Author's Note: Hey guys! So this is my new story featuring Emma Swan and Killian Jones, a.k.a. Captain Swan. It was kind of something that popped into my mind, so hope you like it! It's based on this prompt: Emma thought she could never be happy again after Neal left her broken, until she met a mysterious stranger in the bar she worked in one day. Can he put her pieces back together, or will he pull her down a darker path?
Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon A Time or the characters
It had already been a crappy day for Emma Swan before her ex boyfriend, Neal-douchebag-Cassidy showed up at the bar she worked in.
From the moment she woke up and looked at her phone, she knew it was gonna be a day from hell. It was one a.m. when she woke up, which meant she was late for her day job for, like, an hour. She'd overslept for fourth time that month already. It was hard, balancing her time from working at Starbucks in the morning and Flynn's Bar at night, especially when she came home at five a.m. on Fridays. Of course she'd immediately jumped up from bed, getting ready at almost fifteen minutes, which was another record for her, and running to Starbucks. By that time, her co-worker, Delinda, had called her almost ten times, and left a couple voice mails.
She didn't have any time to listen to any of them as she burst into the little shop, looking frantically around for her boss. She knew he'd be so mad if he found out she was late all over again. Mr. Leroy had that way about him. Emma always thought he'd hated her.
She was right. Mr. Leroy had showed up in seconds, right after she got to the register, giving her we-need-to-talk look that always managed to creep the hell out of Emma. Of course before they even talked, Emma knew what it was about.
She was fired. Yet again.
She begged Mr. Leroy to keep her job, but there was no way. She knew she was a crappy cashier, and she also knew the only reason Mr. Leroy hadn't fired her already was her beauty—even though Delinda disagreed—and now he'd had enough of it as well. This was the third job Emma lost in the last six months. Except the one at the bar. Well, in that bar, beauty always worked. And her broad knowledge of every kind of drink. Thanks to Neal.
She'd spent her afternoon looking for a job desperately. She couldn't live with what she earned at Flynn's, even though the tips weren't so bad. She couldn't even pay the rent for her little apartment. She needed that money.
After going to three different restaurants, she'd gotten nothing. No one wanted to work with her. Either the hours with her other job didn't fit, or people didn't like the fact that she'd been a crappy worker. All she could do was to go to the bar, wearing a ton of make up trying to hide her swollen eyes. Of course Ruby had immediately seen through it the moment she wore her apron that needed a thousand witnesses to call an apron around her waist.
''Emma? What happened?'' she asked. She, of course, looked as dashing as always in her red mini skirt and black crop-top. She had dark, luminous hair with blood red streaks. She'd never seen anyone who wore streaks like that as well as her. Everyone loved Ruby. Most of the guys that came here came to see her. Most of them would throw themselves to her feet if she let them. But she was also the strongest woman Emma'd ever seen, and no matter what she wouldn't let a guy use her.
Emma wished she could be as strong as her sometimes.
''I got fired,'' Emma almost hissed as she started cleaning the glasses. There were still an hour or so before the bar would start to fill. There were just a few old guys right now who drank nothing but beer. ''Again.'' Ruby's eyes widened.
''What?'' She turned to Emma. ''I'm so sorry.'' Emma shook her head, trying to keep the tears away from her eyes.
''I shouldn't be surprised. I was late again. I overslept. Leroy had the right to fire me.'' She started rubbing the glass so hard that if Ruby hadn't gotten it from her hand, it probably would break.
''He didn't have the right to. You work so hard for your life.'' Ruby looked into Emma's eyes. ''Trust me, okay? And we'll get you another job. I'll ask Victor as well. Maybe he knows something.'' All Emma could do was to nod, and not grimace. She knew she didn't have the right to be jealous of Ruby. All Ruby was trying to do was help her. But Ruby… Well, she had the life Emma always wanted. Yeah, she'd lost her parents just like Emma when she was too young to remember, but she didn't spend her childhood being tossed around from one foster home to another. She lived with her grandmother, which was one of the sweetest people Emma had ever met. Ruby's grandmother had a house in New Jersey, but Ruby usually stayed in New York with Victor. He was a doctor, Emma didn't know what doctor, though. But still, Victor and Ruby seemed to have what she never could: a healthy relationship and happy life.
As the night passed by, after Mary Margaret, her best friend came as well, and Emma started to forget about what happened that day because of work, and she was grateful. She found herself giggling at a customer's words, a wealthy businessman, who awarded her a really nice tip, and smiling at Ruby who was showing herself off to some college guys who could never have any piece of her. Ruby winked at her. And Emma started to believe everything could actually work out.
Until her head turned to the door of the bar, and a familiar face walked in.
It was like Emma's world stopped turning when her eyes met with her ex-boyfriend's. Her mouth dropped. If someone asked her who would be the last person she'd expected to see here, he'd name him. Neal. And yet, he was here, in the bar she worked in, and he was looking around like he was looking for someone.
Emma's hand froze on the tequila bottle, and her ears started buzzing. She could hear the customer—a young college girl who seemed out of place—calling her name, but she couldn't pay attention. Her eyes were on Neal. What was he doing here? He didn't even know Emma worked here. When they…well, separated—that was the nicest way Emma could put it—she didn't work here. She didn't even live in New York. They lived in Boston, in their little apartment they managed to get somehow, and they were happy, until…
Until Neal left her and ran away leaving behind a bunch of stolen watches, putting the blame on Emma. She had to go to prison because of that dickhead. And Neal didn't even call to see if she was okay. After that, she had to try so hard to put her life in order, obviously without succeeding. She didn't need Neal. She'd worked so hard to forget him, to forget that she could ever trust and fall in love with someone like that, and she didn't need him right now.
''Excuse me?'' Emma came to her senses with a low shriek, and turned to the girl. The blonde haired girl was looking at her with a raised brow. Emma's cheeks heated as she continued to prepare the girl's drink, letting her hair drop in front of her face.
''I'm sorry,'' she apologized as she handed the drink, and eyed Neal. Is he looking for me? The question seemed to be stuck in her mind. And a part of her wanted Neal to look for her. A part she wanted to punch. The moment Neal turned to the bar, she ducked. Not that she was scared of facing him.
Okay, she was scared of facing him. She closed her eyes, and counted to three. Neal couldn't be here. It must've been just her imagination.
''Emma?'' She jumped and almost hit her head on the counter with Mary Margaret's voice. She was looking at her with anxiety in her eyes. ''Is something wrong? Are you feeling sick or something?'' Emma swallowed hard, and for a second, considered telling Mary Margaret everything about Neal and her. No one knew her life before she moved to New York. She was so ashamed of that life that she swore never to talk about it ever again. Even though Mary Margaret and her husband, David, were her best friends…
''Yeah, I'm just feeling a little sick,'' Emma lied, forcing a smile. She stood up. ''Can you take over just for a few minutes?'' Mary Margaret was too baffled to do anything as Emma ran away from the counter. She wanted to follow Emma to see what was wrong, but before she could turn Emma was gone, and a customer was calling for her.
Emma quickly left the counter, running to the bathrooms. Tears had already started to fill her eyes. Emma Swan, the girl that had never cried in two years, was crying. Even when she couldn't pay the rent, even when she got fired from all those jobs, even though she felt like she had no one, she never cried. And Neal had managed to make her do that just by showing up.
Emma didn't want to remember her life with Neal. Not because it wasn't pretty. But because it was. It was good. It was better than good, actually. It was the closest she'd been to ever being happy. She wanted that life back. She wished she had that life back, sometimes. Go back in time, and somehow stop Neal from running away. The problem was, Neal didn't just run away. He'd wanted to run away. He'd wanted to escape prison, so instead he'd sent her to it. There was no way she could ever forget something like that. And if Neal had actually loved her, he would never have done anything like that. She had always stood by Neal, no matter whatever he did. Obviously, Neal hadn't cared about him that much.
Emma wiped away her tears, scolding herself for being weak. She had to stay strong. That was how she survived. She always stayed strong, no matter what life threw in her way. She couldn't break down right now. Especially now that she lost her day job.
She yanked the restroom door open, running in. For her chance, it was empty. She quickly went to the bar, and looked at herself. Great. Because of her tears and heavy make up, her mascara was running. It was all over her eyes. She wanted to reach for her purse with her shaky hands until she remembered she left it in the locker room. She clenched her teeth. Now she had to clean her mascara just with those crappy paper towels. Why, oh why, didn't she wear waterproof mascara?
Of course, because she didn't have one.
Emma took a deep breath, trying to calm down. ''Fuck you, Neal,'' she whispered, mostly to herself. ''Why did you come here?''
"I wanted to see you.'' Emma jumped with Neal's voice, immediately turning to the door. Her breath got stuck in her throat as she swallowed hard. She didn't know what to say. She was speechless. Horror filled her lungs, and she had to lean to the sink to keep her balance. Her knees shook so badly.
''Neal,'' she shrieked, sounding like a little girl. She still didn't want to believe Neal was here. In the middle of girls' restroom. ''You…'' She stopped when nothing came in her mind. What would you say to you ex-boyfriend who left you two years ago without a word and had never called you? She wasn't even including the prison part.
''It's me, Emma,'' Neal said like he'd read Emma's mind. Emma didn't know what made her snap out of her stupor; the fact that Neal managed to see through her like he always did even after two years or that he was here, but she shook her head and clenched her fist. Even though her heart was pounding, she put on a blank face. That was the only way to get through this thing with Neal.
''What are you doing here?'' she asked harshly. Neal blinked. He obviously didn't expect this kind of reaction. Emma wanted to laugh. What did he expect anyway? That she'd jump on him and hug him? Kiss him? Yeah, right.
''We needed to talk,'' Neal said, stepping forward. Emma raised her hand quickly.
''Stop. Don't get any closer.'' Her voice was so cold that she felt proud of herself. Anyone who didn't know her wouldn't be able to hear the vulnerability behind her voice. The bad thing was… Neal knew her. ''What made you think I would want to talk to you?'' Neal couldn't say anything as he looked at Emma. This surely wasn't what he wanted. But Emma was determined. She was not gonna let this jerk ruin her life again.
''We… I mean us… We didn't end in a good way.'' Emma's brows cocked up. Was this guy even real?
''Not in a good way? Are you fucking kidding me?'' she yelled, not being able to stop herself. She stepped forward, pointing at Neal. The words poured out of her mouth. All the anger, frustration, pain and hurt she'd been carrying around poured out, and she couldn't stop. ''You left me, Neal! You left me, putting the blame on me for those watches. I had to go to prison! Do you know what that means? I went to prison, Neal, while you were somewhere away having the time of your life for something you did. I trusted you, you know? I stood by you. I never betrayed you, or turned my back on you even after I learnt all the things you'd done. And you just left.'' Tears started running down Emma's cheeks, and she didn't even try to stop them. She wrapped her arms around herself. ''So I'm sorry if I don't want to talk to you, or even see your face.''
''Emma, please,'' Neal pleaded. His eyes were full of guilt. Guilt that cause Emma's stomach to churn. She didn't want to see that guilt. She'd convinced herself Neal hadn't felt guilty for what he did for too long that seeing that guilt… It almost softened her. The last thing she needed right now. How could she trust Neal after what he did to her? ''Don't you at least care about me to listen to me?'' Emma opened her eyes, not realizing they were closed already. She pressed her lips together.
''I would've listened to you, Neal. But it's too late. I'm done with you.'' She didn't turn her eyes away from Neal's, hoping he'd believe her since she didn't even believe herself. She tried to take a deep breath, but the air was suffocating. She couldn't take staying more in that restroom with Neal. She pushed back Neal, pushing the door open. She could hear him calling for her but she didn't listen. She made her way to the back door that opened to a small alley. Fresh air.
That was exactly what she needed.
And she needed to stop crying,
The moment she stepped out, cold air welcomed her. In her mini dress, she felt the chill immediately, but she didn't care. It was nice. It was soothing. This kind of problem she could deal with. Now, about Neal…
No, Emma told herself. She wasn't gonna think about him anymore. She was over him, as she said. However, she wasn't sure if she'd been trying to convince Neal or herself as she said those words.
A quiet sob escaped her lips as she leaned back to the wall. She covered her mouth, trying to keep her sobs down. She didn't know how the hell her life went downhill in just one day. It wasn't fair. Yes, she might not have been perfect, but she surely didn't deserve this. All she wanted was to be happy. Was it that hard? Why did everything happen to her? Was it that hard to find something to be happy about for her?
''Hey, lass?'' A deep, male voice interrupted her thoughts, making her open her eyes. She didn't even realize someone was there until her eyes met with the guy that was standing in front of her.
The hot guy that was standing in front of her.
The first thing Emma noticed were the guy's eyes. They were the deepest shade of blue, like it contained all the blues of all the seas in the whole world. Her hair was dark and messy, and even Emma, who didn't like beard on a man, had to admit it looked good on this guy. And with his leather jacket and ripped jeans…
He was really hot.
Emma's sobs had stopped as she looked at the guy. She was pretty sure she hadn't seen him here before. Well, she'd have definitely remembered that face. Not many hot guys came to Flynn's.
''Are you okay?'' the guy asked Emma. She slipped out of her thoughts, all that emotions rushing back to her. Her eyes filled with tears again. She laughed hysterically.
''Do I look okay?'' she asked, pulling her hair. The guy blinked with her outburst, taking a step back. She closed her eyes, immediately feeling sorry. She didn't need to take her anger out of this guy. ''Who are you anyway? I've never seen you around,'' she tried to change the subject. She eyes the guy as a smile pulled his lips. It was a nice smile. Beautiful smile. Not fake. It had been a long time Emma had seen a real smile like that on a guy.
She liked it. Her heart warmed a little with that smile, which scared her for a moment. What was this?
''Killian Jones,'' the guy said. ''It's my first time here.'' He stepped forward tentatively, like he was afraid Emma would run away or something like that. But she didn't want to run away. ''Though I'm glad I came. What happened? Who made a beautiful lady like you cry, love?'' Thinking about Neal, Emma laughed emotionlessly again. She tucked her hair behind her ear.
''A guy that reminded me how unreliable men are.'' She crossed her arms. ''Don't take it personally,'' she told Killian.
A sad look crossed Killian's face. ''I'm so sorry about that.'' The guy reached for his pocket, and pulled out a thing that looked like a napkin. ''Here. It looks like you might need it.'' It was a napkin. Emma suddenly felt grateful as she took it. Okay, maybe not all guys were unreliable. She only just met Killian, there was no way of knowing what kind of guy he was. Based on his appearance, he didn't look any different than others. A classic bad guy.
''Thank you.'' She quickly wiped her tears, feeling like she ruined her mascara even more. She looked at the napkin. It was literally half black. She grimaced.
''Great. I probably look like a zombie right now.'' Her eyes turned to Killian to find him chuckle. The sound made Emma smile as well. His laugh was beautiful as well. Almost…musical.
Wait, what the hell was she thinking?
''I wouldn't say zombie,'' Killian said jokingly. Emma shot him a glare. There was a playful smirk on his face. A smirk that made Emma's heart skip a beat.
Okay, she really needed to get a hold of herself.
''Maybe a vampire.'' Emma narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms.
''Is that a way to talk to a stranger?'' Killian cocked his brow.
''Well, I told you my name, love,'' he said. ''How about you tell me yours?'' Emma tried to find something to object, to keep her from telling her name. She found nothing.
''Emma,'' she said, straightening up. ''Emma Swan.'' Killian's eyes lit up with Emma's name as she extended her hand. Killian held it tightly.
''A nice name.'' Killian's eyes searched Emma's face. ''Hey, are you that blonde bartender?'' Emma frowned.
''The blonde bartender? That's what people call me now?'' Killian chuckled, letting to of Emma's hand. Emma tried to clean up her mascara again when Killian turned his eyes away. She never wanted to look good to someone as much as she did now, to Killian.
''Well, I didn't know your name. You were the hot bartender with blonde curls and sexy red dress.'' Emma raised her brows.
''Have you even seen Ruby?'' The question escaped her mouth before she could stop herself, and her cheeks immediately heated. Sometimes she hated herself, and her ability to say the worst things in the worst times.
''Ruby?'' Killian looked confused. ''Who the hell is Ruby?'' Emma bit her lip. It doesn't matter who Ruby is, she reminded herself. And it surely didn't matter how beautiful Ruby was. Ruby had a boyfriend.
And also, she wasn't interested in Killian.
''The other bartender,'' Emma found herself saying. Killian frowned.
''With crop tops and all?'' A smile pulled Emma's lips. She was glad Killian didn't say ''killer legs'' or ''amazing body'' and all. That was so nice of him.
''That's one way to put it.'' She turned her eyes to her hands, not being able to face Killian.
''You think I like her?'' Killian sounded surprised, which was unexpected. Emma lifted her head bewilderedly.
''Don't you? Everyone loves her.'' She shut her mouth when she realized how pathetic that sounded. She really needed to pull herself together. Oh, and also she needed to stop telling everything to a stranger.
Killian stepped forward before Emma could do anything, and wiped Emma's tears away. She didn't even realize he lifted his hand. She shivered with Killian's touch as her eyes locked to his.
''If you're asking me if I find her beautiful or not, then the answer is yes, I think she's beautiful.'' Emma's stomach churned. Of course. What the hell did she expect? ''But no, she's not the one I want to buy a drink for.'' Emma was getting ready to yell at Killian for—she didn't know what for when Killian's words stopped her. Wait, what?
''So would you care to join me for a drink, Swan?'' Killian's eyes were illuminated as he searched Emma's face. Emma felt frozen. How the hell did it come here so quickly? Her breath quickened. A part of her, the part that had just been broken again by Neal, wanted to turn Killian down. The last thing she wanted was to go through what she'd gone through with Neal all over again. She couldn't have a drink with Killian. It all started with a drink. And then things got serious, and then she'd give her heart to Killian just to have it broken and shattered in pieces all over again. No. She couldn't do it.
But there was this another part that desperately wanted to say yes. She didn't know why. She just wanted it. Killian was…mysterious, hot, funny, kind, nice and…sincere. He looked sincere. Something not most guys had. She wanted to know him more.
Oh, this was not going down in the right direction. This was completely wrong.
''Why do you want to have drinks with someone who obviously looks like a gothic vampire and is crying behind a bar?'' Emma asked, trying to laugh. Yeah, this was better. She could handle jokes and all.
Killian shrugged. ''Well, let's say I'm intrigued.'' He winked at her, making Emma shudder. A wink shouldn't look that good on someone. It was forbidden. ''And also I can't leave a girl here crying.'' Emma wanted to make a snarky comment because, well, that was what she did, but nothing came out of her mind. All she could to was to stare at him.
''Okay,'' she found herself whisper finally. Killian's smile widened. Was it relief she saw in Killian's eyes? And happiness? ''But let me clean up my make up first. You wouldn't want to be seen sharing a drinks with a vampire, right?'' she teased Killian. His laugh filled her ears.
''A hot vampire, but I get your point.'' Killian gave her a soft, sincere smile as he so tenderly stroked her cheek. ''I'll be waiting, Swan.'' Emma stared behind Killian as he disappeared behind the door, giving her one last smile.
What had she just done?
