This is my Captain Swan Secret Santa gift for the lovely Selina (hooklesslyinlove)
HAPPY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!
A few glimpses, that was all she ever got. The first time she saw him was on the subway in New York when she was hurrying home after work. He caught her eyes, standing in the middle of the carriage, lean looking, tousled hair, scruff and a lot of black leather and when he turned as if he felt her starting, their eyes met and it sent a shiver down her spine.
The second time she saw him was when she was waiting in line for her coffee at Starbucks. She went there every morning at 9 like clockwork but it was the first time she saw him there. He had his back to hear but she recognised his stature and immediately lowered her gaze. He didn't need to know that she was there too; it was already strange that she had spotted him again in the millions of people living in the city.
The third time she saw him was when she was walking home from the cinema with her son. It was freezing cold and they were both shivering and that's when she spotted him walking casually along the other side of the road, still clad in nothing more but his leather outfit and a simple scarf around his neck. She stopped dead, staring. What were the odds of her seeing him yet again? It wasn't until Henry nudged her to move that she realised he was looking at her as well from across the street.
The fourth time she saw him, she was waiting for David with Mary Margaret. At first she didn't realise it was him, he had changed his clothes into something more casual but the way he moved tipped her off. He was exchanging some words with David, who gestured to where her and Mary Margaret were waiting. The stranger turned his head slightly and even from the distance, Emma could see that he knew they'd seen each other before and just like the first time their eyes had met, it sent a shiver down her spine.
"Oh, come on," Mary Margaret chattered cheerfully, "It'll be fun!"
But Emma only threw her friend an annoyed look. She had no intention whatsoever of spending Christmas Eve with a bunch of annoying co-workers. She would rather just sit at home with her son, marathoning Christmas movies and munching apple-cinnamon ice cream or some rocky road. She had no choice though, it was expected of them to be there.
"I think I'm just going to call in sick," Emma protested with a grunt and a groan, sinking deeper into the cushions of her friends sofa.
"David's coming," Mary Margaret stated, making Emma laugh.
"Of course he's coming, the two of you are basically joined at the hip."
Mary Margaret shook her head. "That's not what this is about…"
"Then what is?"
A sly smile stole itself upon Emma's friend's face. "He might bring a colleague."
It made Emma throw her arms into the air in resignation. She'd told Mary Margaret before that she was not interested in any of David's colleagues (the dark haired leather clad guy she kept seeing was certainly no colleague of David's, that was just not possible) but her friend insisted on a round of matchmaking every now and then. Walsh had been a disaster and ever since then, Emma hadn't really trusted her with her love life.
"M," she said, "I am quite capable of finding my own significant other but it won't be at the Yuletide ball."
She said it like it was an irrefutable truth, making Mary Margaret shake her head in resignation. "I will get you to come with, you'll see," she states and Emma almost fears that she might be right. For whatever ridiculous reason, she could feel herself wanting to go despite her dislike of the event.
Henry was with his father and his new wife, so Emma had no excuse to stay at home. She and Neal had agreed that Henry would celebrate Christmas Eve with them while she had him on the 25th. Celebrating together was out of the question, they could hardly manage a phone conversation without fighting and sometimes she wanted to just shout at the stars for ever falling for the guy in the first place. They had been young and foolish and some mistakes were going to last forever. The only good thing to come out of her relationship with Neal was her son and she insisted on calling him her son rather than theirs since Neal had only started to show interest in Henry after he'd gotten together with Tamara.
Henry, the young kid that he was, had been only too happy to finally meet his dad but Emma found it incredibly difficult. She wished she could just ignore her ex and start living her life again. Henry was ten now, and a bright kid and very receptive to others, looking for people to look up to. He used to live in a fantasy world quite a bit and it was still not easy bringing him up by herself. But she was on her own with him most of the time and it wasn't like she couldn't have changed that. Walsh had been quite understanding but a woman in her late twenties with a ten year old son was not everyone's cup of tea and she had realised that, in her life, Henry would always come first so she had broken up with Walsh on the night that he had proposed. That had been almost a year ago and, to her own surprise, she had never once regretted her decision.
Her phone rang, shaking her out of her thoughts. Her eyes focused on her reflection on the mirror in front of her and she reached out for her phone, reading Mary Margaret's name on the display. With a smile on her face she took the call, not even bothering to say anything, knowing M would start talking immediately anyway.
"So you're coming tonight, right?" Mary Margaret asked, making Emma laugh. Her prediction had been right.
"Do I have a choice?" she replied.
"Not really. We're picking you up at seven."
"See you then," Emma grumbled and hung up, looking at the choice of dresses spread out on her bed.
***
Two hours later she was ready, her shoulder-free and floor length dress flowing beautifully down her body, her hair framing her face in fluid natural curls and as she looked in the mirror she almost felt like a fairy tale princess. Good thing too, considering the theme of the nigh was Fairy Tale New York.
When her doorbell rang, she took one last look, grabbed her clutch and met Mary Margaret at the door.
"Wow!" both women exclaimed at the same time.
"You look like Snow White!" Emma smiled at her best friend.
"And you look like a real life princess," Mary Margaret smiled back. "Come on, my Prince Charming is waiting and who knows, there might be one for you at the ball, too."
Emma laughed. "Yeah right, someone like my own Prince Charles or what?"
The women linked their arms, laughing, and took the lift to the ground floor where David was waiting for them in the cab.
It took them longer than they'd anticipated but eventually they made it to the hotel in which the event was taking place and Emma had to admit that maybe being here wasn't such a bad idea.
The place looked utterly stunning, decorated in wonderful Christmas-y colours, silver, white and gold with a touch of red here and there, snowflakes hanging from the high ceiling and the enormous chandelier covered in fake snow. There were tables all around the dance floor, a huge buffet with cold meats, seafood, salads and drinks.
People were already seated at some of the tables and Emma spotted her boss at one table with a sleazy looking guy.
"Who's that?" she whispered into M's ear, but it was David who answered.
"That's Mr Gold. He's been looking to buy into Mills Records ever since Cora died last year."
Emma took an immediate dislike to the guy. Not that she was a fan of the company she worked for but if a guy like Gold bought into it, she knew it would go terribly wrong in only a matter of time.
But tonight was not a night that she was going to worry about anything like this. She had not wanted to come but now that she was here, nothing kept her from having some fun.
They found themselves a table together with Ruby and Belle, reserving a seat for Graham so David would not be the only man and they chatted, sipping Champagne and watching people. It was then that Emma's eyes got drawn to the other side of the room. She'd seen movement out of the corner of her eye that looked oddly familiar. She was hoping it wasn't Walsh but when she spotted the person and recognised him for the stranger that she kept seeing everywhere, her heart skipped a beat and she gasped.
"What is it?" Mary Margaret asked, the only one who had noticed Emma's reaction.
"Nothing," Emma replied a little flustered, trying not to gaze into the stranger's direction but Mary Margaret was way too perceptive and turned her head.
"Oh!" she said, "I've seen this guy somewhere before… Do you know who he is?"
Emma shook her head. "I keep seeing him everywhere, though," she confided, looking at her friend.
When they both turned around again, he was gone.
It took another half hour for all the guests to arrive but at half past eight, the band started playing and people started moving towards the dance floor, David and Mary Margaret amongst the first. Emma watched her two friends, smiling, and took another sip from her Champagne. She watched as her boss was asked to dance by Robin, a colleague of hers that she knew had had a crush on their boss for ages. She watched as Graham walked up to their table and asked Ruby to the dance floor and when Belle was asked as well, Emma decided to get up and grab some food. Even from the buffet, she kept watching the dancing figures moving abouts, the ladies dresses flowing elegantly with their movements, the gentlemen holding their backs straight and sweeping their partners off the floor every now and then so she didn't realise that she was a step away from bumping into another person.
When she turned around to fill her plate, her face hit smack into the shoulder of the person next to her and she let out a groan, rubbing her nose and ready to scold the person who dared to stand in her way. Her head shot up, green eyes met blue and it was like a lighting bolt had hit her. She stood there, paralysed, and she could see in the strangers face that he must've felt the same. There was recognition written all over his face, the look in his eyes turned soft and a gentle but cocky smile stole onto his lips.
"Killian Jones," he introduced himself without beating around the bush.
"Emma," she stuttered, only just finding her voice again. "Emma Swan."
"Nice to meet you, Emma Swan."
Emma realised he had a British accent and almost started giggling, luckily, his next comment prevented her from any embarrassment.
"I think I've seen you before," he said very casually and Emma could all but nod.
"Only a couple of times…" she murmured more to herself than him but he heard her nonetheless.
Thankfully, he didn't comment further on it but instead took her plate from her hands and, with a little bow, asked, "Would you honour me with this dance, milady?"
Flustered, Emma accepted his hand, looking at him properly for the first time. He had traded his leather clothes for a simple dark tuxedo, not even bothering with a tie, wearing his shirt with the top buttons unbuttoned, revealing some luscious chest hair underneath and there was only one thought in Emma's head; she was in trouble.
"I don't actually know how to dance…" she confessed when he twirled her around so they were facing each other, standing amongst the other dancers.
"Not to worry, I know what I'm doing," he replied, taking her hand, placing it on his shoulder and then putting his own around her, placing it slightly below her shoulder blades.
He started slowly, leading her around in circles and she found it incredibly easy to follow his steps.
"So, Emma," he started, her name rolling off his tongue like honey, making her stomach flip. "What brings you to this ball?"
"Work," she replied, having finally found the steadiness of her voice again. "And my friends," she added, indicating her head towards the dancing David and Mary Margaret.
"Ah yes," Killian affirmed, "That is where I have seen you before."
"How do you know David?" Emma inquired, while Killian swept her around the dance floor as easily as water flowed down a river.
"Work, actually. It was his job to get me to sign with Mills Records. I wanted to stay independent though but he and I have been friends ever since."
"Oh," she exclaimed, "You're a musician?"
He nodded, smirking a little and making her knees feel a little weak. She was glad he was holding her so firmly.
"So, if you're not signed to Mills Records, what brings you here tonight?"
He cringed at her question and his eyes drifted to the table where Gold was sitting.
"You don't refuse the invitation of Mr Gold unless you want to fail in this business," he grumbled and Emma was determined to steer the conversation away from this topic as quick as possible.
They danced and danced, their conversation flowing freely and more comfortable with every sentence uttered. She told him about Henry and he inquired readily about her son, eager to learn more about her and her life. He told her about his band, The Pirates, their tour plans, his dreams and hopes, and Emma felt like they had known each other for years. She felt like they were two people had met a long time ago and found each other again, yet she knew that that was not the case. She felt more comfortable in his presence than she had felt in anyone else's (apart from Henry) and neither of them realised how time was passing by. They also didn't notice Mary Margaret's glances towards them every now and then. They were completely oblivious to everything around them.
"Shall we go for a stroll?" Killian asked after they'd been dancing for over an hour and Emma, not noticing how exhausted she was, nodded, taking the arm he offered.
It turned out that he was currently living in the hotel and that he had access to the roof terrace, where he brought her now. The sky was surprisingly clear and even with the city's light pollution, there were some stars visible in the night sky.
Emma shivered slightly, her bare shoulders exposed to the cold and it only took him a second to shed his jacket and lay it over her.
"Do you believe in destiny?" he asked, his eyes fixed on her like she was the only thing in the universe.
Emma took her time, but eventually she turned to face him. "I do now," she confessed quietly.
Never in a million years would she have thought that something like this was possible. Love at first sight did not exist. Serendipity was just a construct for people who wanted to see meaning behind everything. And if these things did exist, they were not meant for her.
At this very moment though, she could've been fooled. She had never felt so strongly for anyone that she'd only met for two hours and she could see in his eyes that he felt the same way. There was wonder etched into the deep blue, together with confusion and adoration and it made her heart skip a beat.
He studied her face, his eyes tracing the lines of her brow, her cheekbones, her jaw, wandering to her collarbones and her shoulders and back up to her lips and her own eyes quickly gazed at his lips before meeting his eyes again. He leaned in very slowly, giving her all the time to retreat if she wanted to but her heart was beating fast in her chest, feeling as if it were to jump right out and her hand found its way to his chest, where she could feel his heartbeat in sync with hers. Her touch was all that he needed to close the gap between them, kissing her slowly, sucking at her lips like they were made of honey and she replied in kind. He tasted sweet, of rum and, for some reason, the ocean and the fresh air, and she felt how she was slowly getting addicted to him. She started kissing him more eagerly, opening up to his tongue as it started exploring her.
They parted, both breathless but with tender smiles on their lips, foreheads pressed lightly together.
"Will you go out with me, love?" he asked and Emma laughed a breathy laugh. She would go anywhere with him but that was not a thing to say after only a few hours so instead she nodded.
"I'd love to…"
I hope you all have a wonderful amazing Christmas filled with love and joy!