Ariel is still. Her eyes are wide, like those of a doe. Killian lifts a hand and gently traces her cheek with the backs of his knuckles.
"Ariel," he says again, quietly this time.
Ariel steps back. She shakes her head and adopts a sly grin. Suddenly, her eyes are cold and calculating. She looks Killian up and down, and he feels very aware that this is not the woman he once knew.
"How did you get here?" she asks.
"Does is matter?" says Killian quietly, "I've missed you."
Ariel laughs. Her laugh is high and biting.
"You missed me?" she repeats, mocking him. "You tossed me out like bad fish, and you expect me to believe that garbage? Yeah, right."
She makes to brush past Killian, but he grabs her around the upper arm and holds her in place.
"What happened to you?" he asks roughly.
"I could ask you the same thing," she replies, a sickeningly sweet smile on her face.
Her eyes dart down to Killian's hook for a second. He realizes that he didn't have it when Ariel last knew him. Then Ariel pulls her arm out of Killian's grasp and makes for the door. He watches her as she goes. Her hips sway, and she tosses her wild red hair over her shoulder. Killian feels an odd mix of fury and desire flare up in his chest.
He turns around. The black-haired wench is still standing behind the counter, pretending as though she hadn't been listening to everything Killian and Ariel said. Killian marches up to the counter and demands the girl's attention.
"Does she come in here often?" he asks.
"About as often as anyone else in town," says the wench, with a shrug.
"Do you know her well?" asks Killian.
Again, the wench shrugs. Killian huffs in frustration. The lass may be pretty, but she's about as helpful as any of the other lackwits in this forsaken town. He storms out of the diner while the black-haired girl shouts something about paying.
He cannot see Ariel in either direction, even though she left only a minute or two ago. He needs to find her. Something obviously happened since he last saw her. Or perhaps the years apart had changed her from the sweet mermaid she had once been.
Killian heads toward the sheriff's station. Swan may or may not be willing to help him, but he figures that she's his best bet. After all, she's one of the few people in Storybrooke whom he even knows, and she'll be the easiest to find.
As it happens, the sheriff's station is easy to find, or else Killian would have had to stop and ask someone for directions. That thought is abhorrent to him; he wants minimal interaction with the locals.
Swan is perched on a desk when Killian walks in. The tapping of his boots announce his presence before he even walks through the door. Swan's eyes narrow when she sees Killian.
"What are you doing here?" she asks.
Killian holds up his hands in a gesture of good faith. He says, "I don't want any trouble, Swan. I just want a few minutes of your precious time."
Swan regards him skeptically, but she gestures for him to follow into her office. She sits down behind her desk; Killian remains standing.
"So what is it you want?" asks Swan.
"There's someone in town," says Killian, "A woman. Her name is Ariel. She's an old friend. I ran into her before, and I need to find her again."
"Are you sure that's a good idea? Your 'old friends' tend not to be too friendly," says Swan.
Killian clenches his jaw. He responds, "Just do it. Get me her address, anything. I need to find her."
"Fine, fine. What did you say her name was?" says Swan.
"Ariel," he replies.
Swan straightens and begins hitting keys on that box thing. Killian doesn't understand what that thing is or what it does. After a few minutes, Swan shakes her head.
"There no one in this town by that name," she says, "Is that the name she had when you knew her? With the curse, you know, people went by different names."
Killian thinks for a moment. Then he says, "Marianne. Check Marianne."
Swan hits more keys on the box. She scribbles something on a piece of paper and hands it to Killian. He reads it: 618 Riverside Drive. Relief surges through his brain.
"Be careful, Hook," says Swan, "Don't cause any trouble."
"No need to worry, love," says Killian.
He leaves the sheriff's station, all but running to get out of the place. Half an hour later, he is standing outside of a small, white house with a willow tree out front. Killian knocks on the door.
The door opens. Ariel looks at him, and her face floods with annoyance. She huffs out loud and rolls her eyes.
"Really?" she says.
"Really," replies Killian, "What happened to you, Ariel? You're not the girl I knew."
"Is that so surprising? It's been over thirty years. A lot's changed," she says.
"Twenty-eight of them didn't count."
"You leaving me did."
That stings, but Killian knows he deserves it. Not a day has gone by when he doesn't regret pushing Ariel away all those years ago. But he's here now, and doesn't that count for something?
"Please, just give me five minutes," pleads Killian.
"No," says Ariel firmly.
"Please! I shouldn't have left you," he says.
"Damn right you shouldn't have left! Do you know what it was like without you?! I cared about you more than anything and you left!"
Ariel is screaming now, and the door is wide open. If her neighbors are home, she clearly doesn't care. Killian accepts every harsh word she gives him, because he knows he deserves it. But he still doesn't think that his leaving could turn sweet, lovely Ariel into the hardened woman standing before him. There's something she isn't telling him.
"I want to make it up to you," says Killian.
"You can never make it up to me," says Ariel.
"I can try," he replies.
There's a crack of thunder somewhere behind him, and suddenly Killian is taken by how gorgeous Ariel is. Her lips are large and red, her skin pale and soft. Her hair almost glows, a stark contrast to the gloomy weather. Her shirt has several buttons left open at the top, exposing a bit of skin which Killian once knew incredibly well.
He steps toward Ariel. He knows he is playing a dangerous game, but he can't help himself. Ariel is entrancing.
He raises a hand and brushes his thumb over Ariel's lower lip. She looks at him with a haughty, challenging gaze. There is nothing in her eyes that betrays any kind of love, and that just about breaks Killian.
He leans forward and kisses her. Ariel's lips are as soft as he remembers. He slips his other arm around Ariel's waist and pulls her closer. Ariel brushes her tongue over Killian's lips, while she reaches up a hand to tug at his hair. Killian makes a guttural noise at the back of his throat. He kisses Ariel even harder.
Ariel pulls away for a moment. She says, "I'm still not yours. Not anymore."
"I wouldn't be so sure, love," says Killian.
And then they're kissing again. Ariel pulls him into the house and slams her door shut. In the privacy of her house, Killian has no reservations. He wants both of them out of their clothes, and he isn't willing to wait. He shrugs out of his coat and tosses it somewhere to his left. He reaches for the buttons on Ariel's shirt, but she stops him.
"Upstairs," she says.
Killian nods and lets himself be led up a flight of stairs, into Ariel's bedroom. Her house, he notices, is rather sparse. There's no spirit to it. Her bedroom is fairly bare, but the bed is all Killian cares about. Ariel stops him just beside it. Their knees knock into the mattress as they cling to each other.
Killian tugs at the buttons of Ariel's shirt with his hook. She'll probably be mad about that, but he'll deal with that later. Beneath her shirt, her skin is pale and soft, just like he remembers. When last he knew Ariel, she was a mermaid who never wore anything. He definitely preferred that. But there is something to be said for a world where she has legs…
Ariel slips out of her pants, and reaches for the front of Killian's trousers. He happily lets her pull them off while he tugs his shirt above his head. Then Ariel pulls him down onto the mattress with her. Killian has the brief clarity of mind to remove his hook and toss it to the side.
Ariel still moves like a mermaid, he finds. Her movements are graceful and slow, and she tantalizes Killian more and more with each passing moment. He wants so desperately to be rough with her; he delights in every moan that he elicits from her perfect lips.
He remembers the upper half of her body well from all those years ago. Things like that don't fade from a person's memory. He moves his hand over her arms and breasts with well-learned skill; he knows just what Ariel likes.
Her legs are a different matter entirely. They are unexplored territory, unfamiliar terrain. Killian maps out each expanse of skin with his hand and tongue, letting Ariel squirm in pleasure as she waits for him to get on with the real business. He drags out the foreplay, maybe because a part of him realizes that the longer this lasts, the longer he postpones Ariel ripping his heart out.
When he's thrusting into her, Ariel closes her eyes and moans aloud. Her voice envelopes Killian; he can barely breathe, she turns him on so much. She doesn't moan his name like he wishes she would, though. It's just an incomprehensible stream of "Oh god, oh so good, oh oh oh…" and maybe that's good enough. It's all he's going to get, at least.
More moaning, more thrusting, and eventually they relax against Ariel's soft, white pillows. She doesn't bother pulling up the blankets; neither of them is cold, and there's no need for modesty.
Killian doesn't know whether she is going to fall asleep or if she wants to talk. He notices that it has started raining since they came in the house; the drops slide down Ariel's bedroom window languidly. The pitter patter of the rain fills the silence that stretches between Killian and Ariel. He waits for her to break it first, but she is not forthcoming.
"Ariel…" he begins.
"Don't say it," says Ariel.
"Say what?"
"Whatever it is you're about to say."
Ariel had been lying on her back, but now she turns on her side to face Killian. He is on his back with his head angled towards Ariel. His eyes trace the elegant angles of her hands curled on top of the pillow.
"I don't want to hear it," continues Ariel, "You came here for something. You want something from me, but I don't want to get involved with you."
Her words sting. But Killian won't let her know that; at least, not right now.
"Why not?" he asks.
"Because you make me weak," she says quietly. She does not look at Killian when she says this.
Killian laughs bitterly. He says, "Guess what? That's what love is, sweetheart. It's weakness, and there's no getting around it."
"Who said I'm in love with you?" says Ariel coldly.
"You did. It was over thirty years ago and you didn't have legs at the time, but you said it," says Killian.
"Well, I changed my mind."
"I don't think you did."
"You think you know my heart better than I do?"
"No, I think you have no heart at all. Whatever is left of it, though, belongs to me. Don't deny it."
"You think I have no heart?"
Killian pauses. Then he says, "You're certainly being rather heartless about this whole thing."
"That's because I am," she replies.
Killian looks at her, confused. Ariel looks at him meaningfully, and he searches for some hidden truth in her expression. She cannot be serious about her being heartless, he thinks. Unless…
"The sea witch," whispers Ariel, almost inaudibly. It is as if she is afraid someone will hear her.
"You didn't," says Killian.
Ariel nods. Killian feels his heart rip in half. So this is what happened to make his little mermaid so bitter.
"You left, but I couldn't let go of you. So I made a deal. She gave me legs, and I had one week to find you and kiss you," whispered Ariel.
Killian cannot bear to hear this. That Ariel is like this because of him, that she missed him enough to make a deal with the sea witch…it is unconscienable.
"I'm sorry," says Killian, "I'm so sorry, love."
"Killian," says Ariel, "It wasn't your fault."
It is the first time she has said his name today, he realizes. He hadn't known how much he missed the sound of her sweet voice saying his name.
"I should never have left you," he says, "It was a mistake."
"It's done. And so is my deal. We have to live with the consequences, I suppose," she replies.
Killian shakes his head again. He says, "No. I won't, I can't. I'll find a way to get your heart back, Ariel. I promise."
"And if you can't?" says Ariel bitterly.
"I won't rest until I do," he swears.
He can see in Ariel's face that she does not believe it is possible. She has given up, he realizes. That damn near breaks Killian's heart. He reaches out an arm to pull Ariel closer to him. She nestles against his side and rests her hed on his shoulder. He kisses her on the forehead, and then he settles back against the pillows and closes his eyes.
His heart is beating loudly in his chest. He can feel it thrumming in his veins; his pulse is steady, constantly beating. He subtly reaches up a hand to Ariel's chest. There, too, he feels a steady bum-bum, bum-bum. He smiles.
"I'll find your heart, love," he whispers, "I promise."
