He had been bested by a swan.
Again.
He quickly composed his features into a mask of cocky assuredness and spun around to face her.
"Swan," he said, flashing that confident smirk that affected every woman he had ever crossed paths with...expect for her. "We meet again."
"How the hell did you get here!" she exclaimed, "It's...it's...impossible," she said, her voice dropping to that same disbelieving whisper with which she had first spoken his moniker.
"It isn't, actually. It's quite possible. In fact, its reality," he finished with a grin.
It seemed that she had lost the ability to speak. She simply stared at him with the same, unchanging astonished expression. Mouth slightly agape, it seemed that she could hardly make a sound.
"Speechless in my presence Swan?" he chuckled, "Why I'm flattered."
That seemed to unfreeze her. She quickly cocked her eyebrow and set her mouth in a frown. "Don't be," she said, a hint of amusement creeping into her voice, "You of all people should know the difference between simple shock and adoration."
"Funnily enough I often find that the two go hand in hand, especially when I have a woman on her back. Perhaps you remember? We had begun to discuss such enjoyable moments. Care to find out if I can shock you into some adoration?" he finished with a wink.
Ah there is was again. That look. It always amused him to see it, and even though she threw it his way quite a lot, he enjoyed having the power to evoke at least that response out of her. He grinned at his achievement.
"What would be shocking," she retorted, emphasizing the word more than he had, "would be if you could stop flirting long enough to answer my question. How in God's name did you manage to get here? The portal closed behind us. No one else came out."
"Well, you see love," Killian drawled, a hint of mischief creeping into his voice, "that bean, the one that I took from the Giant. Turns out that it wasn't so dried up and useless after all. All that it needed was a little...watering."
"The waters of Lake Nostos." she said with a small shake of her head. "Of course."
"There you are love now you're catching on!" Killian exclaimed in mock approval. "You really are too smart for your own good lass."
Instead of the usual scathing look he had been expecting, a sudden flash of horror crossed her face.
"Cora." she gasped, "Where the hell is Cora? Did she come through with you? Is she here, in Storybrooke?"
He chuckled half-heartedly, "Like I said, too smart for your own-"
"Hook!"
"Alright lass don't bite my head off!" he exclaimed, "If you must know. Cora is here. In Storybrooke."
"But we came back almost a week ago. Have you been here that long?"
"Yes of course," he replied, "Been missing me this whole time have you?" It was only half a joke, though he wouldn't allow himself to admit that he hoped it was at least partly true.
"No, but apparently you have," she countered, her face briefly betraying her annoyance, "Have you been spying on me this whole time?"
He hoped that she couldn't see in the pale moonlight the way his face momentarily blanched of color.
He composed himself quickly. "Spying on you, love," he smirked, "Why, I was merely doing some reconnaissance for Cora. Getting the lay of the land so to speak. And here I was this whole time thinking that the pirate was supposed to be the self-absorbed one," he jibed as nonchalantly as he could.
Too late he remembered that she had a propensity for knowing when people were lying. Sure enough, a flicker of doubt crossed her features. To his relief, however, she decided to let the subject drop.
"Where is she?" Emma demanded, a note of worry creeping into her voice. "Cora."
"As if I'd tell you love," Hook sneered, "I don't even know myself actually...off doing something in regards to her daughter I'd imagine."
"Hook I swear if you don't tell me..." she let the threat dangle in the air, "My son is out there. She could do something to him. I can't let anything happen to him!"
Her voice rose to a desperate pitch. Killian fought a sudden urge to step forward, to reassure her that no harm would come to her or her son. Her stricken look pained him in the deepest part of his withered heart. He knew what it was like to have some magical being come after the one you love, and all the while feeling powerless to stop it.
"Rest easy Swan," he assured her, "Cora won't harm your boy. I promise." The oath was past his lips before he could stop them. He felt like kicking himself for saying it, knowing that it would be almost impossible to keep his word. There would be no crossing Cora. If she wanted the boy, she would have him. If he moved against her, he wouldn't live to see his revenge completed.
The look of relief on her face at his words almost made his brash promise worth it. "Thank you," she murmured fervently, for she, of course, could tell that his promise was true, despite his own misgivings.
They each stood there for a moment, both looking at the other with an altered sense of the reality that they had come to accept. Both were confused, and neither knew the next move to make, nor who should be the first to make it. They were trapped in themselves, with each other.
Suddenly uncomfortable with the direction his thoughts were taking him, Killian looked at the ground and cleared his throat. All at once, he felt an overwhelming desire to be anywhere else then where he was. He wanted nothing more than to put as much distance between himself and the Swan girl as possible. Once more affecting a charmingly conceited air, he raised his head and stalked swiftly past her, sparing hardly a parting glance. He could feel rather than see her turn to stop him, but he was already gone; down the stairs and out once again into the cold night on the street below.
He walked quickly through the town until he came to the dock; eager now for the warmth of his cabin and the invisibility that Cora's spell provided him. As his boots finally struck the weathered wood of the dock, he saw a flash of white out of the corner of his eye. For a moment, he stopped and stared at the creature gliding silently across the glassy surface of the calm harbor.
"Fucking Swans," he muttered angrily as he turned and boarded his ship.
