We used to be broken (but we can heal, I'm sure.)

[AU/S7] : "Why do you hate her so much ?" Rapunzel asked him. Hook's look was sharp and full of hatred. "She took my daughter from me. And you ?" "She turned my life into a true Hell, the widow answered." Hook and Rapunzel fight together against Gothel. And it leads to something unexpected. Hook/Rapunzel Tremaine. KnightRook. RainyRook. RebelGlass. Swanfire.

Author's note : I used a time-line different from the one we know. Here, Anastasia is in her "coma" since she is fourteen years old (she stopped aging), Drizella is eleven, Ella is twelve and Alice is ten. Hook and Rapunzel meet after Marcus died and after he was cursed by Gothel. And Belle is alive, for reasons.

Inspired by the 7x13 episode.

Part 1 : Hello there…

They meet by chance.

He is wandering in the Enchanted Forest, not a long time after Gothel separated him from his daughter. Now, his ten years old girl is alone in the tower, and he can't get back to her, because of this curse of the poisoned heart.

And he walks, and walks because there is nothing else he can do.

He doesn't let her completely alone (no, he can't do it, he already did it with Bae, it's not happening again, not anymore), but he lets his crew with her, they will look after her, they promised they would.

Smee did, in fact, as some of the other pirates, and they may not saw him since ten years, but the thing is that they are still loyal to him, and if it doesn't help to heal the pain or to make it disappear, it helps a little.

His little girl won't be completely alone, and she shouldn't have to be separated from him, hadn't he been such an idiot, fighting for his honor, fighting for the thing that shouldn't have mattered for him, but he did. And now, they are both alone, far from each other.

Because these pirates won't be her family, even if they were one for him.

It breaks him, to be forced to recognize it, but he should have listened to the imp.

This one, even in his madness, knew what mattered the most, and it doesn't really surprise the pirate, regarding to who the Dark One lost, his own son.

His child.

Just as he himself did during this day.

He failed her, he failed Alice, his daughter, just as his own father used to do in the past, and this breaks him too.

Because he is still hearing her, his daughter's cries, asking him to save her.

But he can't. He never was a Savior, and never will.

He will always be a pirate.

He wishes he could be more than that.

He wishes he could stop disappointing his daughter.

§§§§

He isn't the only one to be broken.

She is, too.

Her.

Rapunzel.

Just like him, she had been broken by Gothel' actions, by what she did, and also the things she made her do.

The witch destroyed her (or maybe that she destroyed herself and the things around her, maybe that she was already broken when this damn witch told her that she would be happy if she cursed Cecilia, that everything would be easier then), and, now she has nothing else than her pain.

Marcus was dead.

He died because of her, because of this whole situation, because of this mess, he died because she went too far in her project.

He died because she killed him.

He died, and now she is all alone, even though she still has her daughters (but not the one who matters the most for her, the one who is the symbol of what had been taken from her, and maybe that if she can make her come back, everything that had been broken will be fixed), and it happened because of her.

It was an accident, and no one ever knew what she did, not even Drizella or Ella, and none of them realized what really happened, and it's the reason why they can't understand why their mother became so cold.

Even if Rapunzel is trying, she is really trying, so hard that it hurts her, it's hard to look at Ella and not to see Cecilia in her, or to see what she did to the other woman.

A part of her heart begins to hate the little girl, because she is a constant reminder of what happened to her, of what Gothel did to her, of what she herself did to the poor woman.

It's hard to look at Drizella, and not to think about Anastasia, her dear and precious daughter, that she lost because of an accident.

But she will make her come back, she knows it.

And then, everything will be okay, as it used to be.

§§§§

He was tired when he arrived next to the house. The pirate didn't really walk during a long time, as Rapunzel's house wasn't really that far away from the tower, but it was the first house the pirate saw since he left it.

And the thing is that before arriving, he walked without any real purpose, just wandering here and there.

He had no idea of where he could go, the only thing he knew, was what he wanted to do.

To find a cure for his poisoned heart.

Oh, and destroy Gothel too.

He may just cared for his daughter now, but it didn't mean he didn't want to get revenge.

Arriving close to the house, he saw on the outside a young girl, sitting down on the ground, who couldn't be more than eleven years old, and who had a doll in her hand, and a book in the other, that she was reading.

She had dark hair, and also a melancholic air on the face.

She started as she saw the strange man, and she looked at him with curiosity.

"Who are you ? She asked him. And why are you here ?

- My name is Killian Jones (he wasn't stupid enough to name himself as the pirate he used to be. He abandoned his statute when he had his daughter. Until captain Achab threw it back into his face and reminded him of who he really was), and I am looking for… (he didn't himself know) for a place, where I could have some rest."

The door then abruptly opened, and a woman got out of it, a weapon (it was a crossbow, in fact, not a frying pan like the one the fake Rapunzel had with her.) in her hand that she pointed at him.

"Drizella, enter into the house, right now, she ordered to her daughter, with worry."

Drizella obeyed, and immediately left them.

The pirate blinked with surprise, when he recognized her.

"Rapunzel ? He asked her with astonishment, really hoping that it wasn't again Gothel, disguised as the young woman.

- How do you know my name ? She asked him, still having her weapon in her hand, not ready to get rid of it.

How could he say this…

Hey, we slept together, but this was not really you, so we never met before, but I do know you in a certain way, even if it was not you…

So, then…

I'm happy to meet you ?

I guess…

I would be, if we were in other circumstances.

- Please, he said, not answering to her question, could you stop pointing this at me ? I personally don't want to be shoot by you, by accident, or purposely."

She accepted, still suspicious toward him.

"Who are you ?

- Killian Jones."

She looked at the place where his left hand should have been, and she became pale when she saw the hook, and she took again her weapon in her hand.

"You're a pirate, aren't you ? You're the infamous Captain Hook.

- Well, he said with a smile, I would have preferred to be known as the "famous" Captain Hook, but yes, it's me. And his face became dark. Or it was.

- Why are you here ?

- As I told it to your daughter, if she is, I want a place to get rest, I was separated from my daughter some hours ago. I just left the tower where she is imprisoned."

Astonished, Rapunzel put her weapon down a new time.

"What ? What did you just say ?

- An evil witch, Gothel, I guess it's the same than the one who imprisoned you some years ago, she did it with my daughter too.

- So, you know Gothel. Why do you hate her so much ?" Rapunzel asked him.

Hook's look was sharp and full of hatred.

"She took my daughter from me. Just as I told you. And you ? I kind of know, but I guess you still hate her."

- She turned my life into a true Hell, the widow answered.

- How ?

- You first. What happened to you ?

- Ten years ago, I entered in this tower, searching for magic, and I found you. As Rapunzel blinked with surprise, he added. It was her, disguised in you, and she sent me on a quest to find a magic flower, which would allow her to flee herself from the tower.

- The tower in which she locked me up, and where I locked her up too, added Rapunzel bitterly.

- A thing I didn't know at that time. I found the flower I was looking for, and, instead of running away from her, and leaving the place, and then, getting my revenge, I came back to the tower. He chuckled. Maybe I shouldn't have, the irony is that, at this time, I tried to do the honorable thing, and it turned against me.

- What happened then ? I guess the story isn't over.

- The best part of it is coming right now, love, he said, ironic. Then, she… "thanked" me, if I can say that… We slept together after I gave her the flower who could help her flee.

- So… she made you sleep with her and… it was me, in a sense. Must have been awful to discover who she was, hum ?

- Yes, indeed. She used magic to get pregnant and so her baby would be born the morning after that.

- She is your daughter… and she stayed imprisoned in the tower, because Gothel needed someone of her blood to be able to escape, Rapunzel realized, having a disgusting air on her face. It doesn't surprise me, after what she did to me…

- What happened ?

- My husband and I, we were on a way to find something to cure him, as he was sick. And we did, well, I did. I found it, in Gothel's garden, and, well… she was not ready at first to give me anything. Well, not freely, in fact. So…

- You made a deal with her. And she took your freedom from you. She locked up you in this terrible tower.

- Yes, she did. For six years, before I found a way to escape. And then, I realized that it was what she wanted… She wanted me to go, and discover that I had been replaced, that someone else took my place in my family, someone else became the mother of my daughters, someone else was my husband's wife. My family was happy, even without me, and she wanted me to know it, to see it, and to ruin it. Well, she wanted to test me, to be sure that I was the Guardian she was looking for. Someone who would be pure of heart.

- But you weren't, right ? Because, I guess that if it was the case, your family would be as it used to be.

- Indeed. I… I poisoned Cecilia, and I made her leave, because her heart was poisoned, and any time she would touch Marcus, my husband, she would get hurt."

When she saw the pirate's face become terribly pale, she understood something was wrong.

"This is what she did to me, the man confessed. She poisoned me too, she poisoned my heart, so any time Alice touches me, I will be hurt.

- I am sorry.

- And then ? What happened ?

- She left, I reconnected with my husband, and then..."

Rapunzel suddenly stopped. She couldn't, she just couldn't tell him what happened to Anastasia. Only Marcus knew it, he was the only one who used to know, with her and Gothel, that their little daughter was still alive, that she was in her coma, from which she couldn't wake up. Drizella and Ella still thought that their sister/step-sister was now gone.

So, she said nothing.

"Something terrible happened. Gothel did something terrible to me, and then… my husband died. I killed him, by accident. And now, I am all alone, with my daughter, Drizella, and a child, Ella, who is not my real child. Who will never be my daughter. And all I want is revenge against the woman who destroyed my family. I trapped her, in her tower, but now, according to what you told me, she is free. And she can hurt my family again. I refuse to let this happen again. I won't let her ruin everything another time."

There was furor in the woman's eyes, a furor the pirate understood easily, because it was a furor that he himself shared with her.

"I know what it is, you know. The will of revenge. He chuckled. For years, for literally centuries, I lived with just this in my heart. Everything stopped the day I had my daughter.

- Really ? You just stopped wanting revenge ? Rapunzel asked him in interest and curiosity."

She didn't know herself if she would be able to stop feeling this rage, this anger, against the woman who took her freedom, her family, her daughter from her.

She didn't know if she could, or if she wanted this.

Her anger helped her to deal with her pain, the pain of her loss, her loss of Marcus and Anastasia.

"Yes, he answered. I looked at this little child, in my arm, who was my daughter, and I was everything she had in the world, and I just couldn't let her here, I just couldn't abandon her. So, I stopped being a pirate, and I began the father Alice deserved. Or so, I tried to, he added bitterly, remembering that he failed her just the other day.

- Hey ! Rapunzel said, feeling the strange urge to comfort him. This is not your fault ! Gothel did this, she is the only culprit who has to be blamed."

Hook had an ironic look and a cynical laugh, which were terrifying and which made Rapunzel be afraid of what he could do against her if he wanted to attack her.

Because there was so much pain in his eyes, so much anger…

Just as in herself, she realized.

"Do you have any idea of the reason why I was cursed ?

- No. No, of course, no. I guess Gothel just wanted to punish you for some obscure reason.

- No. She did it, because I didn't come back home at the right time. Because I fought for my honor, instead of going back to the tower, to my daughter, with the magical artifact which could have freed her from where she was locked up ! I made one bloody freaking detour, and she punished me for this, because she thought I was not good enough for Alice !"

Rapunzel grinned.

"She can talk, she said with irony. She is the one who abandoned her daughter, who wanted to leave her alone, in a tower where she would have grown up with no one to raise her properly, as you did. This tower may be enchanted to make the occupant of this survive, but it doesn't mean this is enough to truly live. I know it well, I had to endure it for six years. You don't have to feel guilty for this Killian, I am sure she was just waiting for an occasion to trap you. Unfortunately, you gave one to her, but it was just a mistake."

The pirate smiled, warmed and moved by this unknown woman's defense, who was the first person of not accusing him of anything, while he deserved it.

"Yeah. But maybe she wanted to punish me for my past crimes and mistakes.

- People can change. Look at me, she did attack me when I was still innocent. Now, because of her, I turned into a monster.

- I am sure you're not.

- How can you be sure of this ? You don't know me, you know nothing about me, except what I accepted to tell you. You have no idea of what I did.

- I think you're wrong, Rapunzel. Because you're the one who has no idea of what I did."

And suddenly, she smiles.

"At least, we can both agree on the fact that we are both monsters. And that we have a common enemy. Would you accept to help me fight Gothel ? I guess this is the only thing we can do now.

He nodded.

- I accept, of course. I guess I will need some help."

To be continued…