Immortal

Author's Note: This is a Soulmate AU telling the story of the many times the immortal Killian Jones got to meet his soulmate. Also a Reincarnation AU. Trigger warning of violent mugging in the fifth time Killian meets Emma. It's not super graphic but I wanted to make sure that it was tagged just in case. I'll also mark off the warning before and after it in bold. As an additional note if I'm ever not tagging something that you need tagged please let me know via either a review or by private message. Your well being is infinitely more important than the few minutes it would take me to tag something.

Killian Jones was immortal. When he had been trying to seek vengeance against the crocodile, immortality seemed like a great idea. It gives you all the time necessary to defeat your enemies. So when a witch had asked if Killian had wanted to be immortal he leapt at the chance. The thing they don't tell you about immortality is that it also means everyone you know and love growing old and dying around you, without any means of stopping it. There was one benefit though, he was granted the gift of being able to meet the brilliant Emma Swan over and over again. Killian was only sometimes able to find her blonde curls bouncing through time. Sometimes he would go almost a century without another Emma sighting, and just when he had given up hope she fell right back into his life. Sometimes he would be lucky and get to spend decades with her, sometimes; however, he would only get to experience mere minutes with his Swan before she disappeared again.

-CS-

The first time Killian met Emma was in the early Victorian Era. It had started raining without any warning. Luckily another perk of being immortal is you tend to develop a sense for the weather, and so Killian had been prepared with an umbrella. He was feeling rather melancholic as he watched the people hustle and bustle through the streets. They were so alive, and yes he was alive but not quite in the same way as them. They possessed a certain vigour that he had long since lost. People all around him ran for the shelter of shops, except for one young lady with bright blonde curls piled atop her head. She had obviously decided that wherever her destination might be was far more important than a sprinkling of rain. Killian couldn't help but watch her make her way down the street. Speeding through the rain with a smile cracking her face she looked so much more alive than Killian had felt in centuries. He made a snap judgement and decided to intercept her.

"Hello, I'm Killian Jones might I offer you my umbrella." he asked with a gentlemanly bow.

The woman smiled sheepishly. It had been awhile since Killian had really communicated to people, so he hoped he hadn't scared her off. She spoke "I could not take your umbrella, that would leave you to be soaked in the rain". Killian found himself committing the beauty of this woman's voice to memory. The human brain isn't meant to handle immortality and so you can't remember everything, but Killian knew he would never forget the voice of this woman.

"If you would prefer milady, I can walk you to your location" Killian offered.

The woman laughed slightly "you needn't call me milady, Emma Swan will do just fine". Killian offered her his arm and escorted her down the street.

The next decade and a half was the happiest Killian had been in a long time, but sadly all good things must come to an end, and at the age of 36 Emma Swan passed due to illness leaving Killian Jones alone once again.

-CS-

The second time Killian Jones had met Emma Swan she was a mere child. It had been nearly thirty years since his beloved had passed away. And so when he strolled through the park he was more than shocked to see the same blonde hair and green eyes on the face of a child. The girl was sitting in the grass talking intently to a boy with dark hair. There was simply no way this girl could be Emma, but yet her smile was the same. Killian's internal monologue was interrupted by the young boy speaking "Emma when we are both grown up will you marry me?".

Emma smiled "of course I will Neal".

And so ten years late when Killian saw a small notice in the paper congratulating the marriage between Neal and Emma (nee Swan) Cassidy he was glad to see that she was happy.

-CS-

Trigger warning begins here

He didn't particularly like to think about the fifth time he met Ms. Swan. It was the 1970's and it had been nearly half a century since his last Emma sighting. Killian's heart had hardened to all of the needless death around him and he had decided to join the Alexandria Plan, a group of emergency service providers who were attempting to save lives. Killian found himself in the United States of America for the first time, looking for a fresh start as an EMT in an ambulance. The call had come late at night and slightly sleep deprived he found himself barreling through the night to a patient who had apparently been attacked in a mugging. When he arrived on the scene he rushed to the patient's side and felt a knife of anguish twist in his gut. He would recognize that blonde hair and green eyes anywhere. He knew she was losing far too much blood for his efforts to make a difference but that didn't stop him. Her eyes were clouded in pain and her breathing was relatively shallow. He did all he could to stanch the blood flow but there was nothing to be done. In her last few moments her eyes cleared slightly and she breathed out "Killian". He held her hands as she passed. Fate could be quite the strumpet sometimes.

Trigger warning ends here

Killian realized that he had never mentioned his name, and that somehow she had remembered him. In her previous lives Emma had never mentioned remembering him and she never recognized him. Perhaps her death had somehow helped her to remember it.

Later when he discovered her death had not been random, but rather was organized by Rumpelstiltskin it had nearly destroyed him. He vowed that it was time to finally track down and eliminate the Crocodile once and for all. The dark tentacles of vengeance that had disappeared in her presence once again wound their way around his heart.

-CS-

The next time Killian met Emma he was determined to seek revenge on the Crocodile. He finally had a lead and he was determined to eliminate his enemy. He was impersonating a blacksmith under Cora's orders. The moment Emma saw him she wrapped her arms around him while shouting his name. Somehow she remembered her past lives. He felt the tendrils of darkness that had clouded his heart in her absence begin to recede. Having her back was all that he needed to feel sane again. For the first time in a long time Killian felt alive, he felt younger than the several centuries he was. He knew he was supposed to betray the group of people so that Cora could help him seek his revenge, but his desire faded while looking in her eyes. And so began another life between the ex-pirate Captain and the blonde haired princess.