Interlude: Hook and Anton

"So, what did you do to piss Emma off?" the giant asked Hook.

"Nothing," he responded, tugging at the cuff to try to find a weakness.

"Really? Leaving you up here like this? You must have done something," the giant said.

Hook fiddled with the handcuff, trying to see again if he could pick the lock. Unfortunately, even if he could, that giant had threatened him with immense physical pain if he tried to escape.

"Emma said I could let you go in ten hours. But in the meantime, that's a lot of time to waste. Why don't you tell me about yourself?" the giant asked.

"Why?"

"Because we don't have to be enemies. It's been a long time since I've had the chance to talk to anyone else, and I know that you can't hurt me right now. So, talk."

Killian inspected his hook to avoid looking at the giant. Unfortunately, the humongous presence could no longer be ignored. "Killian Jones."

"Anton. So, why did Emma leave you up here?" he asked again.

"Not going to forget about that, are you?" Killian sighed.

"Did you hurt her? I noticed her hand was bandaged," Anton asked.

"I would never hurt her!" Killian insisted. Even the insinuation hurt him. One hundred years had changed him in many ways, but it had done nothing to diminish his feelings for the beautiful, intelligent, courageous, absolutely infuriating woman.

"Did you steal from her? Insult her? Insult her family?" Anton asked without waiting for any answers.

"She doesn't trust me. Not yet at least," Killian answered.

"Oh. Well, what makes you so sure she'll trust you later?"

Killian let the question hang in the air. He thought about what he would actually say to the giant. Since his crew disappeared with the curse twenty-eight years ago, he'd had no one to confide in. Anton, despite his reputation, was in fact quite amiable and easy to talk to. The giant would never leave his castle after all, and so could never tell anyone else his secrets.

"Can I trust you to keep a secret?"

Anton nodded with enthusiasm. "I don't really have anyone to tell, do I?"

"Emma and I have a long history together. We first met one hundred years ago."

"Wait, one hundred years?" Anton interrupted.

"Fairy dust is pretty magical stuff mate," Hook joked. Anton's only response was to kneel down so he was closer to the storyteller. "Emma arrived on my ship, and she needed my help to find her way home. As you saw for yourself, she's quite the impressive lass. I couldn't help but find myself completely taken in by her."

"But she didn't return the affection?" Anton asked, now doing a perfect impression of a teenage girl at a sleepover, laying on his stomach, hands cradling his face, feet hanging in the air and moving slowly back and forth.

"Actually, it took her a while, but eventually my charms won her over."

"So what happened? Did she catch you with another woman?" Anton asked.

"No! Would you stop interrupting and just let me tell my story?" Anton ran his fingers across his lips to indicate his acquiescence.

"Nothing went wrong between the two of us. The reason Emma is less than pleased with me right now is that she hasn't fallen in love with me, yet."

"What?" Anton asked, then immediately clapped his hands over his mouth to avoid another outburst.

"These events are still in the future for her. A strange portal will send her one hundred years to the past, allowing her to fall in love with me."

Anton stared for a moment, silence allowing both to sink into their personal thoughts. "So, Emma isn't in love with you, but she will be in the future? But that's in the past for you?" Anton clarified.

"Exactly. My goal right now is to just bide my time and prepare her to be open to love when it comes. Trust me, she has a long way to go."

"You love her now? How can you stand it, caring for someone that doesn't care for you back?" Anton asked. His eyes were shining slightly, betraying his emotions.

"I have hope. I know that one day she will be in love with me. Until then, I remember what I had with her. The way her hair creates a perfect golden halo, particularly when the morning sun hit it splayed across her pillow. I love the way her entire face lights up when she laughs, no one can help but smile with her. And when she talks about her son, the only person in the world who can compete with me for her affection." Killian paused for a moment to overcome his emotions. He had not talked about Emma this openly ever. Even when his crew members would mention her, he would withdraw from the conversation to avoid the pain the memories gave him.

"Are you going to tell her?" Anton asked.

"I wasn't planning to. I wish I could, but I made Emma a promise. I need to wait for her to make the first move, after she's returned from her journey to Neverland. Once she has come back though, she won't be allowed to leave my sight ever again."

Anton sighed wistfully. His eyes were still shimmering, and it was definitely not a trick of the light. Gone was the harsh, angry giant that had stormed out earlier to attack the intruders. This man was not unlike Killian; broken, alone, looking for something that he may never find.

"I told you my story, why don't you tell me yours?" Killian asked, realizing how much he just needed someone to care about him.

Anton was shocked by the question and he became overly nervous at the request. "My story? What do you mean?"

"Everyone knows that history is written by the victors. What was your contribution to the Jack story?"

Anton's face lost all of its previous softness. "Don't mention that horrible name! Jack was a lying, thieving coward!"

Killian didn't push the subject, not wanting to encourage the murderous rage that could emerge from the giant. Silence pervaded the room for several minutes. Eventually, Anton sighed deeply and began explaining his story.

"When Jack and James betrayed me, I swore to never trust humans again. Emma is the only human that I trust now."

Killian tried not to be offended that he had not also gained that trust. He must be loosing his edge if no one could trust him. "James?" he asked, trying to assess what this new information was about.

"The prince. Jack made me believe that he needed money, they pretended to be my friends, so I thought I could give them some of my treasure. It's not like we used it anyway."

"You didn't?" Killian was reassessing just how much treasure he could take with him if Anton wouldn't miss it.

"All my brothers and I did was cultivate the beans, but we never used them."

"Why grow them in the first place then?" Killian asked.

"They're magic beans with the power to travel between realms? Why not grow them?" Anton asked. Killian nodded at the logic, and he wished that he had known this information when there were still beans available to steal.

"So, Jack and James wanted treasure?" Killian asked.

"No, they wanted the beans. But they would have used them the exact same way that every other human would - to travel to other lands and wreck havoc there."

"Isn't that what you did? How you got all your treasure?" Killian asked.

"No! Never! As guardians of the beans, we were also responsible for holding onto treasures that were lost or too valuable to be out in the world."

Killian didn't say anything in response, but he had a feeling that whatever Anton said about the giants, not all of their intentions were completely honorable. "What happened then? To the beans?"

"I was curious. I was fascinated by the human world, before I knew just how cruel they could be. I went down there, met James and Jack. When they said they needed money, I went back up to get it. They followed me, and Jack had a sword covered in poison. One stab, and it caused a slow, painful death. While she cut and slashed at my brothers, I had to burn and salt the fields, so nothing could ever grow again." The last part of the explanation was lost on Killian.

"Wait, 'she'? Jack was a woman?" Killian asked.

"Yeah, Jacqueline. She and James were involved with one another. Obviously he wasn't as devoted to his girl as you are though. She was stabbed with her own sword, and James left her to die while he ran off with a bag full of treasure. Since that day, I've been alone."

Killian allowed him a minute to calm down and relax from his story. The things that he had revealed certainly tugged on his own heart strings, and he felt an overwhelming desire to help out the giant. "You don't have to be alone you know. There are very few humans left in this realm since Regina's curse took most of them away."

"Curse? What curse?" Anton asked.

"I guess it didn't really affect you, did it?" Killian explained the curse as succinctly as possible, leading the two into silence.

"Say, Anton, don't you think it's about time you let me go?" Killian asked, raising his eyebrows suggestively. He hoped enough bonding had gone on for Anton to give him a shot at catching up to Emma.

"I guess so. Here." Anton pulled out a key and dropped it into Killian's hand. He tried to maneuver his wrist, but there was no way he could unlock the cuff himself.

"A little help, please?" Killian asked.

"Oh, I can try." Anton picked up the key again. He pinched it between his thumb and forefinger and attacked the cuff roughly.

"Easy now friend. Slowly, gently," Killian guided him.

It took several minutes and some harsh tugs on Killian's wrist, but eventually they managed to get the handcuff unlocked.

"Well, Anton, it's been - an actual pleasure. If you ever find yourself back among humans, look me up," Killian said.

Anton bent over and swallowed Killian's hand with his own. "Goodbye Captain. Before you go, take this." Anton removed a chain hanging around his neck and handed it to Killian.

"What is this?"

"It's the last magic bean in existence. Unfortunately it can't work right now, but I've heard about a place that can restore what was lost. If you find that place, you could use this bean to get you and Emma home."

Killian looked at the tiny object in his hand. It touched him, knowing that Anton really did trust him, and that he could actually find a way to save Emma without having to face Cora and her wrath again.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. And good luck with Emma!" Killian saluted the giant, and he was off.

AN: I hope you enjoyed this "deleted scene" as much as I enjoyed writing it. I really wish we could have actually seen in the show. I apologize if my Anton came off too much like Hurley, but I love that character so much, and I feel like they could be really similar. As always, reviews are love!