Disclaimer: I don't own Once Upon a Time, but boy am I obsessed with it!
Killian was usually pretty forward about his intentions with the female kind. When he wanted someone, he always enjoyed being playful, flirty, and suggestive, even when he knew it was a long shot. With Emma, he'd thought it was a long shot. When he asked, he never thought she would actually go for it, much less do it like that.
Nothing could have prepared him for the emotional ferocity behind it. The kiss was urgent, like she was afraid she'd never get another chance, but slow, like she wanted to savor every moment. She held on to him like a lifeline, treating him not only as a worthy person, but as a needed person. It was raw, and open, and electric, and addicting. But bloody hell, he had asked for gratitude, not — not —
"Tha' was uh...?" He breathed, her lips still inches away. The realization began to dawn on him in that moment just how much she wasn't saying. How much she had been holding back. How much she wanted. How much she was afraid she could never have.
"A one time thing," she answered, stepping away. She met his eyes, and Killian knew that she was pulling away again. Whatever that kiss had been, he was quite certain that it was precisely the opposite of a one time thing. He would travel through the pits of hell to earn a kiss like that from her again.
As she walked away, Killian's heart filled with something that he hadn't felt in ages. Something he wasn't sure he had ever felt from a kiss before in his life.
Hope. She had given him hope.
Like a light at the end of a tunnel of darkness, she had opened up a new pathway for him, with a silent promise that she would meet him halfway. For the first time since he lost his Milah, he'd been given a place to go. A place that, if he could reach it, he would be able to stay.
Killian was a patient man. He had spent centuries waiting for his revenge on the one who took his first love — he could wait at least that long for the chance to love again.
A/N: That's all! Thank you for reading! Please leave a review if you liked it!