CS Genre: Post-Darkness Fic

"So, Killian, I was thinking," Emma said, snuggling deeper into her boyfriend's side. They lay together on the deck of the Jolly Roger, looking up at the stars, basking in their new-found peace and tranquility, becoming more intoxicated with each other by the second.

"Aye?" he asked, idly running his hand through her hair. "And precisely what direction did your musings take you, love?"

"Things have been crazy lately…well, crazier than usual."

He laughed, the gentle rumblings vibrating through her head resting on his chest. "Aye, love. Our latest venture was a bit of a challenge."

That was an understatement if she'd ever heard one. It had taken Killian, Henry and her parents a month to find a way to Camelot to find her, another month for them to convince Merlin to take the darkness out of her, and a third month for the five of them to deal with the ridiculous consequences of that little bit of magic.

But it hadn't been all bad. It had resulted in a (literally) earth-shaking true love's kiss between her and her pirate.

"You know what we need?" she asked, rising up to look him in the eye. "After all we've been through, we need a vacation."

"A vacation?"

Emma rolled her eyes. "I know you're not from around here, but don't tell me you've never heard of a vacation!"

He smirked. "Of course I have, darling. I merely wondered what manner of vacation you had in mind."

She thought for a moment. "A tropical one. Something relaxing and romantic. Just the two of us. There's always something getting in the way of our time together. And, well, this is Storybrooke; any day now another terrible crisis will break out and I'll have to go be all savior-y and everything, and…I just want to enjoy a few happy moments with you while we have them. Think about it Killian! Nothing but sun and sand and us. It'll give you a chance to explore a little more of my world. And it'll give me a chance to try out my new bikini."

Killian grinned, then pulled her forward and kissed her. Thoroughly. "It sounds sublime, Swan. The Jolly is ready to sail at a moment's notice. Say the word, provide me with a heading, and our tropical excursion begins. But just out of curiosity, what the bloody hell is a 'bikini'?"

Emma laughed softly, pulling her pirate down for another toe-curling kiss. "Trust me, Killian; it's something you'll like. A lot."

c~s~c~s~c~s~c~s

In hindsight, they should have set off immediately. Instead, they had the abysmally stupid idea to tell people their plans.

"You're…you're planning to go away?" Henry asked, his eyes huge and troubled. "But, Mom, we just got back!"

"Well, yeah, Kid," she said with a shrug, "but that wasn't exactly a vacation. I haven't really been on vacation since I first came to Storybrooke, and I figured it's as good a time as any to get away from it all for a while."

"But," Henry said quietly, "you want to get away from me?"

"No!" she said, rushing to him. "Nothing like that! Killian and I just wanted some downtime. You know, a chance to unwind after all the crap that's gone down the last year or two."

"How long will you be gone?"

"Two weeks," she said slowly, watching him closely.

"Well," he said, putting on a tight smile that didn't fool her for a minute. "I hope you have a good trip."

"Of course…" she said slowly, "it wouldn't have to be just the two of us. You could come along; make it a family vacation."

"Really?" he asked, jumping up in excitement. "That would be awesome!"

c~s~c~s~c~s~c~s

Killian was the one who told her parents.

"You're planning what?" her father thundered. "Listen pirate! I don't know what you think you're doing, but if you plan to take my daughter on a romantic vacation and seduce her…"

Emma rolled her eyes and then raised her hand to stop David's tirade. "Save it, Dad," she growled. "I'm a thirty year old woman, and I'm damn well capable of making my own decisions without any interference from my parents. If I want to go on a romantic vacation with my boyfriend, that's no one's business but ours. And for your information, it was me that came up with the idea. If anyone's planning on doing any seducing, it's me."

The heated look Killian gave her more than made up for her father's spluttering looks of horror.

"She's right, David," Mary Margaret said, laying a gentle hand on her husband's chest. "Her love life is none of our concern."

Emma smiled, thanking her lucky stars that at least one of her parents got it.

And then Mary Margaret spoke again.

"On the other hand," she said slowly, "Henry did tell me that you guys were making it a family vacation. You know, family vacations were one of the things we missed out on during all those years of the curse. David, maybe we should go along too, us and Neal, and make it a true family vacation."

And just like that, their two-some had expanded to six.

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Regina was next.

Nearly bursting at the seams with excitement, Henry told his other mother about his planned tropical vacation with the Charming/Swan/Jones clan.

"Not without me, young man," Regina said in her no-nonsense, mayor voice. "Given the dangers that are always around wherever Miss Swan and her Charming family go, I'm not taking a chance at loosing you. Not again."

"Well," Henry said, slowly, "it is supposed to be a family vacation…"

"And as your mother, I am family," she finished for him. "Just tell me the time and place, and Robin, Roland and I will be there, ready for some serious relaxation."

c~s~c~s~c~s~c~s

But it wasn't until the following morning that Emma realized she'd lost all control.

She and Killian sat in their favorite booth at Granny's, holding hands and sipping at hot beverages as they waited for their breakfast to arrive.

"Pancakes coming up!" Ruby chirped, placing fragrant, steaming plates before each of them.

"Thanks Ruby," Emma said, flashing their waitress a smile.

But Ruby didn't leave; she stood there, waiting, watching.

"Something else you need?"

"So," Ruby said, plopping down next to Emma on the bench. "I hear you guys are planning a big vacation to the tropics for family and friends. Granny and I are in. Never been anywhere besides Storybrooke and the Enchanted Forest. This is so exciting! And I might be able to convince Whale to come too. Just depends on whether or not he can find someone to cover for him at the hospital."

c~s~c~s~c~s~c~s

And then it got worse.

"So, sister," Leroy said, collapsing into the seat in front of Emma's desk at the station. "I hear you've got a town-wide vacation in the works. Always wanted to go to the beach. Give me a chance to try out my new Speedo."

Now that was an image Emma fervently wished had never entered her mind. She hastily dropped the pastrami sandwich she was about to dig into, suddenly feeling nauseated.

"Anyway, Doc was wondering. Would it be alright if he brought his Miata?"

"Um…" Emma said, feeling the headache start behind her eyes, "to a tropical island?"

"Yeah, you're right," he said with a nod, getting to his feet. "Stupid idea. I'll tell him to take a plane like the rest of us."

c~s~c~s~c~s~c~s

Naturally, once Leroy was in on it, the entire town knew…and was making plans…by nightfall.

"Killian," Emma said, once again sitting with her pirate on the deck of the Jolly. "Sometimes I think the whole universe is against us. If it's not villains or curses or memory charms or darkness that's standing in the way, it's our family and friends."

Killian chuckled. "Not exactly the romantic vacation we had in mind, is it, love?"

She merely groaned.

Killian toyed with the ends of her hair, his gaze on the horizon. "You know Swan, there is a solution. Perhaps we can have the beautiful, romantic vacation alone after all."

"Yeah?" she asked, turning to look at him. "How you plan to accomplish that?"

"Well," he said with a sly grin. "If the entirety of Storybrooke is departing on a well-deserved tropical vacation, our fair town will be empty. If we were to decide not to go after all…"

"…we'd end up having the whole town to ourselves," she finished with a laugh. "Would you really be okay with that, Killian? I mean, I know you love your travels and I know you want to explore this world, and…"

He stopped her with a long, deep kiss that she felt to her very core. "All I want is to be with you, my love," he said with a gentle smile. "Whether that occurs here, in the tropics or on the moon is immaterial; all I want is you."

And so it was that Emma and Killian's first big romantic vacation together didn't take place on some distant, exotic shore. It took place in none other than the very-empty Charming loft in the heart of Storybrooke.

Notes:

-So, summer is upon us (well, supposedly. I don't know if the weather is ever going to catch up to the calendar, but that's another story altogether), which naturally turns my thoughts to vacation! I figured if anyone deserved a vacation after all the craziness and villains and darkness and everything else, it was CS. Unfortunately, the town seems to be more interested in getting in their own time on an island paradise than shipping a certain savior and pirate!

-This was originally posted for the cs writing challenge on Tumblr (this one was for the prompt "vacation").

-Once again, if you have any fluffy prompts you would like to send my way, don't be shy! I still have 11 Fridays left to fill.