Title: Never Let Me Go
Author: snarkysweetness
Rating: R
Pairing: Aurora/Killian & Charlotte Avery/Kieran Tristan (Storybrooke Counterparts)
Summary: Charlotte Avery never imagined she could love someone so deeply until Kieran Tristan blew into her life while Princess Aurora never planned on falling for the charms of one Captain Hook.
Warnings: Non-explicit sexual content, mild angst, cursing, and mentions to Killian's desire to kill people, the usual.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Author's Notes: Enjoy my lovelies.
Charlotte gazed out the window of their small two room loft as dusk broke. Swirls of violet and amber colored the sky and she let out a small sigh as his strong arms wrapped around her middle. He brushed his chin over her neck. The scratch of his stubble sent shivers down her spine. Charlotte trembled, wondering how it was possible to still love and desire him so after all of this time.
"Come to bed, love," he whispered, his voice filled with emotion.
Kieran pulled her away from the window and into their makeshift bedroom.
The room was aglow with the flickering flame of melted candles. After Gold had fired Kiernan from the shop without warning they'd barely managed to make ends meet. Charlotte didn't mind; she'd been through worse than being without power. She'd take on extra shifts at the diner or the café; Kieran had saved her life when he'd stolen her away from her abusive father, so supporting them while he tried to find work with someone not in Gold's debt was the least she could do.
"I love you, have I told you that today?" Kieran brushed his lips over her ear and she blushed before shyly looking up at him through her eyelashes. Her breath hitched and her heart rate augmented as he placed butterfly kisses over her chin, jaw, cheeks, nose, and eyelids.
Charlotte pulled his mouth down to hers as he trailed his fingers over her sides before pressing their bodies together. She smiled against his lips, feeling like the luckiest woman alive; she didn't know anyone else who felt this level of excitement with their lover after years of being together every single night.
She doubted any of her friends even made love every single night and if they did, it certainly wasn't with the same fervor that she and Kieran shared.
He kissed her urgently and she could feel the evidence of his passion pressing against the cleft of her thigh. His calloused hands reached for the strap of her cream dress and soon his hands were on her skin. The back of her knees hit the mattress as he lowered her down, dragging his fingers along her now naked body. Her nimble fingers worked to remove his clothing and soon they lay in the bed together, their mouths dancing a familiar dance as they moved together in harmony. She pressed against him as he pulled away to brush hair away from her face. He stared down at her, his eyes filled with love, and she claimed his lips with her own, unable to control herself.
He was beautiful to her and while she wasn't capable of expressing her love in words the way he could, she could show him how much she loved him.
Kieran pulled her hands over her head and locked their fingers together as he increased their steady rhythm. His hips slid against hers as he kissed her fiercely. His teeth tugged on her bottom lip and she moaned. This seemed to urge him forward because he increased the ferocity of his lovemaking and it sent a thrill rushing through her.
"You're perfect and the most beautiful woman I've ever seen, Lottie. I love you." He drew his lips over her neck and she fought back tears. His love for her frightened her, she was so used to being unhappy and she was just waiting for the blow to land and ruin the bliss they'd chosen to lose themselves in for the past three years.
"I want to drink you in, princess, and never let you go," he whispered before covering his mouth with hers once more. He moved his hands over her body and gripped her waist so tightly she cried out in pain. He slammed their bodies together until there both shuddered and were left in a sweaty pool of loose limbs and heavy breathing.
"Never leave me," she whispered as she buried her face in his chest.
He held her closely and buried his face into her auburn locks.
"I wouldn't dream of it, sweetheart."
The stiffness of her muscles and the setting of the sun across the concrete floor alerted Aurora to the fact that they had slept-
With a small gasp Aurora, who had spent the past twenty-eight years as Charlotte Avery, sat up in horror. She covered her mouth and fought back a small cry. Her eyes moved to where Kie-no, Killian, still slept soundly. Not wanting to stir him from his slumber, Aurora carefully slipped out of bed and tip-toed into the bathroom.
She gripped the sink and avoided her reflection.
Her entire life as a Princess flashed before her and she went weak in the knees.
Her parents, Mulan…
"Phillip," she whispered.
Her heart clenched and she wished to see all of her loved ones once again. She could kill Regina for tearing her from her parents and giving her family such a painful existence in this land. She needed to see Mulan, her best friend who had been Charlotte's tormentor in High School, and…
Her darling Prince, who had saved her from an eternal slumber filled with fiery nightmares with just a kiss.
Aurora's memories had only just returned and already she remembered how deeply she loved Phillip but-
She could feel her heart splitting into two as she realized that she also loved the man in the next room. Their life together had been wonderful and not entirely a lie.
Aurora had only kept one secret in her life and it was about the time she'd spent with a rakish Pirate Captain who'd helped her travel through the sands and seas to face off against the evil fairy who was determined to ruin her kingdom in exchange for information on the Dark One. She'd wanted to sacrifice herself to save her people and instead she'd betrayed her darling Phillip by falling for Killian's charms.
And it hadn't been one-sided. She remembered the look of horror on his face when he'd realized what she intended to do once she found Maleficent and knew that she'd broken his heart by forcing him to watch another woman he loved die in front of him.
You can't have them both, Aurora, she told herself before finally looking into the mirror. Her hair was disheveled, her skin rosy, and aside from the two lives fighting in her mind, she looked happy.
Was there really a choice to be made?
A wisp of purple caught her eye and she turned to find the air outside of her window fill with a familiar smoke. Aurora knew the look of magic better than most and she ran out of the washroom.
"Killian!"
She expected to find him still in bed but he was half-way out the door when he turned to her, his eyes filled with pain and regret. She froze as a crippling fear coursed through her.
"No," she whispered harshly, realizing that once again, she'd made a mistake and been the one to love more deeply.
"Hush, don't, love." He crossed the room quickly and brought his left hand up to brush her cheek. She closed her eyes and held back a sob. She realized she missed the hook that had been in his hand's place before the curse and it felt like a silly thing to worry about right now.
"Look at me," he whispered and she shook her head. She couldn't face him leaving her, not after everything she'd suffered and sacrificed in both her lives. If he wanted to leave, he could walk right out the door, but she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of seeing her broken because of him. She hadn't survived this long by showing weakness.
His thumb brushed over her cheek before she felt his lips on hers. Entirely against her heart's will, her body returned the kiss. When he broke away, she found herself staring up at him sadly as he tilted her chin up.
"I'm not leaving you."
"Then why were you halfway out the door without so much as a goodbye?"
"Because I have a crocodile to skin, love, and then-"
"But he'll kill you!" She interrupted. She knew his need to avenge Milha ran deep and she knew better than to get in the way or talk him out of it, but she also knew that Rumpelstiltskin could destroy him.
He gave her a sad half-smile.
"There's no magic in this land, my love, which means he can be killed. And when I'm through with him, the dragon is next."
"Say you do kill them both, what then?" She asked him bitterly. She knew this was a suicide mission and so did he. He didn't love her enough not to risk his life and that stung more than it would if he'd just walked out on her.
"Then I'm going to find my ship and steal you away from this place."
"And if I want to stay?"
He kissed her quickly and shook his head.
"Wait for me."
"And if I don't?"
He gave her a short look before disappearing. Aurora waited a full moment before grabbing a nearby vase and throwing it against the wall. She fell into a ball on the floor and wept over her stupidly arrogant and cocky pirate.
They both knew she could risk her family and throw away Phillip on the hope that he would return and she hated him for him.
She'd expected to spend weeks waiting, curled up in Mulan's arms weeping, while her father ranted about how she'd ruined poor Phillip and her own reputation, so when he returned to their small flat the next morning, after she'd finally convinced Mulan to return to Phillip, who Aurora should have known she'd lost to her best friend even before the curse, she felt genuine shock.
"Did you skin your crocodile and slay your dragon?"
She didn't look up, having decided hours ago that she was too furious with him to listen to any of his excuses. He'd picked a dead woman over her and she'd never forgive him for that betrayal.
He waited a moment and she could visualize him sighing and rubbing the back of his neck nervously, the way he had as Kieran. Aurora looked up to find him doing just that and she felt her resolve breaking. She cursed the entire notion of love for turning perfectly intelligent women into complete fools. She loathed and loved him at the same time which only made her loathe him even more.
"Well?" She demanded, sounding every bit the part of Princess, a role which she was comfortable playing.
"The Swan girl…Sheriff…that eternal pain in my arse slayed your dragon for me. Apparently Regina left her that way all of this time." He kept his eyes glued to the floor.
"Maleficent's dead?"
Her voice trembled as she felt a slow wave of relief wash over her. She'd never wished anyone dead before but Maleficent had caused her family and kingdom nothing but pain and suffering. She was truly evil and as far as Aurora was concerned, Regina could join her old friend in death. Aurora wasn't even sorry for thinking it.
"Yes." He slowly met her eyes and she could see they were filled with guilt. Perhaps enough of Kieran still resided in him to make Killian a decent man. She loved them both but Killian had been too consumed with revenge. The first time she'd truly understood how deeply his lust for vengeance ran, she'd recoiled in fear and disgust. She understood that desire, but his entire reason for living was to kill this one man and Aurora had realized then that any feelings she may have had for him were a waste.
But now…
"And Rumpelstilskin?"
"I…" he sighed and moved to sit on the edge of the bed. Aurora pulled her knees to her chest and watched him like a cat ready to attack. "I was in the shop, waiting for him, with a pistol, and then I remembered something."
She watched him for a long moment before throwing her hands up in frustration.
"What?"
"I made you a promise, sweetheart. To never let you go and while I may be a pirate, love, I'm also a man of my word."
Aurora scoffed but the desperate look in his eyes made her realize that this was Killian's way of apologizing. While Kieran had been able to beautifully craft words to express his feelings, Killian was a pirate, used to rowdy men and hiding his feelings.
She reached across the mattress to take his hand and a moment later their bodies were glued together as they frantically shared a kiss.
"If you ever hurt me, you deranged sailor-"
"I'll cut my own hand off." He replied in between kisses as his hands worked to rid her of her clothes. He tore at her undergarments and she bit his lip, not amused.
"You're an assh-"
"I never said I was a bloody prince, love-"
"Shut up," she commanded as she ripped his belt off. "All I am saying is if you decide to change your mind I will see to it that my father murders you slowly and painfully-"
He pressed her into the mattress as he entered her more harshly than he ever had as Kieran. Aurora clutched him tightly and moaned as he made love to her in a way that only a pirate could; hard, fast, and without abandon. Before she could recover he immediately started over, this time with a mix of the old and new and by the time he was done, she could scarcely remember her own name, either of them, let alone why she'd been angry with him in the first place.
"This bloody curse ruined me."
"What?"
Aurora turned onto her side to find him staring up at the ceiling and she would have sworn her entire kingdom that she saw a pout on his lips.
"Before I would have killed that bloody bastard without a second thought and then come back to steal you away whether you wanted it or not but the entire time I stood in that shop, bloody Kieran was in my head telling me that it was wrong. Bloody wrong my arse, that bloody Sorcerer deserves to die a hundred painful deaths for what he did to her. I've failed her and myself. What kind of pirate can't follow through with a simple murder?"
Aurora rolled her eyes.
"Has it occurred to you that we're no longer the people we once were? That Aurora and Killian or Charlotte and Kieran are both dead? That we're now a mix of our two lives?"
"What? Like a third life? Where I'm too bloody involved with a sexy pair of creamy thighs to gut a man properly?"
She sighed and patted him on the chest.
"Oh Killian, darling, I love you too."
She leaned back into the pillows, sure she was in for a night of listening to him complain, when he surprised her once more.
His slipped his arms around her waist and pulled her back against his chest. He pressed his lips to her neck and kissed his way over her shoulders and down her arm.
"It's dawn," he whispered and she settled into his arms with a smile as they watched the sun break through the clouds bringing with it a fresh start.