time thing," she told him with a small smile, hating that the clear disappointment in his eyes was because of her.

When he showed up at her apartment door, she had no idea who he was, but she got the strangest feeling she had seen those striking blue eyes somewhere before. She simply could not shake the image of those eyes out of her headㄧeven when Walsh proposed. As she stood outside of the police station, staring into the eyes of this strangely dressed man holding the small vial of liquid, she found that, against her better judgement, she trusted him. When she drank the potion and felt her memories come rushing back she saw the pirate's uncertain, questioning eyes, flooding with relief when he realized she remembered.

As he led her in the waltz at the ball back in time, she met his eyes, expecting to see the usual striking blue, but found them gentle, gazing at her softly with eyes filled with love. Her heart fluttered, surprising her yet again with the depth of her feelings for this pirate. It scared her, that she liked him so muchㄧperhaps (although she wasn't quite ready to admit it to herself yet) she may even love him. When they made it back to their time and she found him sitting outside Granny's, she didn't even bother trying to hold her emotions back, and let herself kiss him, feeling a strange sense of relief that she had finally given in to those expressive eyes.

Standing in the middle of the street, she gazed into his blue eyes filled with reassurance as he promised her he's a survivor, he won't die like every other man she's been with. She hopes that he's rightㄧshe doesn't know if she can lose another love.

When she opened the door of her parents' place to let him in, she searched his eyes first. They always told her exactly what he was feeling, and tonight was no exception. He looked hopeful, excited, and just as head-over-heels in love as she felt. She blushed at his compliment, too distracted at first to notice that he had both hands. Throughout the night, he looked at her with that same love in his eyes, but he also looked a bit afraid, staring at his hand with horror after grabbing Will, though she didn't know why.

After she had absorbed the power of the Dark One, his eyes saved her from giving in to that darkness countless times. They reminded her of his love, giving her the strength to fight it even when it felt impossible. When they kissed in the field of flowers, his eyes showed his love for her, running deeper than she had ever realized, along with relief that Rumplestiltskin had finally left her alone. When she held him in that same field as he lay dying, his pain-filled eyes pleaded with her to let him go, but she refused. She was not about to lose another love.

Now, his eyes show how much pain he's in, Excalibur's blade sunk into his body by her own hand, but they are also filled with love for her. She can feel how much he loves her, enough that he's willing to sacrifice himself for herㄧfor all of them. She looks at those blue eyes through her own tear-filled ones, focusing only on them as she pulls Excalibur out of his body and he falls to the ground, those beautiful blue eyes closing with a somber finality.


A/N: Thanks so much for reading! I have to say, the ending was kind of hard to write. If you can leave a review, I would appreciate it so much! 3