Happily Ever After—ch. 6

CS Genre: Rival bakers/enemies to lovers/online dating au

Killian took a deep breath and looked himself over in the mirror. Tight leather pants, billowy black shirt, unbuttoned to a low vee, leather vest with ornate silver buckles and clasps, long, heavy black leather coat, fake sword in a scabbard, generous application of guyliner, hair artfully disheveled.

Aye, that would do. He looked like a pirate if ever anyone did. He grabbed the last item of his attire, a large, leather masquerade mask that obscured a fair portion of his face. His hands shook as he donned the mask, the nerves starting to get the better of him.

When he'd first begun his correspondence with Swan, it had seemed like a brilliant idea. The problem was, now he had no idea how she would react when she realized who her mystery correspondent was. In his head, he'd concocted scenarios ranging from her telling him she was hoping it would be him and then kissing the daylights out of him all the way to her rolling her eyes and telling him to get lost.

He felt like a young lad psyching himself up to ask his first crush to the school dance. What would he do if her reaction wasn't favorable?

"You look like crap, my friend," came the ever helpful voice of Dave as he knocked on Killian's apartment door and then let himself in without waiting for a response.

Killian chuckled. "Not precisely the reaction I was going for. I am, after all meeting a date for the first time tonight."

David laughed, and clapped him on the shoulder. "You know what I mean. You look like you could toss your cookies at any moment. Breathe, Killian. Emma can be a little gun shy after her bad romantic experiences, but in the end, she's going to be glad it's you."

Killian whipped his head around, giving his friend a wide eyed stare. "How do you know my date is Emma?"

"Why do you think Mary Margaret and I were so insistent the two of you join Happily Ever After?" David said with a grin. "We've been trying to find a way to get you and my sister together since the moment she came to stay with us, and when you almost ruined it with your 'revenge is gonna be mine' moment at Gold's, we had to improvise."

Well that was unexpected. David was as protective of his little sister as a father, and Killian had been a little apprehensive of his reaction should things go well tonight. Instead, he was more than giving his blessing; he was matchmaking.

"But how did you know we'd even find each other on that silly site?" Killian continued.

David shrugged, helping himself to a beer from Killian's refrigerator and then sitting on his couch. "We didn't. We just had to leave that up to cupid. When Emma told Mary Margaret she was communicating with a guy named 'The Captain', we knew our devious scheme had worked."

Killian collapsed onto the other side of the couch. "So you and Mary Margaret are on board?"

"We couldn't be happier," David said after taking a swig from his bottle. "Emma deserves happiness, Killian, and so do you, and to think you're going to find that happiness together…well, that's like a fairy tale."

Killian reached up and scratched behind his ear. "I'm not at all certain of that. Perhaps when your lovely sister discovers who her secret admirer is she'll be…less inclined toward happiness."

"Killian, she's head over heels for The Captain," David said confidently, "and whatever she says, I know her well enough to know she had feelings for you as well. The revelation may be a shock, and it may take her a bit of time to wrap her head around it, but she will come around. I'm making my prediction now. In three, four years tops, you two will be right where Mary Margaret and I are now—in love, married, and ready to welcome a new little son or daughter into your lives."

The prospect was more than Killian could ever hope for. "I hope you're right, mate. I really, really hope you're right."

"I am," David said with a nod. "Now go out there and get the girl."

Killian looked at his watch for the fifth time in the last two minutes as he stood by the gazebo waiting for the moment of truth. Not for the first time, Killian wondered if Emma would actually show, but before he could finish the thought, he saw her emerge from the main road and head his way.

She was an angel, beautiful, ethereal, graceful in her feathered white dress, her silky white wrap around her shoulders to guard against the autumn chill, and her golden hair flowing loose down her back.. Killian felt his eyes mist slightly when it occurred to him that she looked like a bride walking down the aisle to him. If he had his way, he would make that a reality one day.

But for now he merely waited, as calmly as he could manage, for her to arrive before him. She shot him a nervous smile as she approached. He could see her excitement in the rosy hue of her cheeks, but he could also see caution, apprehension, nervousness.

His heart plummeted for a moment. A part of him hoped she'd already put the pieces together and figured out who he was, but her reaction made it clear that she hadn't.

But his disappointment lasted barely a moment before her beauty, her scent of vanilla and cinnamon, her gentle smile, overwhelmed him, and he let his awe and wonder show on his face.

"Swan," he breathed on a sigh, "at last."

Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped. "Killian?" she asked, "You're The Captain?"

Killian smiled nervously and gave his head a single quick nod. "Aye, in the flesh."

For a moment she merely stared up at him, slack-jawed, but then her mouth tightened, and her eyes narrowed.

"How could you?" she ground out before stepping forward and kneeing him in the groin so hard he fell to the ground seeing stars.

"Swan!" he croaked, "let me explain!"

But it was too late. She was already storming away from him.

Emma nearly ran from the gazebo, angry tears she couldn't stop welling in her eyes, a few slipping down her cheeks. She couldn't believe it, couldn't believe she'd been duped so thoroughly yet again. What kind of sick person did something like that? What kind of sick person made someone else fall for them while all the time trying simply to humiliate them? Was this payback for her arresting him and throwing him in jail? Payback for the fact that she wouldn't give him the time of day after that? Why would Killian do something like this?

She was angry with Mary Margaret for talking her into joining that stupid dating site, angry with Killian for playing her, and most of all, angry with herself for letting her walls down and letting the pain in yet again.

When would she ever learn? Love just wasn't in the cards for someone like her.

Are you sure he was playing you?, Emma's inner voice, which sounded strangely like Mary Margaret, asked. Are you sure there's not some other explanation?

She didn't know what that explanation could be, and she wasn't about to open herself up to more pain, to more false hope, by giving him the benefit of the doubt. She was done. She hoped she never saw Killian Jones again.

"Swan, please! Let me explain," she heard from behind her.

So much for that hope.

"There's nothing to explain," she said, abruptly turning and watching him rush toward her, limping slightly. "You thought it would be funny to watch the cold, mistrustful sheriff's deputy fall in love with you and then pull the rug out from under her feet."

He reached her, extending a hand as though to touch her shoulder, but she shied away. He let his hand drop back to his side, his shoulders hunching. "Is that what you think this is, Emma?"

"What else am I supposed to think?" Emma asked, crossing her arms protectively around her. "You wanted to see me upset? Wanted to see me broken? Well guess what, buddy. You don't get that satisfaction."

Her defiant statement was somewhat belied by the tear tracks still on her face.

He looked up at her with unmistakable tenderness, and despite her best efforts, the top bricks of her newly constructed wall crashed down around her. "Swan, I know I was wrong in the way I approached you, but I swear to you on my life that I never wanted to hurt you, that I never want to cause you pain."

Emma laughed humorlessly. "Yeah, good job on that."

"Please, allow me to explain," he pleaded. "If you wish nothing more to do with me afterwards, I will abide by your wishes, but please at least hear me out."

She was silent for a moment, considering.

"Alright," she said finally, "I'll listen, but let me tell you a little secret. I'm pretty good at knowing when someone's lying to me."

"I'll never lie to you," he said, and the sincerity ringing in his voice was unmistakable.

"Alright, so go ahead," Emma said, "you knew who I was didn't you? I'd love to hear a decent explanation for why you didn't tell me the truth about yourself."

"Because I was afraid!" Killian said simply, voice raised slightly. He took a deep breath and let it out, closing his eyes to calm himself before he looked back at her again. "Emma, I knew there was the potential for something special between us from the first moment I saw you, holding a gun on me in Gold's shop. I felt the electricity between us, the knowledge that you were a kindred spirit. I wanted to get to know you and for you to get to know me—not the criminal you first met, not the player you clearly thought I was, but me."

"Would have helped if every other word out of your mouth wasn't an innuendo," Emma said with a raised brow.

Killian sighed, running a hand through his hair. "You're right. I suppose the innuendo was a bit of a defense mechanism. You're not the only one who feels the need to construct walls, love. "

"Okay, so you wanted to get to know me," Emma said, "still doesn't explain why you'd let me believe you were someone else online."

"I wasn't the one who insisted on no identifying information, if you'll recall, Swan."

She glared at him. "So this is my fault?"

He made a frustrated sound at the back of his throat. "No! It's just…Swan, I swear I didn't know who you were when I first contacted The Swan, but identifying information or not, you're rather an open book to me. It took less than a day for me to realize just who my secret correspondent was."

"At which point, you should have just told me who you were," Emma said.

"Aye, I should have," Killian agreed, "but I couldn't bring myself to. I just….I thought I could show you the real me, who I really am, aside from the bad first impression you got. I thought maybe if you got to know me as The Captain, you would soften toward me as Killian as well and we could, perhaps, start over."

Emma looked into his eyes, looking for the lie, looking for the signs that he was still playing her, that this was still part of his sick, twisted joke, but she didn't see it. If he was lying to her, he deserved an Oscar for being the best actor in the world. "All those things you said as The Captain…all those times you told me that you were falling for me, that you thought we could build something special between us…?"

Killian took a step toward her, and Emma chose not to shy away. Emboldened, he took her upper arms, caressing her slightly with his thumbs. "I meant every bloody word," he said.

Emma's heart turned over at his intensity. Still, she had to know. "Why? Why would you bother? I didn't exactly give you encouragement."

He grinned, and it was his old, familiar flirtatious smirk. "Most men would take your behavior as off-putting, but I love a challenge."

She rolled her eyes, grinning in spite of herself.

Killian sobered. "And you are worth it, Emma. Whatever I need to do to prove myself to you, you are worth it."

Emma's face softened, and she felt the tears rush to her eyes again, this time for a very different reason. He really believed that.

"The first time we met," he said, turning from her and looking sightlessly at the lake in the distance, "did you ever wonder why I attacked Gold?"

Emma shook her head.

"It was because of the shawl," he said.

She furrowed her brow, not making the connection.

"I was in love once before," he went on, "to a woman named Milah…"

He went on, telling her the whole tragic tale about falling in love with Robert Gold's wife, about the shop keeper's rage, about Milah's death. "And I wanted him to suffer as I suffered, as Milah suffered. I wanted my vengeance. And then when I heard he'd placed her scarf, the item she made with her own hands, on display like a meaningless peace of merchandise, something within me snapped."

She closed the little distance there was between them, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Oh, Killian. I'm so sorry."

He was silent for a moment, looking out at the water, and then he shrugged, turning back to her. "Aye, it was a difficult time, but I tell you this not to garner your sympathies, but to explain something to you."

"And what's that?"

His eyes burned into her, and she could see every bit of emotion as it flitted through his face. What he was about to say was important, maybe the most important thing he'd ever said to her, and she held her breath as she waited for him to speak.

"I never thought I'd be capable of letting go of my first love, of my Milah, to believe that I could find someone else. That is until I met you."

Emma let a single tear escape, and Killian reached up, cupping her cheek and catching it with his thumb. His eyes softened, a gentle grin covering his lips.

"Are….are you saying…?" Emma asked, her voice thick with emotion.

He nodded once. "Aye. I love you Emma Swan. I have for a long time, and I pray you give me the opportunity to continue loving you for decades to come."

Emma's heart stuttered and then slammed in her chest.

"You said yourself, you can tell when someone's lying, love," he continued. "Look at me now. Am I lying to you?"

She couldn't have spoken if her life depended on it. Instead, she surged to her tip toes, brought his head down to her, and connected her lips to his.

He took her tender assault with a muffled "umph", but then wrapped his arms around her, slanting his head to deepen the kiss. She threaded her fingers through his hair, her other arm snaking around his back as she opened for him and joined him kiss for kiss, caress for caress.

They continued for long moments, lips caressing, tongues tangling, breath mingling, the original need melting into something soft, gentle, tender. It would scare Emma if she let herself think about it too much. This wasn't just a physical thing; this wasn't just giving into the physical desires she'd felt for him for ages. This was her opening herself up, laying herself bare before him, giving him the power to break her heart.

But he wouldn't. Emma could see that, could feel it in the soft lips against hers, in the gentle way he murmured her name as he pulled away, only to rest his forehead against her, in his hand in her hair, softly caressing her scalp. He was in this for the long haul. He'd be here with her for as long as she'd let him.

Forever, she decided as she pulled back only far enough to look into his eyes, to smile at the wonder he found there. She wanted forever with him.

"I…I think I love you too."

His smile widened. He leaned down, kissed her softly once more and then pulled back. "That's music to this old pirate's ears. What say we return to the ball?"

Emma took his hand, threading her fingers with his as they began walking toward town hall where the masquerade ball was well underway. "Uh, sorry," she said sheepishly, "for, you know, kneeing you earlier."

He grinned, mischief lighting up his eyes. "Perhaps I'll need you to kiss it and make it better," he said with an exaggerated waggle of his eyes.

She laughed, smacking him playfully with his free hand. "You are an idiot, you know that?"

He smiled, catching the hand that had slapped him and bringing it to his lips for a quick kiss. "Aye, but I'm your idiot, now and always."

Notes:

-Whew! That was a long chapter as Fluffy Fridays updates go, but my only other option was to end things after the scene where Emma knees Killian and runs away, and I figured you all might not forgive me for yet another angsty ending.

-So this little story is just about to wrap up. There's just a quick epilogue to go, and then it'll be on to other things. I've got a CS family Christmas story for you that I'm excited about and a canon divergent season 2, New Year's themed story for after that.

-Up next: The epilogue. The "conflict" of this story is all resolved, but there is still one last item of business that needs to be taken care of: since Emma and Killian tied (for second) in the contest, they each have to satisfy the other's requirements for the bet. Emma's already given Killian his requested kiss. Now she has a demand for him… Warning, tooth-rotting levels of fluff are coming next Friday