Chasing in the Dark
He was being a fool.
Killian knew that. Everything that had happened in Camelot, everything that had happened before Camelot… he wasn't surprised that Emma had lost to the darkness, not like her parents were. Everyone has a breaking point, and that his Swan hadn't reached hers ages ago?
It was a testament to her strength.
But the fact was, Emma was dark now. A dark and twisted version of the woman he loved, and he shouldn't be there.
He watched black smoke swirl and then solidify into the blonde he had fallen so in love with. Her dress hugged all her curves, and the heels she wore made her hips sway as she walked toward him. Killian swallowed, his tongue suddenly thick in his mouth, because this might not be his Emma… but it is still Emma, and he's helpless against her, even at her darkest.
"You came," she noted, halting a few feet away from him.
"You requested that I do," Killian replied, and his voice broke on the words, making him grimace and clear his throat. "I'm not going to abandon you now, Emma."
She quirked her head, her eyes contemplating him. They're still the green he fell so in love with, but shadows seem to dance behind them, turning that gaze from the clear one that always saw through him to something far more… dangerous.
"I thought my parents might be keeping your leash tight, but no. They trust you now, don't they?" She closed the gap between them, hips swaying, and grabbed the lapels of his coat, pulling him down until their foreheads nearly touch. It's second nature, for his hand and his hook to come up, to rest at the dip of her hips. "I wonder if they're right to put that trust in you."
She leaned forehead, her lips brushing against his, and Killian let her kiss him. He angled his head, let the kiss deepen, because he has missed this. He has missed her.
But there's a coldness to the kiss, underlying the passion that usually heats the air between them, and it was a stark reminder that this Emma? She's one who has been overtaken by darkness. One that feels a dark possessiveness over their town, who won't stop at murder to keep it safe from anything she views as a threat.
Killian broke the kiss and let his hands fall limply to his sides. She's still holding his lapels, but the dark invitation has gone from her eyes, replaced instead by frustration.
"You love me," she said, her grip tightening.
"Aye, Lass," he replied, his hand coming up to brush some of the tendrils that managed to escape her severe bun away from her face. It was one of his biggest regrets, that he didn't get to say those words to her before the darkness took her. That's he's only been able to say them to the Dark Swan, as she's taken to calling herself. "You know I do."
"Then why do you always push me away?" She leaned in, and Killian stiffens, but she just runs her nose along the v of his shirt, before she leans into his neck, and then begins to pepper his skin with kisses. He swallowed again, because for all that she might call herself the Dark Swan, if he were to close his eyes and pull her close, she would feel like Emma.
But Killian spent over 200 years closing his eyes and ignoring the darkness that became a part of him. And he won't do the same now, not with Emma. Her very carefully removed her grip from his lapels, and took a step back.
"You asked us to find you, Emma, to bring you back. And I won't ignore that request."
"I am right here," frustration rose in her eyes, all but eliminating any hint of green, and leaving behind dark, angry black. "You brought me home already!"
"No," Killian replied. "Not yet."
He leaned forward, so his forehead rested against hers, and grasped her hand, resting it over his heart. It's a mirror, of what she had done to him before letting the darkness take her that night in Storybrooke.
"I love you," he said, and the fingers of her hand clutch the skin over his chest.
"If you love me, then love me," she hissed in return.
"If I thought for a moment that was what you needed… what you truly wanted… that this was what you truly wanted, I would give it to you Emma. In a heartbeat. But I know you better than that."
For a moment he saw green again, and hope flared – bright and strong – in his chest at the thought that maybe, just maybe, he was getting through to her.
Then the hand clutching his chest became a claw, and Killian let out a surprised grunt of pain, stumbling back and falling to his knees. When he looked at Emma, all hints of green were gone once more, and it was the Dark Swan that looked down at him, his heart in her palm.
"I don't need you to be by conscience, Captain," she said, her voice a cool, seductive purr. "I need you to be my help mate. On your feet."
Against his will, he got to his feet, and stared at the glowing red heart in her hand.
"Emma, don't do this," he said, a plea in his voice. This… God, he had always thought he would forgive her anything, but this?
"Don't worry, Killian," she said, reaching out to brush her hand along his face. "You won't even know anything is wrong. But while I might have fallen in love with Killian Jones… what I need is Captain Hook."
Killian closed his eyes in pain at the words, but even then, it felt as though he could feel Emma's fingers stroking the heart. She bent down, and whispered into its red depths, and though Killian couldn't hear the words, he could feel them echo throughout his whole body.
When he opened his eyes once more, they were as dark as Emma's, all hints of ocean blue seeming to have disappeared. Emma considered him, and Hook gave her a wicked smirk, reaching out with his hook to tug her into his chest by the black fabric of her dress.
His kiss was dark and claiming, and when he finally released her, she gasped for breath and looked at him with wide, intrigued eyes.
"Oh, yes," she murmured, hand stroking the skin of his chest. "Yes… this is exactly what I needed. Come, Captain. We have work to do."
