Thank you so much for reading and reviewing this story, and I hope you're going to like this chapter because Emma is finally learning a few things about Killian. Enjoy, and you can expect the update on Friday.


Emma's good mood lasts about fifteen minutes after she returns to work during which Killian sends her a text thanking her for "making his lunch break so lovely" and finishes it with silly emoticons that make her smile because he's not assuming she won't appreciate them like Walsh undoubtedly would.

And speaking of Walsh, he corners her on her way back from the bathroom and tells her in an urgent voice that he needs to talk to her about the guy she went out for lunch with.

"Excuse me?"

"Please, Emma. It's important", Walsh says and there's a note of desperation in his voice that convinces her that she should listen to what he's got to say.

"Alright", Emma relents and he takes her arm, leading her into a room she'd never been in before located off the kitchenette, then letting her go and starting to pace in front of her; even his footsteps sound agitated.

"You know I like you, Emma, but what I'm going to tell you doesn't have anything to do with you and me."

"What is it?" Emma asks impatiently, tightly squeezing the grip of her cane and wishing he would just stand still.

"What do you know about him?" Walsh asks and Emma's temper flares because he sounds like a jealous boyfriend and she absolutely does not appreciate it.

"Just say what you want to say so I can go back to work", Emma says sharply even as she imagines all kinds of awful thinks Walsh could tell her.

Maybe Killian is married and Walsh had seen a ring, because now that she thinks about it, Emma isn't sure she had ever touched Killian's left hand without the heavy glove he wears when he handles roses.

"I saw his gang tattoo", Walsh says and Emma gives him her best skeptical look, fighting the urge to giggle because this is the most ridiculous thing she had ever heard.

"You think Killian is in a gang?"

"I have no idea, but he's dangerous", Walsh says and Emma is so done with him; the only thing keeping her in this room is the fact that she's not sure where the door is.

"He is a freaking florist! How do you even know about the tattoo? Wait. Were you watching us when we were at Granny's?!" Emma exclaims, feeling her skin crawl at the idea of being stalked like that.

"Of course not. I passed you on the street but I was on the other side of it", Walsh says quickly, but the lie is painfully obvious in his voice.

"You saw his tattoo from across the street?"

"It's on his neck", Walsh tells her and pauses before he adds. "It's a snake biting its own tail."

He obviously thinks that should mean something to her, but Emma gives him her blankest stare even though there's a cold shiver of premonition rushing down her spine.

"It's a sign of one of the most popular Liverpool gangs", Walsh says and he sounds almost apologetic, but Emma isn't fooled.

"How in the world do you know that?"

"I have a cousin in a certain government agency", Walsh says and Emma's eyebrows shoot up because this is getting more ridiculous by the moment.

"You asked your cousin to check him up and he told you about the gang", Emma deduces, but she's still not entirely convinced Walsh is not making it all up.

"I was worried about you!"

"I need to get back to work", Emma says and turns around, knowing that she'll be able to find the door even if she doesn't look exceptionally graceful doing it.

"Emma, wait. Promise me you'll be careful."

"He's not dangerous!" Emma says and shakes Walsh off after he walks around her and lays his hand on her shoulder.

"He looks dangerous, unshaved and-"

"Let go of me this second", Emma cuts him off in an icy tone that Walsh obeys, and he doesn't follow her when she finds the door and turns left, walking briskly to her office.

"Emma, there you are. They sent another load of tapes", Elsa says and Emma just sinks in her chair, rubbing her arm and wishing she hadn't even given Walsh the opportunity to talk. "Emma?"

"Yeah, give me half", Emma says and listens to the soft clinks the cases make when Elsa puts them on the corner of her table.

"What happened? You sound weird."

"I'm fine", Emma tells her and tries to focus on work but she can't help being affected by Walsh's revelation.

She had never been more acutely aware of the fact that she has absolutely no idea what Killian looks like, and that the only thing she can go by is his voice and the touch of his hand, which often make the most compelling argument but aren't as trustworthy as a face is.

Not to mention the fact that she could see perfectly when she was with Neal and she still never saw his betrayal coming.

Killian's last text remains unanswered because Emma knows better than to ask him about the tattoo and his past over the phone, but the longer she thinks about what Walsh had told her the more apprehensive she is, wondering what had chased Killian from Britain in the first place and if there's a possibility that whatever it was could follow him across the big pond.

Emma had had enough trauma and tragedy in her life, and she's not interested in getting involved with somebody who could bring her more of the same.

And yet, she can't help being attracted to Killian, can't help hope that Walsh's cousin had made a mistake; plenty of people have snake tattoos, and even though she would never have assumed that Killian was one of those, it still doesn't mean he's some criminal.

She guesses she's just going to have to go by his shop after work and ask him, hoping that her lie detector is going to work as well as it had been for the past decade.


Killian hadn't heard from Emma for about three hours and he gets an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach no matter how many times he tells himself that she's probably busy at work.

A sudden onslaught of customers derails him from dwelling on Emma too much even though she's still at the back of his mind, haunting him with her green eyes and slightly reserved smiles.

He wants to uncover all her secrets and know everything there is to know about her, but at the same time he relishes the slow pace of their acquaintance because he's got secrets he's not comfortable with sharing yet either.

Emma comes in straight from work but his welcoming smile dies when he sees her face, apprehension clearly evident even from across the shop.

"Swan? What happened?"

"We need to talk."

"That doesn't bode well for me", he tries to joke but she doesn't smile and remains by the door.

"Tell me what's wrong", he says and comes to stand in front of her, his eyes caressing her face and his fingers itching to smooth the frown between her lovely brows; she is so beautiful, and he is fascinated with every single detail of her face, from a tiny cut on her eyebrow to her freckles and the dent in her chin he longs to touch.

"Are you in a gang?" Emma asks abruptly and he feels like the entire air has been sucked out of a room.

"Who did you talk to?" He asks her, his blood running cold and his fingers bumping hers to show her where his arm is because he just wants to lead her away from the window until he gets to the bottom of this. "Please come with me."

"I'm not going anywhere with you until you tell me the truth!" Emma tells him fiercely and pulls her hand away, showing him how fast her pulse is beating in her slender neck when she resolutely raises her chin.

"It's safer if you don't know, but you have to tell me who told you that!" Killian says, trying to remain calm even as he feels the ground crumble beneath his feet.

"I don't have to tell you anything", Emma says, and she sounds so cold, so detached when she turns back toward the door that he can't see how he can ever fix this.

"Swan, please", he says, his hand reaching for her but never making contact because he's afraid he's only going to make it worse.

"Walsh saw your tattoo", Emma tells him, still keeping her back to him, her hand resting on the knob and letting him know that he doesn't have a lot of time to explain.

"It's true that I was in a gang, but it was a long time ago", Killian says and grits his teeth because the memories come swiftly and he feels like his tattoo is suddenly on fire.

"You were scared just now. Is somebody still after you?" Emma asks and turns just her head in his direction, but her expression is guarded and he doesn't tell her that he was never worried about himself, only her.

"I got out from that life years ago."

"That doesn't answer my question", Emma tells him and her grip on the knob tightens.

"Nobody is after me, love. I overreacted and I am sorry for that, as well as for not saying something before; you know better than anyone how difficult it is to discuss certain things", Killian says and it's clear how much Emma wants to believe him by the way she hesitates and bites her lip, her gaze even more unfocused than usual.

"Can you promise me that your past will have no effect whatsoever on your future?" She finally asks and lets go of the knob completely, turning around to face him and patiently waiting for him to answer her.

"My past is what it is, and I have no plan on ever going back to either England or that kind of life", Killian says and hopes that it will be enough.

"I want to believe you", Emma tells him softly, and he can hear the but in that sentence so clearly it's as if she had already said it. "But I made the mistake of trusting somebody while I could still see, and it cost me more than I'm willing to pay again."

"I am sorry, Emma. I can't change who I was any more than you can change what had happened to you", he says and she contemplates that for a long moment, and then, having made a decision, reaches out her hand, her slightly trembling fingers finding his with startling accuracy.

"I don't even know what you look like. Or how many tattoos you have aside from the snake", she says and there's a tiny quiver to the corner of her mouth that might or might not be a smile.

"You want me to describe myself?"

"It's going to tell me a great deal about you aside from the obvious", she says and he glances down at his fake hand, but he is deathly afraid that it will be the last straw that would completely put her off him.

"My hair is black", he says lamely and Emma's eyebrow goes up as she tells him that he can do much better than that. "I have blue eyes."

"What shade of blue?" She asks, her question so earnest that he can't help a tiny pang of pity piercing his heart.

He tells himself that she wouldn't be asking if she didn't remember the colors.

"Cornflower, I think", Killian says and she nods, waiting for him to go on. "I don't know, lass. I've been called striking and devilishly handsome, but in all honesty I think my nose is too big for that to be true."

Emma chuckles and Killian takes the first normal breath in the last ten minutes.

"How many tattoos?" She asks and Killian does a mental calculation, then tells her that there are eight or nine, depending on how you look at it.

The deliberately blank stare Emma gives him is eloquent enough.

"Eight, then."

"I should go", she tells him after a minute during which Killian gets a little lost in her eyes and he reluctantly lets her fingers slip through his even though he'd rather just hold on and never let her go.

"Am I going to see you again?"

"It depends."

"On what does it depend?"

"If you can figure out a way to convince me without talking to me", Emma tells him and he knows a moment of panic before he realizes that there's a pretty straightforward way of doing so, and he just needs the right tool.

"I will see you soon then", Killian says and slips a little bouquet of dry forget-me-nots into Emma's bag, her parting smile letting him know that she had noticed.

She doesn't try to return it, and that gives him all the hope he needs.


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