Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing and am making no profit from this. This is purely for entertainment.
8:15 every morning she would walk through the door of Granny's, greeting both the older woman and Ruby before sliding into her normal seat, and at 8:17 he would join her. Sometimes there was playful banter between the two, sometimes discussions of a more serious nature, and sometimes— Well, sometimes they would simply enjoy each other's company in silence.
Today, it seemed, was one of those days that was a mixture of all three.
"I am not going to answer that," Emma shot back, shaking her head no as if needing to emphasize her staunch refusal of answering the question the pirate asked.
Killian's face was lit with mirth, and he could see that as appalling as the question seemed to the sheriff, she was enjoying herself as well.
"Come now, Swan. You were in love once. Tell me, was it as magical as you thought it'd be?" he asked, waggling his eyebrows in an over the top suggestive way. He kept the conversation light in manner despite the less than appropriate implications he made, knowing that if he crossed the line she wouldn't hesitate to cut him off and leave.
She just shook her head, her blonde curls bouncing as she did so, and tried to level him with a stern glare—an attempt to ward him off of the path she knew he was heading down. Despite it all, she let out the smallest of chuckles. Damn him.
"Ah, there it is." He leaned further back into his seat in triumph.
She rolled her eyes and ate in silence, pointedly ignoring him for the rest of the meal.
Once they were both finished, Emma reached for her wallet in order to pay for the food, but Killian held up his hand, stopping her in her tracks as he pulled out his own money and paid for both of their meals, leaving more than a generous tip for the wolf girl.
Emma quirked a brow at that, shooting him a questioning glance that was met with a widening of his grin. She knew that she wouldn't be getting an answer as to why he did that, and so she signaled him to follow along, unwilling to put an end to their time together just yet.
The walk to the jail was done in silence, and once they were in the safety of the building, Killian asked the question that had been burning in the back of his mind ever since the beanstalk.
"Why are you so guarded?"
It was blunt and straightforward, unhindered with any sort of pleasantries, and it threw her for a moment.
Body taught, jaw set, and eyes hardened, she bit out a short "I don't know what you're talking about" while turning her back towards him and pretending to do busy work.
Killian refused to let the conversation end there. Reaching out, his hand clasped on her shoulder, and he made her face him.
"Tell me." His tone was that of a gentle command, leaving no room for another to question him, and she knew that he wouldn't just leave well enough alone.
She weighed her options. It would be easy to put an end to this conversation right now, to simply tell him that she refused to tell her story to a no good pirate who would just as easily use that information against her as he would take a breath of air, but that wouldn't be fair to him. He'd changed, she knew that. She'd been every bit the skeptic at first, but she'd seen him change with her own eyes and knew that he wasn't the man that she'd met in the Enchanted Forest.
Oh, he was still arrogant and a thorn in her side, proving to be more than a nuisance for her and the rest of the town, but he was also charming and kind, and she enjoyed watching him interacting with Henry, regaling him with tales of his adventures.
And so, for once in her life, she made a different call. She opened up to a man she never thought she would and told him everything about her life. What life in the orphanage was like, of always wondering why her parents left her and what they were like, of meeting Neal and falling in love only to be betrayed and having to give up her child to some stranger.
Hours passed by, and the man listened intently, only interrupting her when he could tell things were getting too much for her, and for that she was grateful that he could read her so well. It made things easier for her.
Once she'd finished her story, he leaned back in his seat and graced her with an easy going grin, one that she returned with a small smile of her own.
"What do you say you let me teach you how to trust again?" he asked, eyes alight with playful merriment.
The question earned him a snort, and she rebutted with "Does a pirate even know how to trust?"
His eyes darkened at that.
"More than that thief," he returned, a dark bitterness lacing his tone.
In spite of all that she told him, she still felt the need to defend the man.
"Neal, he—"
Killian silenced her with the simple press of a calloused finger against her lips, and though she hated being cut off, wry amusement shone in her eyes and her lips quirked upwards ever so slightly.
Taking a calming breath, he tried to keep the conversation from becoming any more negative than it already was.
"I don't care what he did or how you try to tell it," he told her, and she knew that he was telling the truth. "Emma, love, I'm not Neal and I'm not your parents-"
"Thank God," she muttered around his finger, shooting him an ever familiar smirk that he returned with ease.
"What I'm trying to say is that I won't leave you," he finished.
Emma wanted to believe him-wanted it so badly-but there were just too many risks.
"Look, Killian, I like you-probably more than I should, but we can't. I've got Henry to think about and a family that I never thought I'd have, and I have to put them first. Us? It wouldn't work out."
Saying those words pained her more than she wanted to admit, and she looked away, but he wasn't going to let that stop him. He cupped her cheek with his hand and forced her to look at him.
"I can't promise you that it'll be easy, love, but I can promise that I'll be here—with you—every step of the way," Killian promised, brushing his thumb across her cheek. "There are going to be hardships, but all the best things in life are worth fighting for."
It would be tough, that much he knew was true. That was just the lives that they led. Always fighting. Always keeping one step ahead of those who would try to tear them down. Always having to prove to others that theirs was a true love and not just some ploy on his behalf or a plea of help on hers. It was how it'd always be. He knew that, and he knew that he was to blame for it. It was the nature of his reputation—of the man he became after Milah—that would make things difficult for them. People had a natural tendency to be wary of him and the citizens of the small town seemed so intent on wanting to protect Emma that he knew they would be concerned, but together, he knew, the two of them would be able to face anything.
Slowly, he pulled his hand away and held it outstretched towards her, waiting, letting her decide whether or not she would be willing to take the journey with him.
Now it was her choice to say whether or not this was the path she was willing to take.
And so he watched and waited with bated breath, unwaveringly staring into the familiar grey blue eyes with unconcealed hope. He didn't know what she would choose—didn't know if she would slip her hand into his or turn around and walk away for good. Didn't know if she realized what it was he was promising her.
A partner, an equal, a friend, and a lover. Someone who would be right there beside her through thick and thin, never backing down and never giving up.
It was all up to her now.