Your Past
Killian and Joshua were aboard his ship heading back to Storybrooke from another adventure. It was a late birthday present of sorts. Joshua had always wanted to travel to other lands but his parents said he could do it when he was older. He knew his mother wasn't necessarily thrilled with the idea of father and son doing this. She gave him her blessing and they went off.
Joshua could tell his father loved this life. He wondered what made him a pirate. He only knew so much still after all this time. He stood by his father on the top deck and watched the crew. He had to chuckle at how they were still loyal to Killian and now him by extension.
"What's so funny?" Killian asked.
"The crew. After all this time, they are still loyal."
"They were my family for a long time," he replied with a bit of nostalgia. "For a long time I had no one." He spaced out for a minute thinking about his life then. It was so different now.
"What made you want to be a pirate?" asked Joshua. "You never really talk about it."
"And I suppose now you want to know?" he asked.
"Yes. I mean you and mom only told us some stuff. I asked mom about Daniel a few years ago. I wanted to ask you about your past."
Killian called one of the crew members to take over. Once he came, Killian and Joshua went to his cabin. Joshua sat down in a chair and Killian sat on his desk.
"Josh, there are parts about my past I'm not proud of. Since you're my son, I'll tell you. See, when I was a lad, I sailed the seas with my father. I was happy to be with him. Then one day he disappeared and I never saw him again. I joined a crew looking for him and as time went on, my memory of him faded some. I can barely picture his face now. I became a pirate and living up to it was my life."
"I was perfectly content with my life. Then I met a woman named Milah," he continued.
"Milah. Like in Henry's grandmother," Joshua questioned.
Killian closed his eyes for a moment. "Yes," he said. "This is the part that's hard. You see Milah was married to the croc-Mr. Gold. I came into town and she decided to run away with me. She wanted to leave her life behind and I offered her a way out. One day Rumpelstiltskin came to retrieve his wife and being my suave, charming self, I challenged him to fight me."
"He didn't because he was scared. I went off with Milah and we sailed the seas. It was great having her there. I had love in my life and we were happy."
"But what about Neal?"
"Milah regretted leaving behind Bae. She wanted to go back but time works differently. We never had the opportunity. One day, our crew spotted a boy in the ocean in Neverland. Turns out it was Bae. I thought I could have a second chance at a family but once he found out who I was, he got angry. I turned him over to the Lost Boys. I didn't see him until years later."
Joshua scratched his head. "You could have been Henry's step grandfather?"
"I suppose so," Killian said.
"Weird," Joshua replied.
"What happened to Milah?"
"Um, Bae's father turned into the Dark One. He and I met again and found out Milah was alive. He eventually crushed her heart to dust," he answered.
Joshua's eyes widened. "Like what Cora did to Daniel." Killian nodded his head. "So that's why you hated him."
"For a long time. I realized that revenge still leaves an empty hole. For a while, I didn't think I could love again until I fell in love with Regina."
"You met mom in Storybrooke?"
"No mate. I met her when she was queen. She wanted me to do something and I…had a hard time fulfilling the task. She kind of held a grudge for a minute. So, that's it." Telling him about other things would be too much.
"Thank you for telling me that. So can I become a pirate?"
"No, you are going to college. Besides, your mother would really try to kill me," he answered.