This short little fic is dedicated to arashi wolf princess from vampygurl402. I hope you both like it!
"Thank God for this bar," Red muttered to herself as she sat at the bar. She signaled the bartender to fill up her whiskey. She stretched out her neck, shaking out her dark hair as she did. Gentle waves flowed down her back stopping just above her waist. As always, her sexy clothes were in perfect order. One thing she adored about Storybrooke was her Ruby wardrobe. The clothes she had in Storybrooke didn't exist in the Enchanted Forest, and, after the day she had, Red just wanted to feel sexy. A skin tight red mini dress with a lace overtop fit her every curve and black heels had her mile long, bare legs looking even longer. Red was in the mood for fun, and nothing was going to change her mind about that.
She downed her shot and ordered another before turning on the stool to check out who was in the bar. For the most part, it was the usual suspects. Some of the dwarves were sitting over in the corner with a pitcher of beer, but otherwise the place was filled with people that everyone in Storybrooke knew had found their "true love."
The thought almost made Red throw up. She had completely believed in true love, but so long without it had made her jaded about the point of the whole thing. The couples danced on the small dance floor, and Red turned back to the bar.
"Can I get a rum?" she heard a man's voice beside her say, a voice that she didn't recognize. The voice was tainted with an accent that sounded almost too delicious to ignore. She picked up her drink to take a sip and glanced over at the man that now sat beside her. His jaw and cheeks had the beginnings of a beard on the slightly tanned skin. His eyes looked dark in the dim bar, but it was obvious that they were lined in black. His dark hair was disheveled, and his features struck the she-wolf.
Red bit her lip slightly before taking another drink. She chanced another glance at the man beside her. He was clad in vintage leather and one of his hands was stiff, as though it were fake. Pirate, she thought to herself. She had seen men like him in the taverns back in the Enchanted Forest. Nevertheless, Red was immediately attracted to the newcomer. Taking yet another, larger swig of her drink, she turned to him. As she spun in her chair, she crossed her legs, causing her tight dress to inch up her thigh just a little bit.
The pirate glanced over at her, and then did a double take. "Hello there, Captain," Red greeted with a wide smile on her red-painted lips. That got his attention.
He looked over to her and actually looked at her. She looked so much like Milah. "Well, hello there, lass," he said confidently. There was a slight smirk on his face, and one eyebrow was raised. "I don't believe we've met." He hoped his confidence covered the fact that he had been completely shocked.
"Everybody calls me Red," she said, leaning in closer to him to make sure he heard her, but more because she wanted to be close to him. He was new and exciting. An adventure. "And who might you be?"
"Killian Jones, but most people know me by my more colorful moniker. Hook," he told her. He didn't quite know why he went through both of his names. He usually just told people he was Captain Hook, but, for some reason, this woman had him spouting out information.
Red raised her eyebrows. "The Captain Hook?" she asked in awe. Her hand fell on his thigh.
"You've heard of me," Killian said with a sly smile. Red nodded, her bottom lip tucked between her teeth.
He stared at her in confusion as she asked him question after question about his adventures, which he answered. Mostly she asked about Neverland, and he had nothing to hide about his time there. He just left out most of the truth about Peter Pan. Still, he was in shock at her curiosity and her gentle touches. Her laugh was infectious whenever his stories took a particularly funny turn. He didn't understand why he felt himself wanting to be around this woman.
Her stool scooted closer as they shared a drink. His ungloved, ringed hand played with the rim of his glass as they spoke. She couldn't help but ask him more questions and give him flirty looks. He seemed completely confused. "So, what's the rest of your story?" she asked.
"What do you mean?"
"There has to be something more to you. You look… so closed off. There has to be something…" she said.
Killian shifted slightly under her gaze. He looked at her eyes, so caring and curious. "I, uh, I lost my true love," he said, "a long time ago."
"That does explain it," she replied softly.
"Enough of the sad talk, lass," he said when he saw her face fall just a little, as though she was remembering her own pain. She couldn't know how it feels, Killian told himself. If she did, she wouldn't be flirting. People who have loved and lost don't try to make a connection… or maybe it's just me that doesn't. "Come," he began, "tell me about you." He didn't know why he was interested in her, but something about the way spoke had him hypnotized.
She told him about working at the diner, about her Gran, what she was like before she got her memories back, though she skipped over most of the sexy details, and some of the things she loved to do. She gave him sly smiles when she talked about wanting to go off on adventures outside of Storybrooke, and Hook was hanging on her every word, and didn't know why.
"Well," Red began, "I do have work in the morning." She stood up, leaning close to his ear. "You should come in for breakfast at the diner," she purred in his ear. She knew giving him her phone number would be pointless, but that didn't mean she couldn't give him a hint as to where to find her.
Red paid her tab, and with a final wink to Killian walked out of the bar.
Killian found himself staring after her, almost wishing that she would walk back in. He mentally slapped himself for being so susceptible to her. He didn't care about love anymore. He had lost his only love, and now he was fueled by nothing but revenge. And yet, she had gotten under his skin. He listened to her when she spoke, and she had him telling her stories he had thought were locked in his memory.
He shook his head and ordered another drink. Perhaps he could forget about her, about Milah, about everything if he drank himself back into the stupor he had been living in for so many years while plotting revenge on the person who took his love. Still, Red had made him forget, even if only for a moment, about his hatred for Rumpelstiltskin. Something about her pushed his rage to the back of his mind. It was still there, but it was somewhat dulled in comparison to her bright smile. He found himself thinking about her. Not only her mind, but her appearance had him reeling. He had never seen a woman in so little clothes, well, not out in public anyways. It just wasn't done back in the Enchanted Forest.
She was all smooth skin and sexy curves. I would love to see her in a corset, he thought silently before catching himself once again. He already had his one true love, with Milah. He didn't need to think about anyone else. He couldn't love again anyways, so what was the point in even thinking about the woman. Don't be an idiot, he told himself. You have no idea you can't love again. You just got so hung up on Milah and revenge that you haven't bothered thinking it possible. You just ran around with the whores to occupy your lonely nights, and now that there's even a glimmer of hope, you're telling yourself it's impossible. Killian thought this all through, especially what his inner voice had yelled at him.
He left the bar hours later, stumbling and staggering back towards the Jolly Roger. He had managed to drink himself back into the numbness that he had found comfort in for so many years. Still, his revenge was quiet in the back of his mind, and so was the laughter of the scantily clad brunette with whom he had been sharing stories and drinks. Once he reached his ship and stumbled his way to his quarters, he fell into his bed, asleep and dreamless.
Red was almost disappointed when she looked at the clock, which read 11:28AM, and realized that she still hadn't seen Killian enter the diner. She had the opening shift, so there was no way that she had missed him. Still, she smiled at the customers, took orders, and went about her work routine. She almost made it through the rest of her shift without thinking about the leather clad pirate. That is, until he sauntered into the diner and sat at the counter.
Red tried to hide her smile, and her thoughts fell when she realized that he may not remember her considering the amount of rum he had ingested while they talked, and she was sure he had not stopped drinking when she left. She sighed, trying to keep her thoughts positive, and made her way behind the counter. "What can I get for ya?" she asked with a winning smile on her painted lips.
He looked up at her with a devil-may-care smile. "How about a second chance on those drinks, lass?"
Red stopped dead. Her smile widened. He remembered.
Killian didn't know what exactly it was that possessed him to go to the diner, or to say what he did to her, but he was thankful for it. He needed someone like his life. She was bright and hopeful and all the things he once was that he lost over the years. He wanted someone like her around.
"I think something could be arranged," she told him, "but first you have to tell me what you want to eat."
He ordered the first thing he saw on the menu. It was some form of eggs, but he didn't really care all that much what it was as long as it meant that he could stay to talk with the brunette beauty. He barely picked at the food. He was more interested in the way that Red leaned over the counter, as though her body was inclined to be close to him without her knowledge. The way she laughed at his facial expressions when it came to his food, and her saying softly, "It tastes better than it looks, I promise."
He let out a slight chuckle, his ever present smirk charming the woman before him.
This would be one of many meetings in the diner over the following weeks. Until it happened…
Red stood in the waiting room, her nerves on fire and anger pulsing through her veins. The man that she had been seeing, the pirate that she had started developing feelings for, and the first man to worm his way even close to her heart since Peter, had just caused so much pain to so many people. Red felt her stomach lurch as though she were going to be sick. No one else that sat in the chairs near her knew about Killian, at least not about Killian and herself.
When he did come out, handcuffs dangling from one wrist and blue Jell-O on a plate in his hand, he did speak to Red, but she just rolled her eyes and sat down by David instead of listening to anything else Killian had to say.
Emma shooed the pirate back into his hospital bed, but she could not get him out of Red's thoughts. Red was angry, yes, but she understood why he had done it. Even if she didn't condone the behavior, she remembered the anger she had held for Granny after Peter had been killed by the wolf. Still, she didn't hate Killian for what he did. She was simply angry.
Red waited for the rest of the crowd in the waiting room to thin out. No one questioned why she stayed so late, and she didn't know what she would have said if they did ask. But once she was the last person in the waiting room, she slipped into Killian's hospital room.
Instead of his usual black leather, he was in an ill-fitting hospital gown. He was pacing around, handcuffs once again dangling from his wrists and he winced with every step. Red knocked lightly on the frame of the door, calling his attention to her.
He tried not to look ashamed, but, in a way, he was. He didn't want her to think badly of him.
Red slid a little further into the room, perching on the arm of the tiny visitor's chair. Neither really knew what to say to the other, so they just looked at each other at an impasse. The anger and shame ebbed away as minutes ticked by.
"You know that was really stupid, right?" the she-wolf said with a raised eyebrow.
Killian's expression sank for a short moment. "Yeah, lass, I know. But I had to destroy—"
"I know what you had to do. Doesn't make it any less stupid," she responded curtly. Killian nodded. "That being said, I'm still pissed at you. But I don't hate you. I get it."
The pirate felt light for a moment, as though a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. "You know that I am driven by revenge, right? Being anywhere near me could cause you much more pain than you deserve," he told her. He may have been a revenge seeking pirate, but this woman did get to him. She deserved fair warning, though he was tempted to skip over fair treatment and take her with him wherever he went.
"I know. And I understand the need for revenge. But maybe one day you'll figure out you don't need your revenge as much as you need to be loved," she replied gently.
"There are still only two things in this world I would die for, lass. Revenge and love."
Red stood up and walked to him, kissing his cheek softly, then his lips in a chaste kiss. "Might I suggest letting it be love that kills you. It's a much better death than one of revenge." With that, she left his room, leaving the pirate staring after her.
"Does that mean you love me, lass?" he called after her.
Red turned, walking backwards for a few steps as she spoke. "We'll see."
A/N: So, I hope everyone who read enjoyed the story. Anyone else who would like to have a story written for a friend or a plot idea, please let me know. I'll be posting a list of pairings I will write for up on my profile, and until I do that, people are welcome to private message me and I'll get back to them (usually within 24 hours). Also, reviews help me improve my writing! Thanks to all, and love to all of you.