Chapter 14

Killian's pov

Figuratively speaking, the next few days were hell. I spent most of my time in front of a bottle of rum at Granny's, accompanied by hushed whispers and accusing stares. Rumors had most definitely made their way around the town, following me wherever I went. It seemed as though the only person who hadn't heard rumors was Robin Hood.

"Rough day?" Robin asked me as he sat down next to me, pouring himself a glass of alcohol.

"More like rough week. What is it to you?"

"Well, I'd be lying if I said that dating Regina was easy. She's currently having a meltdown over the fact that I now have darkness in my heart and it's her fault."

"At least she is completely open to you." I looked down at my glass miserably.

"Open is not the word I'd use to describe my lady, I dare say."

"Then at least we have one thing in common."

"Do you want to talk about it?" I just replied by shaking my head, talking about it would only bring back the pain that I had dulled with rum. "Don't look so worried, I'm here to be your drinking buddy, not to try and resolve things between you and Emma. That is something only you two can work out."

"I doubt I will ever work it out. Her walls have gone up, which I took so long taking down. She won't even talk to me or acknowledge me. I believe that she has fallen out of love, yet I am still drowning in it." We both took a swig of our respective drinks at the same time. "Thank you for the talk, Robin, but I need to be off."

"What is rushing you?"

"I see no future here anymore, so I am leaving Storybrooke."

Emma's pov

I lay on my bed in the loft, feeling uncomfortably similar to when Killian was dead and in the Underworld. Guilty. Depressed. Alone. I even held the ring he gave me in my hand, mourning as if he had died. Well, I suppose his love had died, at least. He had a few awkward encounters in Granny's, in which he would just look up at me and back down to his rum, showing that he no longer cared.

My mom suddenly burst in, completely out of breath from running while carrying baby Neal. "Emma! You… need to… go… harbor… now!" She shouted breathlessly from downstairs. I began walking down the stairs, giving her a questioning look. "I mean… like… now, otherwise you won't… see Hook… again."

I got to the harbour and my stomach dropped. Killian was starting to sail away on the Jolly Roger, and I could tell he wasn't planning on coming back. "KILLIAN!" I screamed with all of the power within me and he turned around and looked at me with dull, dark eyes. They were no longer bright blue and full of life, but hopeless and devoid of colour. I 'poofed' myself onto his boat, appearing right in front of him. His hair was unkempt and messy and his eyes were shadowed with dark circles and were red and swollen.

"What are you doing?" I said, my voice wavering.

"What does it look like? Getting out of your life, for good." He said with an equally shaking voice.

"Please, Killian, turn the boat around," I pleaded him with my watery eyes, pleading him not to completely break me.

"Why should I? You have made your feelings for me quite clear. I have no future here anymore. But since you're here, may I ask you one last question. Why? What did I do to stop you loving me?"

"What? I've never stopped loving you. I pushed you away because I love you, Killian. I didn't want you to get hurt because of me anymore." His Adam's apple bobbed up and down and a single tear rolled down his cheek.

"You… you still love me?" He asked, his voice barely more than a whisper.

"Of course I do, with every single ounce of my being." I replied, tears streaming down my face at the thought of losing him again. "Why are you leaving?" I asked.

"Because I love you, Emma Swan and loving you hurt too much when I didn't think that you loved me in return." He took a step forward and took my face in his hands and kissed me gently. The kiss tasted of loss and tears yet I kissed back more passionately, wrapping my arms around his neck. We again were timeless, and the world stopped around us.

"Can you turn the ship around now?"

…...

We had both gotten off of the Jolly and were both now walking back to the loft, arm in arm and my head resting on his shoulder. "When you said that you had no future here anymore, it reminded me of the future we wanted, the future we had, back in Camelot. We should move into the house I was in as the Dark One, the house you and Henry chose for us. Even if it has painful memories attached to it, we can create new ones in it, happy ones. And it may be a bit better with a fresh coat of paint." I smiled up at him, hoping he wasn't daunted by the idea of properly sharing a house with me.

"I think that would be wonderful." He replied, kissing me on the forehead. "We ought to pick up some items from the loft though,"

Grumpy suddenly ran up in front of us, stopping us in our tracks. "Bad news, sister." He only needed to say for me to already sigh at the fact that Storybrooke was, yet again, under attack. It seemed as though fate just didn't want the Savior to be happy.