A/N: Since it took me so bloody long to post this, I won't bother with excuses as to why I haven't updated in the longest time. Without further adieu, here's the
Disclaimer: It would be a torturously long hiatus - even worse than the wait until season 5b that we actually have to wait for if I owned OUAT. Instead, Once Upon a Time and it's characters belong to Ed Kitsis and Adam Horowitz, and ABC Network. Notice the lack of my name in that list?
The Ever Prepared Justin Case
He stood on the deck of his ship, holding his beloved soulmate against the mast, their bodies pressed together, sweat dripping down their bodies, and despite his exhaustion he couldn't be happier. Even while he was trying desperately to catch his breath, his legs and arms felt as though they were barely attached to him, he couldn't help but take the opportunity to appreciate this quiet moment with the woman who was everything to him. Gently, Killian pressed a loving kiss against her forehead, and heard her say something that made him groan - and not in a good way.
"Again…" she panted breathily against his lips. "Come on Killian, one more time."
"That's what you said the last time," he reminded her with a laugh of disbelief. "And the time before that, and before that…and we've been practicing our swordplay for hours."
"You didn't seem to complain about our swordplay last night, or this morning Captain." she purred, but Killian knew from the thread of tension thrumming from her magic and onto his, that her seductive tone was more about distracting him than anything else. Despite how he loved it when she called him Captain, he was bound and determined to focus on her needs and not his wants.
"Yes, well that was swordplay of a very different nature. One that involved less swords, more play and far less clothing. And for the record you'll never hear me complain of any activities we engage in whilst in our bedchambers, or in our living room, or in our bathroom, or in our kitchen…." Killian couldn't help but remind her how they took advantage of Henry's overnight stay with Neal, as he sheathed his weapon and wrapped his arm around her.
"If you truly wish for another round of practice with your cutlass, I'll not deny you. However, I must ask - don't you think you might be carrying this a little too far?"
"Are you saying that you can't handle it?" Emma giggled playfully, though she couldn't disguise the nervous tension in her eyes. "Next thing you'll be saying is that you're too old for this."
"The day I'm too old for this is the day they return me to the sea for a sailor's burial," he teased, though he knew immediately his Swan didn't find his words reassuring.
"Don't even joke about that," she hissed, pushing him away roughly, dropping her sword and stepping away from him. "Never, ever joke about you….about that!"
"Oh love," he sighed, pulling her towards him, his frustration with her giving way to concern. "I'm a survivor, you know that. And now that I have you and Henry in my life, I have even more reason to fight for my survival. I won't give up this life, our life without a battle."
"I know," she muttered, enveloping him in her embrace. "I'm sorry for being so crazy lately with all of the training and everything. I just can't help it…."
He quieted her fears for the moment with a tender kiss, knowing the mantle of Saviour wore heavy on her slender shoulders. Even with the rare peacefulness that the town was currently enjoying, Emma seemed to push herself harder than ever before with her training. When she wasn't working at the station with David, she and Killian were working on her sword fighting. When she wasn't with Killian, she was with Regina practicing her magic. When she wasn't with Regina, Killian, or David, she was with Mary Margaret learning how to use a bow and Arrow because "you never know when long range shooting skills might come in handy".
She tried her best to make time with Henry, but even then, she ended up squeezing time in with his riding lessons or sword fighting lessons, or his sailing lessons. At least when the three of them were out on the water, the sails full and billowing above them, the spray of the salt water cooling their skins, she seemed to relax a little. Those were some of the rare times that she didn't seem to be overburdened by her duties or training. And in the evenings when they were in the privacy of their room expressing their love to each other intimately, it fortified their soulmate bond and gave Emma the strength she needed to persevere.
Killian was glad that he could give her his strength and was able to help her find calm, even if for only a moment. What he found disconcerting was that there was something she was hiding from him, something that she kept hidden so that not even their soulmate bond would reveal it. He didn't know what could have happened, but he knew when.
After the incident with George and his attempt to murder both Emma and Killian, they managed to enjoy their lives together for 3 blissful weeks. In that time he, Emma and Henry stumbled upon a magical victorian home just a stones throw from the docks, Mary Margaret and David announced that they were pregnant with their second child, Neal and Tink finally admitted that they were in a serious relationship, while Henry fell in love with an orphaned husky puppy. He named her Jolly.
Things were going so well. Killian, Emma were preparing to buy their first home together, Henry couldn't tell if he was more excited about Jolly, getting to pick out stuff for his new room at the new house, the happiness of both of his biological parents, or the birth of his uncle or aunt. He even mentioned something about practicing for when he has a baby brother or sister. The lad was also working on a plan for Regina's happy ending and was doing research on how to help her find it. Everyone they cared about appeared to be relatively happy and enjoying their lives. Then one morning, Emma woke up from a nightmare so terrifying, it took Killian an interminable length of time to calm her down, the terror in her eyes and the way she sobbed in his arms made his heart ache for her.
Once she had settled though, there was a steel in her eyes that he knew quite well, and he knew that the peace they enjoyed was ended. Since then, Emma cancelled the deal to buy the house, stating that it was too far away from her parents "in case something happened." Instead of the house they had already begun to refer to as home, they moved into one of the empty apartments in the Charming's building. Even though Killian and Henry were a little disappointed, David and Mary Margaret were overjoyed that their daughter was only two floors down from them. It had two bedrooms - actual bedrooms not the loft style her parents had, one bathroom and barely enough room for the three of them and a pup. Killian and Henry could sense that something was going on with Emma, so they didn't complain. They moved in shortly after Emma signed the 6 month lease, referring to the place as "the apartment". It wasn't home and they hoped whatever had caused Emma to change her mind was something that they could work through by the time the lease was up.
Then Emma started to make a schedule for training and work. When they saw what Emma had written on the calendar that was stuck with magnets to the fridge, Killian and Henry looked at each other with raised eyebrows, and then to Emma who had woken up before the both of them to go for a jog before breakfast.
"What?" she had murmured, fixing them all a plate of egg whites and sliced fruit. "It wouldn't hurt to get ourselves organized and stop eating junk and sugar. We should start taking care of our health. You know, just in case."
"Just in case" seemed to have become Emma's mantra as she drove herself hard, focusing on her various training sessions with an intensity that caused her family concern. All attempts to discuss it with Emma have been met with irritation on her part. She would huffily tell them that she was just taking her role of saviour seriously, and go off to train some more. A month of this devotion to learning her magic, how to wield a sword, and how to effectively use a bow and arrow had resulted had raised her expertise in all three forms of battle exponentially. Regina claimed that she had nothing more to teach her, she had bested Killian a number of times and he was having difficulty keeping up, while Mary Margaret beamed that her daughter was even better than her at hitting the bullseye. The problem was that her loved ones could see the toll that the training was taking on Emma, as well as whatever secret that she was keeping.
"Emma love, why don't we cancel today's magic session with Regina," he suggested, sighing when he felt her stiffen in his arms. "Just one day. We can take Henry sailing, have dinner on the deck, give Henry another lesson in navigating by starlight, what do you say?"
"Killian, I can't," she replied in a pained voice, pulling away from his arms. "I have a schedule to keep."
"You can take an evening off," Killian reassured her. "Come on Swan, you've been working far too hard. The town is peaceful for now, let's enjoy it."
"For now is the key word," she reminded him. "Any minute now, we could have any number of villainous asshats crawling into town to create havoc. I want to be ready just in-"
"Case, right," Killian finished the sentence for her. "Love, I appreciate that you want to be prepared for whatever situation could arise, however, don't you think that we should also enjoy these quiet moments, the calm before the storm, or else how can we truly appreciate all that we're fighting for?"
"Aw crap," she muttered after picking up her cell phone from the familiar red leather jacket that she left on a nearby crate. "I'm gonna be late for Regina's training session. Man, she's totally going roast my ass. Literally."
"I take it I'm to pick up Henry from Neal's place?" he sighed resignedly. It was going to take some convincing, or else some detective work to find out what was truly bothering his love.
"Please?" she smiled at him, donning her jacket and preparing to leave for another set of training. "I should be back at the apartment for dinner. The three of us can enjoy some quiet time then."
"I shall hold you to that love," he replied, giving her an exasperated smile, and a quick peck to her lips. "Alright, off with you then. I'm rather fond of your ass and would prefer not to give Regina further excuses to roast it."
"See you later, Love." she grinned, completely botching what might have been an imitation of his accent before poofing off in a cloud of white smoke.
With a sigh, Killian put on his own leather jacket. It was a gift from Emma and Henry, and though it was shorter, and felt lighter than the leather duster he was accustomed to - he loved it none the less. He was still dashingly handsome with it on, and it was given to him by the people he loved most in the world. He strolled down the gangway and down the pier towards town. Killian found himself enjoying the sunlight as he walked towards the library, where Neal had been given Belle's apartment after she had moved in with Gold. Killian nodded to the various residents that he passed as he made his way to pick up Henry, greeting them as they greeted him. It felt nice to feel a sense of belonging and acceptance within the town, not just as Emma's companion, but as someone who worked to help keep the town and its people safe.
When he got to the entrance to Neal's apartment just past the main doors to the library, Killian used his talking phone to let Neal know he was there to pick up Henry.
"Oh hey Killian," Neal answered jovially. "Sorry, I kinda lost track of time. Could I just drop him off at your place? We're at my dad's place right now. I just thought we'd dust things off and clean things up since he and Belle are supposed to be back from their trip today."
"They've been gone for quite a while haven't they?" Killian mused, not entirely pleased with the idea of having to deal with the Crocodile's presence in the town after the relative quiet that they've ben experiencing. He thought it was quite bizarre that Gold and Belle had decided to suddenly leave for the cabin in the woods for an impromptu vacation, but then he supposed he was biased when it came to the dark one. Gold told his son that since there was no immediate threat to the town, he wanted to take the opportunity to have a romantic vacation with his lady love, even if the furthest they could go was the outskirts of town. Neal thought that his father was planning to propose to Belle, and everyone thought that making a commitment to the good hearted librarian meant that the dark one was prepared to leave behind his evil ways.
"It's been a couple of months," Neal agreed. "I got a call from him this morning that they're planning to come back tonight. He said the vacation went well, and that she accepted his proposal."
"Congratulations are in order I suppose," Killian muttered. "How are you doing with this news mate?"
"It's been a long time since everything with mom happened," Neal replied. "And honestly, she would have wanted us to move on ages ago. I just want to be happy, and I want all of us to be happy too. Belle makes dad happy, and she keeps him in line. Just like Emma does for you."
"Touché mate," Killian chuckled. "Alright, I'll head over to the apartment and meet you there."
"See you in a few." Neal replied before hanging up.
Killian pressed the little red button on his talking phone and walked briskly towards the apartment building where his family resided. A smile curled up at the corner of his lips at the thought of having a family. For so long, him having and being a part of a family was more than an impossibility, it was a distantly laughable dream. And now, he was part of a bizarre, famous, noble, heroic unit of people who would always fight for each other.
It didn't take long for him to reach the apartment he shared with Emma and Henry. He had just put his leather jacket on its allotted spot on the coat hanger by the door, when he heard Henry unlocking the door. Henry was accompanied by both Neal and Tink, who appeared to be absolutely besotted with each other. He teased them until they pointed out that he and Emma were just as bad, if not worse. Killian tried to protest, until Henry agreed with them.
"Traitor." Killian muttered, trying to suppress a smile.
"Why do you think I yell and make so much noise when I'm here?" snickered Henry. "I figure that if you can hear me coming, it lessens the chances of being scarred for life by walking in on my parents doing something I don't want to think about."
"Don't you have some homework to do?" Killian asked Henry, clearing his throat to rid it of the lump that was forming there. He looked towards Neal to see if he was bothered by Henry referring to Killian as one of his parents. Instead of looking even slightly perturbed at the thought, Neal appeared to be rather amused by it.
"Just some math…" Henry muttered, rolling his eyes at the thought of his most hated subject.
"You'd better get to it then bud," Neal smirked, ruffling his hair. "At least you have your other dad here to help you with that stuff. I'm terrible at math. Even Killian couldn't help me with navigational equations. I once tried to chart a course to the other side of Neverland. If the crew followed my instructions, we would have run aground."
"Really?" Henry's curious eyes widened. "Were you guys already at sail when you realized it? Did you get to take the helm-"
"Nice try at stalling lad," Killian cut him off and steering him by the shoulders towards his room. "Homework, now. I'll be along in a moment to help you with whichever equations you need assistance with. And then you can help me make dinner for your mum. We'll have macaroni and cheese."
"Awesome!" Henry cheered before skipping off to his room.
Killian made his way back to the front door, where Neal and Tink still waited for him.
"About what Henry said…." he began awkwardly, scratching behind his ear.
"Don't worry, I won't take offence at you not inviting us for a mac and cheese dinner," Neal said with a wry grin. "I may pout for a few days, but I doubt it'll go further than that. Unless you make your stuffed hen for dinner and decide not to invite us. Then I'll be upset."
"Don't listen to him," Tink laughed, elbowing Neal in the gut playfully. "He knows that whenever he has a craving for chicken he can go to Granny's."
"As for the other thing Henry said, you are practically his stepdad," Neal reassured him. "You and Emma are true loves, and you're great with Henry. I'm glad you're there for him the way you were there for me, you know, before we let our stubbornness get in between us. He knows you would move heaven and earth to make him and Emma happy, and that you two'll probably get married and have more kids. You are planning to propose soon, aren't you?"
"Aye, if I could get her to take a break from her training long enough to get down on one knee and ask," Killian grumbled, his thoughts returning to a precious piece of jewelry that seemed to be calling out to him constantly from the back of his closet. "She's just been so determined, rededicating herself to her role as the saviour that the only time she allows herself rest is on four occasions; dinner with Henry and I, when we have dinner with her parents, during sailing lessons with Henry, or when she sleeps. And even then her sleep is too short."
"She's just become used to the constant threat looming over the town," Tink reminded him. "The peace and quiet over the town is likely making her nervous. Just talk to her, make her make time for the most important question of her life. Don't wait, because before you know it, there will be another threat to Storybrooke, and you really will be too busy battling the latest villain to make time for a romantic moment."
Little did Killian know how right Tinkerbelle was, or how soon her words would come to pass.