Time for Killian's perspective of the events.

The characters still belong to Kitsis and Horowitz. Let's play.


"As you wish."

When he first said the phrase to Emma he didn't mean anything by it. Killian was a man of many things but sentimental he was not. Sure, he had watched The Princess Bride before. What young lad hadn't wanted to be the Dread Pirate Roberts at one point? He must have unconsciously latched onto what Emma and the other ladies had been rambling on about while he tried to convince David that the third Terminator was nothing but a waste of two hours.

Killian didn't know what had possessed Emma to invite him to go camping with her best friends and Regina Mills but it was a golden opportunity he wasn't going to pass up. They had been flirting back and forth for months, which Killian found frustrating and gratifying in equal measure. It had been a long time since someone had resisted his charm and even longer since anyone had charmed him right back.

The trip had been enlightening in many ways. Regina, it seemed, only agreed to go on the trip to get Mary Margaret off her back but was reluctantly having a good time. David and Mary Margaret were almost disgustingly perfect for each other. Watching them made Killian's chest ache, but he believed he was able to hide it well. Emma was the one who surprised him the most. He had never seen her so carefree, happy, and just enjoying herself wholeheartedly.

He had jumped at the opportunity to gather firewood with her on their last night of the trip. She had only rolled her eyes at him twice during dinner and he considered it great progress that needed to be cultivated carefully. They had only walked several meters from the campsite, him flirting shamelessly and her shaking her head while she passed him fallen branches, when she stopped and turned around to face him. Before he could do more than make a quip about thanking him properly for essentially being a pack mule she was grabbing him by the front of his sweatshirt and pressing her lips against his.

It only took a second for him to respond, dropping the sticks he was holding and wrapping his arms around her. Before he had a chance to fully appreciate what was happening she pulled away looking flustered and a bit off kilter. She dazedly told him to gather more wood as she turned to walk back to the campsite.

He didn't think he could be blamed that the quote was the first thing that popped into his head after Emma went and kissed him. It was infinitely better than some of the phrases he had imagined saying in his fantasies of finally kissing Emma Swan. The kiss was definitely better than he had imagined as well. The fact that his world seemed to have suddenly started spinning in the opposite direction was nothing more than all the fresh air he had been breathing. Nothing more at all.


The next time he said it he wished he could have told her so much more. That she was brilliant and strong and anyone who had abandoned her didn't deserve a minute of her time. He had known bits and pieces of her history with Neal but watching her reaction to seeing the man again after so many years had answered any question Killian might have had about it.

After their camping trip it had taken Killian an almost embarrassingly short amount of time to realize that his feelings for Emma were more than just a fleeting fancy. It had been years since his last relationship had ended in the worst way possible. He hadn't thought it was possible to move on from Milah's death but Emma had proven him wrong on that. The kiss she had bestowed on him in the woods had unlocked his battered heart.

When David had suggested another trip out of Storybrooke Killian had jumped at the opportunity to impress and woo Emma. His pride and joy, the Jolly Roger, was finally seaworthy. He had seen the flicker of awe on her face when she stepped on board and he felt like he was sailing on air the entire trip to the next town over. Even David's piss poor job of following directions couldn't damper his good mood.

It all came crashing down when he heard Emma arguing with someone outside the deli they had chosen for lunch. One moment he had been trying to decide between soup or a sandwich, the next he was out on the sidewalk trying to quell his urge to punch the man called Neal across the jaw as he watched Emma try to control her own emotions. Killian didn't take his eyes of Emma as Mary Margaret tried to take her back into the deli and Neal retreated down the street.

He had gloomily rejoiced when she turned to him, asking him to take them back home. He tried to put everything he wasn't saying into the three words he hoped could come to mean something for them. She remained silent the entire trip back, ignoring David and Mary Margaret's worried glances and hesitant questions. It wasn't until he was helping her onto the dock at Storybrooke's marina that she finally spoke, thanking him for taking them out and apologizing for ruining the day.

Before Killian could respond she had walked away with Mary Margaret trailing unhappily behind her. David stayed behind to help him pack up and to give him a better idea about what Neal had done to Emma. While David didn't give him all the details it was enough to set Killian's teeth on edge and wish that he had gone through with his inclination to knock the ass onto the ground.

After making sure the Jolly was battened down and set until the next time he was able to take her out he had headed straight for Emma and Mary Margaret's apartment with David. He was only slightly disappointed when he got there and Mary Margaret told him that Emma didn't want to see anyone. He hadn't entirely thought through his reasons for going there in the first place and figured it was for the best that he didn't try to bumble his way around an explanation. As he turned to leave he fancied he could hear the sounds of Wesley matching wits with Vizzini coming from the direction of her room, but didn't dwell on it. It wasn't as though the simple words he had said to her earlier had served their purpose and conveyed everything he had left unsaid.


When he said the words for the third time she knew exactly what he meant but he was too late, Emma was leaving. Her yellow bug was stuffed from floor to ceiling with the various objects that made up her life. She couldn't fit anything, or anyone, else in even if she tried. A fitting description for the woman herself if he cared to admit it.

Killian had known the moment that Neal had decided to stay in Storybrooke that losing Emma was a sure thing. Whether it was to the man from her past or to some unknown future, Killian somehow knew that he wasn't going to be in the picture. It didn't mean that he was going to go down without a fight.

Emma had joined him one night at The Rabbit Hole looking for an escape from the complicated mess that had become her life. He had taken one look at her and known that she had made some sort of decision regarding Neal. She had always been easy to read and that night her state of mind was playing across her face and in her eyes without a single barrier.

Not wanting to add to her distress but unwilling to let her go without at least making a case for himself, he had laid his heart on the line. He told her everything he had come to realize since their kiss back when they had gone camping. Shock and hesitation had danced in her eyes but it was the sudden realization, as though pieces of a puzzle had fallen perfectly into place, that had him hoping she would choose him.

The hope died a week later when she approached his boat with a look of desperate determination. He had tried to smile when he told her he knew she was leaving and that she had always been an open book to him. It hurt like hell when he went on to say that he hoped she found happiness, even when he was yelling inside that she might find it with him.

The day Emma left she took a part of him with her. She had told him not to forget her and the phrase, the one he had wanted to be theirs, spilled from his lips. He only received a ghost of a smile and a gentle press of her hand on his arm. Then she was climbing into her car and driving away.

Killian stood watching until there was nothing left to see. He hadn't taken much notice of the others who had also joined the farewell party and didn't bother noticing when they left him alone in front of Granny's. He was sure that they had gone inside to eat or drink or whatever they needed to do to distract themselves but Killian wasn't in the mood to socialize. Instead, he chose to distract himself at home and had to get a stiff drink when Prince Humperdinck set the machine to fifty. The sound of ultimate suffering hit too close to home for him to keep watching unaided.


A year had crawled by before she had returned to the town she once called home. Killian had hoped her return would have been a joyful one instead of one filled with sorrow. He found that her heart had only hardened in her absence, shutting him down before he even had the chance to say hello. He had bit back the words he wanted to hurl at her and instead ground out the three words that meant everything to him and nothing to her.

He had been out of town when David called him with the news of Neal's death. While Killian hadn't become friends with Emma's ex, he had come to respect the man. Neal had taken over some of the responsibilities of his father's many endeavours. One of which put them in direct contact with each other on a regular basis. The man was stubborn and short sighted but Killian learned quickly that Neal was someone to have on his side.

It had taken him three days to get back to Storybrooke for the funeral, due to the delicate negotiations he had been making on behalf of his boss. David had let him know that they were at the cemetery and Killian had driven straight there. He was still in the suit he wore for work, wrinkled from the drive, but he adjusted the tie and smoothed it as best he could as he walked towards the group of mourners all in black.

Emma wasn't hard to spot. A year of memories hadn't done her justice and Killian could only see her profile as he approached. Without making a sound he stepped up beside her. She seemed to relax marginally when she noticed his presence, a sign he was welcome. They hadn't communicated much during her year away but seeing her again he knew he would do anything to keep her by his side.

In spite of his hopes and the encouraging pat on the shoulder from David as they left the cemetery Emma struck him down once again . Killian only wanted to be there for her, unlike many people had been earlier in her life. He had barely sat down across from her at Granny's when she lashed out at him and stated her intention to return to the city. Her words washed over him like acid, burning and all consuming. Unwilling to stay a moment longer he held her gaze and used those once special words as his goodbye.

As Killian walked towards the docks he tried not to dwell on the way something seemed to have shifted in her eyes as he had stood up. Despite his frustration he knew his feelings remained unchanged. A year had done nothing to quell what he felt for her, if anything it had taught him the importance of patience. Emma guarded her heart but Killian was resolved to be the one to finally unlock it.


Emma had stayed in town for a week. Killian had seen her walking around town with Mary Margaret or on her own but hadn't approached her. It had surprised him when he saw her sitting at Granny's two days after the funeral. He had ached to go in and pull up a chair beside her but wasn't sure if his presence would have been welcome. For the rest of the week when he saw her he felt that same pull to be near her but he always turned and walked away.

One afternoon, mid-week, David had invited Killian to dinner as they worked on the Jolly. David tried to be casual about mentioning that Emma would be there as well. An acceptance to the invitation had danced on the tip of Killian's tongue but he bit it back, choosing instead to keep up his miserable charade of not forcing himself into Emma's life. David had just rolled his eyes and told him that the invitation was always open.

Seven days had passed since Neal's funeral and Killian was tired of avoiding all his regular haunts in his attempt to give Emma space. When he saw Emma's bug parked in front of Granny's he didn't walk away but sat down at one of the patio tables instead. That way he was giving her the option to stop and talk to him, or not, without creating a scene.

When she stepped out of the diner with coffee cup in hand he saw her apology to him written across her face. Knowing how uncomfortable she was with words he gave her a smile that he hoped would communicate that all was forgiven. That she had nothing to apologize for in the first place.

He was on the verge of asking her to join him for a drink when she beat him to the punch. She was leaving and had no time for pleasantries if she wanted to make it back to the city at a decent hour. Killian felt the air rushing out of his lungs, he couldn't possibly let her leave without letting her know that nothing had changed.

Gently grabbing her hand he laid his heart out in front of her again. He told her that despite their year apart he still felt as he did before she left. He watched as her lips parted in surprise when he said that he had begun to hope things between them would grow with her return. He felt her fingers twitch in his when he promised he would wait for her, no matter how long it took. All he asked was that she come back, come back to Storybrooke and give them a chance to be something more.

It felt like he waited an eternity for her answer. She had smiled gently at him, squeezed his hand in hers. It was an exquisite torture watching her face light up as she formulated the words that could make or break him. So, when she finally spoke all it took were three little words to make his world complete.

"As you wish."