1773.
"Killian, I want to join." Emma spoke firmly, setting a rum down in front of him as he smiled.
She'd gotten a job at the local bar that all the men were so fond of, and Emma had been listening in on all of their conversations.
It was in part to keep tabs on Killian-though, she was also working to save some money for a home of her own, away from her brother and parents.
"It's a dangerous business, love." He offered, "Thank you."
She sat down across from him with a small smile.
"We have been courting for nearly two years, and we've been best friends for far longer." Emma smiled, "You know how I operate."
"Aye, you are brilliant, and adventurous." He smiled, taking a swig of his rum, "If you want to, I suppose there's no stopping you."
"Never." Emma grinned.
"The men might enjoy having a lady around-oh, that sounded bad." Killian backed himself up, "What I meant to say is that they might benefit from having a lady's brain. You think... differently than we do. Perhaps you're more in-tune with your emotions?"
Emma reached across the table and hit his arm, making him chuckle.
"Not in a bad way, love-you just see things differently. The men could use different."
"So, I'm in?"
"I say so, but my lass, I'm afraid I am not the one in charge here."
"I'll prove it to you all that I can do this, then." She spoke confidently before sauntering away and leaving Killian confused.
She was going to find a way in.
Emma pulled her hood over her head and ducked out of her home, glancing around before darting down the street, towards the Governor's house. She had a plan-
"Swan." A voice hissed, causing her to turn around.
"God, Killian, you scared me." She snapped.
"What on earth are you doing?" He asked, gesturing to the hood.
"What are you doing?" She retorted.
"Emma."
She rolled her eyes before meeting his deep blue.
"The Governor is throwing a ball tonight, and... I thought that, since it's hot, he may have the windows open. I was planning to stand just under the window sill and listen for any kind of knowledge that might be of use to you and the men." She spoke softly.
"My, my, Swan. You are bloody brilliant." He grinned, taking her hand, "I'll go with you. We can do this together."
"Really?" Emma smiled.
"Of course. Don't we do everything together, my love?" He smiled, leading her down the road.
"We've been sitting here for hours, love. I don't think we're-"
"Sh, Killian." Emma whispered, leaning up a little more to hear a conversation, "They're talking about raising taxes again."
"Bloody hell."
"No, no, this is good-we can use this to our advantage, I think."
She wished she could capture the incredulous look on Killian's face.
"And, how exactly?"
"I'm not sure yet, but please, can we pitch it to your men?" She smiled hopefully.
"You know I find it impossible to say 'no' to you, my love." He smiled in response, pressing a quick kiss to her lips, "If you believe this is something that we can use, I trust you."
"You trust me?"
"Of course I trust you, my love." He smiled, then kissed her, "Come, let us get back to the hideout before we're caught."
"Okay." She whispered, nodding as Killian took her hand and started hurrying from the scene.
He ran with her down the street, and she followed close behind to make sure she was safe-especially as they got closer to the building.
"Here, love, get under my cloak." He whispered, holding it open and allowing her to tuck herself into his side as they slipped through an alley.
"We aren't going to get caught, are we?" Emma whispered, looking up to him.
"I'll make sure we don't." He replied, pulling her closer and pausing at a corner before darting out across the street to the building.
He dropped that special coin into the small slit, and the door slid open for them to slip inside.
She quickly dropped her hood and pulled from Killian's side, smiling at the man running the whole thing.
"Mr. Adams, sir, I think my lass, Emma, has something she'd like to pitch to you." Killian smiled.
"Do you now?" He grinned, shifting his gaze from Killian to Emma.
"I do. And, somehow, I think you might like it." She smiled deviously.
"God, love, are you sure this is going to work?" Killian whispered as they laid in bed, as he rubbed circles into her shoulder.
What they were preparing to do in mere hours was... unprecedented.
"I'm very positive. The men have been working so hard tonight, and we should be able to get onto a ship easily." Emma replied, "If we can get the right people in the right place at the right time... we can do this."
"You know, love, if this works, you'll be a bloody hero, Swan."
"I know." She smiled, turning in his arms.
"I'm proud of you-regardless of the outcome."
"Thank you for giving me a fair shot." Emma grinned.
"I will always fight to give you a fair chance. You can fight with the men just as well as any man could-or, perhaps better." Killian smiled, making her giggle.
"I'm glad you think so."
"Well, enough talking for now-we need to get some rest before we go through with this."
"Don't you think people will find it odd that we're sleeping so early?" Emma whispered, opening her eyes to look up to him.
"I assure you, no one will notice our absence." Killian whispered, dropping a kiss to a her forehead, "Now, shh."
Emma smiled and nuzzled her head into his chest.
Emma woke to Killian shaking her shoulder.
"Love, it's time to go." Killian whispered.
She roused herself from her sleep with a smile, making him chuckle.
"I've already laid out your clothes."
"Thank you." Emma smiled, leaning up to press a kiss to his lips.
"Meet me downstairs, alright?"
"Aye, aye, Captain." She grinned, making him chuckle and rise from the bed, grabbing his small pistol from his side table as he left.
Emma sat up fully, smiling at the clothing laying on the bed.
It was all Killian's-from about three or four years prior, when he wasn't so tall. Emma hadn't tried them on yet, so she was hoping that maybe they'd fit-at least well enough so she could run and not get caught on anything or trip.
Emma quickly stripped of the nightgown she'd been wearing, in favor of the pants and shirt laid out on the bed. She slipped into them, and they fit well enough. The pants were a little large in the waist, but it wasn't something she couldn't fix with one of Killian's belts.
"Ready, love?" He asked softly, knocking on the door.
"Yes." She sighed, pulling her hair into a bun and tying it off with a ribbon. She pulled on her boots and hurried to the door, opening it with a small smile.
"You look like one of the men." Killian teased.
"Good." She smiled as he set a tricorn hat on her head.
"Let's get going, then, love. Don't want to delay this any longer than we should." He grinned before turning down the hall.
He took her hand in his and led her out the door quickly and quietly, where they met up with some of the other men.
"Are you sure you still want to go through with this, Emma?"
She nodded fervently as she smiled up to him.
"Although these pants are incredibly uncomfortable, I'm ready for anything." She grinned.
"I seem to recall you preferring pants over dresses when you were younger." He teased.
"Well, I clearly grew out of that phase, now, didn't I?" Emma smiled.
"Aye, it appears so." He replied, pausing just before a corner and not allowing Emma to pass.
He stayed there for a moment, and Emma saw him reaching for his gun.
It wasn't really until then that she realized just how serious this was.
They were nearly fighting a war, and she and Killian were heading towards the front lines.
"Under my cloak, lass." Killian whispered, and she did as he said, slipping under his arm like she'd done multiple times before.
"Are you nervous, darling? You're shaking."
"No, I'm fine." Emma whispered in response as she kept up with his pace.
The rest of the run to the docks made Emma even more nervous, but she could feel the adrenaline building up in her veins, and the rush was... indescribable.
She followed whatever orders were given, and now, she was standing on a ship, holding a pistol that was pointed at a crowd of British guards.
Mr. Adams smirked from his perch, motioning for the men to hold up their guns and assume position.
"Let's break open the cargo." Mr. Revere called out with a smirk on his lips. Emma watched him break open a box with his hatchet before yelling again and grabbing another box.
"You're not going to let us sell our goods? We're not going to let you sell yours!" He yelled, tossing the box into the harbor, "You can't force us to drink your shit tea when it's at the bottom of the harbor!"
The officials didn't take kindly to that, and Emma could feel the tension rising in the air. Her heart beat fast under the shirt Killian had lent her as she awaited some sort of motion to do something, anything.
With one motion, all of the other men on the ship started taking the large boxes of tea and tossing them into the ocean.
Emma and Killian both slipped their pistols into their holsters and started grabbing boxes.
The one she'd grabbed was much heavier than she expected, but she was able to lift it and toss it over the edge regardless, yelling along with the men.
They'd won, again.
The guards didn't seem to know what to do as they all tossed over nineteen thousand shillings' worth of tea off the ship.
And, boy, did it feel good.