A/N: Someone needs to tell me to get on Where I am Ice; She is Fire, otherwise I swear, I will write this one non- stop.
Thank you so much to all my new followers and to my lovely reviewers. Kisses! xx
"Excellent," Zelena said as she sat in Regina's body at Regina's desk. "There's only so much more gooeyness I could take. So, he loves her, it's fair to assume, but our dear Power-bomb doesn't feel the same way. Now, we just have to let Killian stew in his feelings long enough to let her feel something, and then we'll blackmail him into breaking up their non-existent relationship with something she can't forgive.
"I fed Roxanne the story," Zelena continued, "so by now Killian knows about Emma's child. Now, I may need to give him some subtle prompting as to talking to her about it. I'll play the sympathy better than you, dear sister. I'll pretend I want to rectify my mistakes, to make amends. To reunite mother and daughter. And Emma will be so torn after Killian speaks to her about it, she'll rely on him for comfort, and then at my word he will walk out on her. Maybe threatening to curse her would do the trick. Seems like your style sis. She'll be broken, and she'll be angry. And that anger will show her true power, and she'll hopefully lead us to her daughter," Zelena finished as Regina simply stared at her.
Sure, it was a brilliantly concocted plan, but there were so many human variables that Zelena hadn't thought about. What if Killian and Emma weren't as superficial as she presumed? What if their feelings ran deeper? What if they were true love?
Despite all her magical ability, even Regina knew that that was the most powerful magic of all.
And somewhere within her, she may have even hoped that those two teenagers were.
Killian was lying back in his bed beneath his blanket for warmth as Emma lay on top of him, her lips fused to his in a heated kiss as they made out. Killian tried to keep his thoughts concentrated on her, but he found them drifting a lot.
"Emma," Killian asked hesitantly as she looked up at him from his neck, "I know I've never asked before but, you're on birth control, right?"
"Yeah, why?" she asked, returning her lips to his neck as she pulled at his tie.
"Just checking," he answered, realizing as he did that he'd set her off in some way because her teeth had come into the picture now, scraping down his collarbone as she unbuttoned his shirt, her fingers tracing patterns over the dusting of hair as she trailed down towards his pants.
"You are far too dressed for that kind of activity," Killian suggested, putting aside his thoughts for a moment. If she wanted him, he'd give her what she wanted.
"Nope," she almost giggled, scampering backwards and lying on the bed, her arms folded beneath her chin with a mischievous glint in her eye. "That, will make me late for Quidditch practice."
"Why do you have quidditch practice on a Monday night, lass?" Killian answered, reaching forward to try and coax her back into his arms, but she was adamant in staying where she was.
"Because everyone's frustrated on a Monday, and they can fuel that into playing aggressively," Emma answered simply.
"Ah," he answered, "Bloody Slytherin tactics. No wonder we die when we face you."
"Exactly," Emma answered, pushing herself up onto her arms, and surging forward, stopping a hairsbreadth away from Killian's lips, "You're just too nice." And she was gone before he could close the distance, practically skipping over to her room yelling, "I'll see you later, I'll bring back muffins."
"You're a godsend, lass," Killian answered, leaning back against his pillows.
"I know," she answered, poking her head back into his room before returning to her own, and despite his troubles, Killian heaved a contented sigh, drifting off into a pleasant light sleep.
He was awoken by a knocking at the door.
Not his door, but at the dorm door. He knew it wasn't McGonagall, she normally called ahead. So he redid the buttons on his crumpled shirt and opened the door only to find a worried looking Professor Mills standing there. Killian's brows raised in surprise. He, for one, didn't take Alchemy. And he was fairly certain Emma dropped it when she realized who was taking it.
"Jones, my apologies for intruding so late, I was simply wondering if you had a moment to talk about your disciplinary counterpart."
"You want to talk about Emma?" Killian quirked his eyebrow suspiciously. He did not trust this woman. One bit.
"It's just, I know I was a bit hard on her yesterday," Regina sighed. "And with it being the anniversary and all, I came to apologise. I know it's a difficult time for her. And I shouldn't have been so hard on her."
Killian continued to eye Regina suspiciously, but she merely continued, "Hear me out. I don't know what rumours you may have heard, but I never would have convinced Emma to give up the baby. I tried to convince her to keep it because I knew what it would do to her if she didn't. We were best friends!"
Regina's eyes flashed as she said the words. Killian couldn't tell if it was frustration or desperation, but Killian had never seen her look less like herself than in that moment.
"What makes you think I'll believe you?" Killian asked mistrustfully. In that moment, she wasn't Professor Mills. She was Emma's ex-best friend Regina – and Killian was leaning firmly towards the 'hating-her' end of the scale.
"Please, just…she's had a falling out with Graham and she needs friends. Don't think I haven't noticed but, she seems happier around you. The teachers have noticed too. You should…talk to her about it."
"Okay…" Killian trailed off. Regina nodded and turned on her heel.
He tried to ignore the way that Regina strutted off. Something wasn't sitting right. But he had too much to deal with already, so he closed the door, grabbed his Transfiguration notes and his sleepwear and settled back in bed, pondering Regina's words.
Emma came back to the common room covered in mud, but in a good mood. "We are going to whip Hufflepuff next week," Emma grinned, running through her room and into the shower as she yelled out to him.
"That good, huh?" Killian grinned softly, his eyes probably blurred with emotion. He had to talk to her about it. With Regina's words or not, it was something a friend did.
"Give me five minutes and we can dig into the muffins," Emma called before the shower turned on. They didn't even bother with doors anymore. Turns out their rooms had stopped needing confirmation to allow them passage as well. It may have just been a thoughts thing. When they gave their permission in their mind, perhaps it worked just as well as a verbal.
Killian put aside his notes and leaned back into his pillows as he waited for her. How the fuck did you breach a conversation like that? Oh, hey Emma, I know you gave up your child two years ago, how do you feel about that?
When she eventually came out into his room, her hair was wet, hanging about her shoulders, and she was carrying a plate of choc-chip muffins. Taking one, Killian used it as a distraction for himself. One mouthful in, though, he was moaning, "This is amazing," he groaned with his mouth full. "Thanks, Swan."
"No worries, Jones," Emma answered with a wide grin and she delicately bit her own. She was happy, he realized with a pang. If he brought it up now, she would hate him forever.
She doesn't need to talk about it, he repeated to himself like a mantra. Trying to ignore that edge in the corner of her eye that said she did. He made room for her to settle in beside him. They continued munching in silence until she spotted his discarded transfiguration notes.
"McGonagall said we passed the assessment with EEs."
"Only EEs?" Killian pouted before sighing.
"You were late," she pointed out and he sighed.
"Aye, I was. With good reason though. But don't you need an Outstanding, love? If you want to be an auror?"
"I don't want to be an Auror," she finally murmured, looking over at him almost shyly as she finished her food. "I want to work in magical law enforcement."
"You want to be a Wizard Cop?" Killian's brows rose in surprise, a smirk forming on her face. He was glad he hadn't destroyed her good mood. "That's hot."
Her hand collided with his chest, smacking him harshly, "You wound me, Swan," he said, clutching his chest. "For what it's worth, I think you should do it. Fuck your family. They didn't care until you were eleven." Killian shrugged as she looked up at him with a serious and very thoughtful expression, something stirring behind her eyes that was dangerous.
"Besides," he deflected, slipping beneath the covers, "Don't want you stealing my thunder."
Emma looked over at him in shock, "You want to be an auror?"
"Why does everyone sound so surprised when I say that," Killian grumbled, "You, Dave. It's not so far-fetched."
"Maybe not, I just never thought…wow." Emma slipped under the covers with him, facing him. "We might end up working together sometimes."
"And I'm sure that will end up…interestingly," Killian smirked and Emma returned his look, leaning forward to rub her nose against his in a surprisingly tender gesture. He shivered. They kept crossing the line…he didn't even know where the line was! All he knew was that…
She was kissing him. Her soft lips falling over his like delicate blossoms. Her hand was tracing the lines of his face as he let his eyelids close, following her lead. The kiss simmered like gently burning embers and at no point did he try and take it further. He sat his hand gently on her waist, rubbing circles on the skin there, and she held his face with one hand on his chest.
They stayed that way for a while until Emma finally pulled away and looked at him, a kind of child-like wonder in her eyes.
"Goodnight, Killian," she said softly.
"Goodnight, Emma," he answered as her eyes drifted shut. And neither of them moved as they fell into sleep and the candles burned into oblivion.
"Phase one," Zelena began, dusting off her body's hands as she spotted Regina/Midnight staring out the window. "Complete."
But Regina, trapped in Midnight's body had made up her mind long ago that Zelena's plan would never come to pass.
It was just a matter of keeping her thoughts hidden from the evil sister until Regina could find a way to stop her…
It was nearing dawn when Graham heard a tapping on his window. He groaned and tried to ignore it, but it was persistent. Finally, he rolled out of bed and, careful not to wake his roommates, opened up the window where Emma's black cat slipped in.
"Midnight?" he questioned sleepily. He could swear the cat was being shy with the human way it was acting, but finally, she stopped moving and stood still, staring at him. Graham blinked sleepily before choosing to ignore her, shutting the window and heading back to bed.
When he'd settled himself back on his pillows, he found the cat next to him and in fright, jumped backwards, almost falling off the bed. Midnight proceeded to calmly step over his quilt cover and onto his chest where she looked him dead in the eye – there was something about those eyes that seemed different – before bending down and darting her tongue against the spot behind his ear.
Graham's first thought was, 'What the fuck', but then she looked at him again, that same plea in her eyes, but unable to speak. That spot...behind his ear. It was where Regina used to like kissing him...
In utter confusion, he whispered, "Regina?"
And the cat nodded, relief flooding her. At least now she had a partner in the war against Zelena.