Title: A Life of It

Author: Roguie etc…

Part: 5/?

Fandom: Once Upon a Time

Characters: Emma/Killian

World: AU Modern

Rating: T, with the likelihood it will change to M over time, because I'm weak like that.

Warnings: Child abuse, bullying, all the bad things you'd expect to find in a poorly executed foster care system.

Spoilers: It's AU, so not likely.

Summary: Everywhere she was sent, he was there, her savior, the boy with blue eyes. He should have meant nothing to her, just another person that had to leave, but he meant everything. Against all odds, he kept coming back.

Disclaimer: OuaT is not mine, if it were, tackle hugs and sweet kisses would be our norm. Also, there would be way more, *cough*, sword practice scenes between our Captain and his Swan.

A/N: I promise no tears for this part! A bit of a time jump for them, a little bit older, a little bit wiser, a little bit more prone to social interference. How happy would a little pre teen Emmie be to see a teenaged Killian grinning down at her three years after we left her?

~~~?~~~

There was nothing he hated more than being bounced foster homes only a few weeks to the end of the school year. For some reason, fate seemed to think it was pretty amusing to find him a new family right around his birthday, every single year.

His last home had been pretty decent. When he woke up on his thirteenth birthday, the mother had put together a pancake breakfast for him. There were balloons all over the house, presents on the table, all sorts of little treats shoved into his school bag for the day. He'd been pretty happy for the eight months he'd been with them. Still, when the black van pulled up three days later and the whispers of the hushed conversations between the aid workers and his foster parents worked their way down the hall to where he'd been sitting and eating breakfast, he knew better than to argue. With a sigh, he put his empty plates in the sink and moved quietly up to his room, packing up his clothes, his school books, the camera they'd given him for his birthday, and the few other cool things he'd managed to hang onto. By the time they came to tell him it was time to go, he was already struggling down the stairs with his two suitcases and a blank look on his face. He allowed his foster mother to hug him, thanking her for everything, his spine ramrod straight against the tears in her eyes as she held him just a little longer than normal. He took the pat to the back from his foster father, noting the older man's own misty eyes, and nodding to himself. Whatever kid got placed here next would be a lucky little bugger.

He'd known better than to get attached to that family, they were too good to be true. He was positive this move had nothing to do with him, something in the system said it was time for him to be moving on, but still it weighed heavy on his young heart. Another family let down, another move that was out of his control.

His new family wasn't too bad. He was the only child in a house with a much older couple. He'd smiled at them politely, thanked them for showing him to his room, and took every effort to stay out of their way as he settled in to his newest temporary home. As there were only ten days left in the school year, his foster parents didn't see any point in enrolling him; he'd be graduating out of middle school at the end of this term anyway. Instead, they spoke to the school board and had him passed through grade eight, explaining the situation and how they thought it would be better to help him settle in. A few pieces of paperwork were signed, and Killian was officially on summer vacation.

That didn't stop him from wandering towards the school at three o'clock, however, wanting to see what the kids in this neighborhood were like. He'd be spending his entire summer alone if he didn't find at least one kid to talk to in the next few days.

The school was surrounded by a four foot high rock wall. With a grin, Killian pulled himself up onto the top of the wall, walking the length of it back and forth as he waited for the bell to ring. Just before it was time for school to let out, he plunked himself down next to the gate, crossing his legs and sitting up high, ready to flash his killer grin at any kid who thought to talk to him.

Middle school was different than elementary school; when the bell rang, the kids didn't pile out in a huge lump, instead they came out in smaller groups. He watched the groups carefully, muttering to himself over what drew each little clique of children together. "Airheads," he muttered as he watched a group of pretty blonde girls walk by, flashing a dazzling smile in their direction, making them giggle. "Jocks," he nodded, as the next group came by, all boys, all following the pretty blondes but staying just far enough away to show they weren't together. For this group it was a chin lift to acknowledge them as they moved beyond him. "Rockers," he grinned, a mixed group of boys and girls coming into view; one actually carried a guitar across his back. Killian made a mental note to approach him the next day, sensing something kindred with that particular crew. With this group, he managed a quiet, "How's it going?" as they walked past, earning him a few nods, one stopping to fist bump him as they passed.

More children filed out, but these ones were alone or in groups of two. "Loners," Killian murmured, grinning. Loners were always fun to befriend; they could always be counted on to join in when he had some kind of wicked plan that usually ended up getting him moved to a new home. He didn't feel guilty about it, though, after all, everyone needed a little excitement in their lives, and it wasn't like their natural families were going to dump them. So, they had some fun, got in shit, and in the morning they'd have had a grand adventure and he'd have a new house. At least they got to live a little in the meanwhile.

He was eyeing the loners one by one, looking for the one that would likely suit him the best, when he heard the distinctive sound of flesh against flesh, and the pained grunt of a kid as he hit the ground.

"C'mon, Victor, try it again… I dare you!"

Killian found his eyes drawn to two kids standing behind a tree, just out of sight of the school, but from his vantage point on the wall, he could see them clearly. With a grin, he moved silently along the wall, getting closer and closer to them until he was able to sit right above them, elbows on his knees, watching the drama unfold.

"My brother says that girls don't give signals that they want it if they don't want it, so you're just playing games with me!" A boy about Killian's age began picking himself up off the ground, wiping dust and grass off his white khaki pants. Killian snorted quietly to himself; what kind of idiot parents put a boy in white pants?

"Yeah? Well you tell your stupid brother that he needs to teach you better, coz I wasn't asking for your wormy lips to get anywhere near me, Victor Whale! That's just… GROSS! UGH!" With another lightening fast move, the little blonde shoved at the boy, knocking him to his ass and adding insult to injury when she dumped what was left of her water bottle over his head.

With a huge grin, Killian began to applaud slowly. "That was impressive," he grinned down at them. When the girl looked up, her big green eyes flashing annoyance at having been interrupted, Killian caught his breath. "Holy shit!" he murmured, his grin growing even wider.

Her little lips opened in a surprised gasp, her green eyes turning from stormy to amazement, her fingers releasing the water bottle to bounce off Victor's head as she shrieked out the sharpest, girliest sound Killian had ever heard, and then she was climbing the wall to get to him.

"Em, what…?!" he managed to stutter out before he found himself flat on his back, wrapped in a hug so tight that she managed to squeeze the breath right out of him, leaving him gasping as she rocked herself back, perched across his thighs, and grinned down at him.

Finally, as she rested on top of him, her grin so big that her eyes danced with it, her cheeks began turning pink. "Hi," she murmured, cocking her head to the side, suddenly shy.

"Hi, back," he grinned up at her, shaking his head with amazement.

A groan came from below them and they twisted to look over the side of the wall, gazing down at Victor as he crawled to his feet one more time. "Gotta be careful with her," he muttered, shaking like a dog to dry out his hair. "Her body says yes, yes, but her fists say no no."

Killian's eyes narrowed, his body stiffening under Emma's; he'd just wrapped his fingers around her waist to lift her off of him when her own little head turned and she scowled down at the boy below them. "Grow up, Victor Whale. A girl's got a right to say no, especially to little worms like you. Why don't you go try your moves on Ruby?"

"Yeah, maybe I will. Don't come crying back to me later, Emma, you had your chance."

Emma sniffed and shuddered slightly, sticking out her tongue. "Don't make me puke, Victor. I like this shirt."

With a snort of disgust, the boy righted himself and stormed off across the school yard, leaving Killian to stare up at Emma in awe.

"Okay, who are you and what've you done with my sister?"

She giggled quietly, and then louder, until finally she fell against his shoulder, her arms tight around him, laughing until she had tears in her eyes. For a few minutes Killian just watched her, wondering if her brain had snapped sometime in the last three years, before shrugging and joining her laughing as they lay on top of the school wall.

Finally, her laughter calmed, and after a moment of silence she turned her body to lie next to him, propping her head up on one hand. "Wonder how long we have this time."

He shrugged. "Just got here yesterday, so I should be good for at least three months. You?"

She sighed. "Since Christmas. I'm over six months now, so I dunno, maybe the rest of the summer?"

Killian nodded. "Look on the bright side, only another couple years 'n you'll be in high school; there's only the three high schools in the city so even if we split now, odds are pretty good we'll end up together then."

"Yeah, two grades behind you."

"Meh, you're smart, take some advanced classes," he grinned and nudged her.

"Yeah, so I'll graduate at sixteen 'n you'll age out of the system, and then what?"

He shrugged, rolling to his back and staring up at the clear blue sky. "We'll run away. Get jobs. Get a place. Y'know, stuff real people do."

Emma laughed, but it wasn't a happy sound, it was laced with a streak of disbelief and sarcasm that was far too harsh for ten year old lips. "Right, 'cause you'll really want your little sister hanging around when you finally get out of this."

He shrugged, his eyebrows knitting together as he frowned. "Maybe I will."

"Sure," she smiled at him sadly before returning to her back to join his view of the clouds.

They had silence for just a few blissful minutes before a sharp shriek echoed across the school yard, making Emma roll her eyes.

"EMMA SWAN! Did you tell Victor Whale to kiss me?!"

Emma sighed, rolling onto her tummy to grin down at her best friend. "Did you mind?"

Ruby glared back up at her, one painted finger curling a strand of her long brown hair around it as she tapped her foot in annoyance. "Well, no, but still…"

"But still nothing, Rubes. He got a kiss, you got a kiss, I didn't have to kiss anyone, it's win win all around."

Killian rolled over at that point, half on top of Emma as he peered down at her friend. "Hey, there. I'm Killian Jones."

Ruby did her best impression of an owl, eyes wide, jaw dropped, and words escaping her as she stared up into Killian's bright blue gaze. "Y.. you're Emma's brother?"

He smirked, winking at the blonde in his arms as he shifted, sliding off the wall and landing gracefully in front of the brunette. "I see you've heard of me, then?"

Ruby giggled, her bright red lips turned up in a sweet smile as she gazed at him happily. "Listen, my parents aren't gonna be home till later, wanna come over to my house? We can catch you up on everything so that when school starts up again, you're not going in blind."

"Hmm, and will there be food at this gathering?" He winked at her just as his stomach rumbled a protest at his having skipped lunch.

"Anything you want, Killian," she purred, giggling, making Emma groan quietly.

"Anything?"

Killian took a slap to the back of his head as Emma jumped down beside him, glaring at him and then in turn glaring at Ruby. "You two are gonna make me sick. I'm going home."

She turned on her heel and stormed out of the school yard, a high blush on her cheeks, her green eyes flashing. She didn't want to watch her flirt of a best friend turn her charms on her brother, just the thought made her stomach roll in unpleasant waves. She'd rather spend the night alone.

"Shit," she heard him mutter behind her as she quickened her pace, putting more distance between them. "It was great to meet you, Ruby, but I'm gonna catch up with Emmie. Rain check on the info session?"

Emma grinned to herself as she heard him leave Ruby, not feeling the least bit guilty for the self satisfied smirk that crossed her face as she slowed her pace. "Nobody calls me Emmie!" she called back over her shoulder, feigning annoyance as Killian jogged up beside her, pulling on her pony tail and nudging her shoulder.

"Yeah, well, I do."

Emma snorted and then giggled, shaking her head. "Why do you keep finding me, Killian Jones?" she asked as her giggles finally ended and she walked beside him, high on the fact that they were together again.

He shrugged his bony thirteen year old shoulders, pushing a stray lock of dark hair out of his eyes as he smirked. "Gotta be fate, Ems."

"There's no such thing as fate, dummy."

"Yeah, then you explain it, smart ass."

Unable to offer him any better of an explanation, she shrugged and increased her pace. She walked slightly ahead of Killian until he reached out and grabbed her hand, pulling her back to him, color high on her cheeks.

"Shit, Em, I didn't mean to piss you off. I'm just saying it's not like I did anything to get sent here, y'know? They just showed up and told me to pack my stuff, and now I'm here. I don't know why you're here too. So until someone tells me different, it's fate, 'kay?"

She shrugged her little shoulders, nudging into him but not pulling her hand out of his. Finally, she sighed. "'Kay."

~~~TBC~~~

Remember, much like magic, all muses come with a price. This muse's price is that little review box down below. Please don't make her chase you for payment, it seems a bloody awful waste of her time, wouldn't you say?