A/N: So after a while away from this story, I am back this week with a chapter that brings two pretty big events. The first is a more active flirtation with the M rating (if you know my stories you know I am always impatient to get to that smut) and the second is the talk I hinted at weeks back between David and Killian about what the heck is going on in Storybrooke. As such you can expect some cuteness and some humor as well as some deeper moments, and since this chapter is all from Killian's POV we'll get a good sketch of what he wants and where he's at before hearing Emma's response in the next installment. Anyway thank you so much for reading and I hope you all enjoy!
Standing at the window of his kitchen one morning a few weeks later, Killian found himself caught up in all sorts of thoughts about the life he'd found here in Storybrooke and the way his world had so drastically changed.
Only a few short months ago Killian had been an entirely different man, consumed only with the grind of his day job and catching the next story to put him over the top. Since he wasn't working the featured sections or writing fluffy human interest pieces for the paper, his work had been on the bleaker end of things, and though there had been some fulfillment in assisting in his own small way with justice for the victims of the crimes he reported on, there was always that dark cloud cast around it all. To top it off he'd also lived in a noisy, crowded city, and he'd fancied himself more than content with that, but God had he been blind, and he never would have realized it if it weren't for a random postcard from this peculiar little town.
Now in hindsight Killian could see that coming to Storybrooke had been the catalyst for so much good in his life and also so much necessary change. This move had opened him up to all matter of things he hadn't realized were missing from his life before. He was at last beginning to feel like he was a part of something larger, and as each day passed Killian felt himself carving out a place here not just in the community of friendly neighbors, but in the lives of two particularly special ones who resided next door.
"I can't believe there was a time when you didn't live here," Henry had said last night when Killian joined him and Emma for dinner at their house. "It feels like you've been here forever, like you've always belonged here."
The words had sent a straight shot of emotion through Killian's chest and his throat had gone tight with the pleasure of hearing that. Clearly Henry hadn't meant it to be such an overwhelming statement, but to Killian it was one, and it was only compounded further when Henry asked his mother if she agreed and Emma smiled before nodding that she did. Words couldn't readily express what that had meant to him, but one thing that Killian had learned since coming here was that sometimes words weren't necessary. He knew in his heart that Emma had understood the impact of that moment for him, and when she'd taken his hand there at the table right in front of Henry it had cemented last night as a truly bright spot in an already transformative spell of time since his moving here.
And speaking of bright spots, Killian noticed from where he was cleaning away the last of the dishes he'd left from yesterday that after a morning spent away setting up for the harvest celebrations tonight Emma and Henry had arrived back home. He'd offered to go with them and be of any assistance that he could more than once, but Emma assured him that they would be fine and then made the comment that perhaps he could get some writing done for the book he'd finally gotten around to starting after weeks of distraction.
It was more than thoughtful of Emma to be looking out for him and what he wanted, and Killian had honored Emma's wishes for a little while, but now that she was back in his orbit once more thoughts of returning to the laptop in his study and developing the small town mystery he was writing were completely erased. Instead he found himself moving through the front door of the house under the guise of checking for mail he'd already gotten today, and when he was spotted he was immediately greeted by an eager and excited Henry who was waiting at the front steps of his and Emma's home.
"Hey Killian! Did you manage to get your work all done?"
"Aye lad I did. Your trick worked wonders."
Henry grinned at the compliment and the mention of the bit of advice that he had offered last night about how to motivate oneself to do work. It wasn't a terribly complicated process, and it basically just required setting up a series of bribes and rewards to enjoy whenever he reached a significant milestone, but Killian had utilized it in the few hours he'd spent at the drawing board today. The only thing was he'd swapped out the suggested ice cream breaks Henry had pitched with a tiny taste of some of the treats from Stay a Spell that Emma had given him to take home last night. They'd been as divine as everything else made by Emma's hand, but they'd also had the added bonus of being something to remind him of her, and it was those pleasant thoughts of seeing Emma again that really had Killian trying to get as much done as he could in the time when she was away.
"I told you it would!" Henry exclaimed as if it had been the most obvious thing in the world, and Killian chuckled at the precocious boy as Emma popped back out of the house. Then all of Killian's attention was on her as she came to stand beside him.
"Hey you," she whispered before pressing a kiss to his cheek that was chaste and appropriate given their youthful audience, but still sent a thrill of delight through Killian all the same. That feeling of rightness was then only increased when she offered her hand to take his with an ease that spoke to their special kind of intimacy.
"I see you and Henry are back from the set up. Did you get everything exactly as Belle desired?"
"Ha, hardly," Emma scoffed, cementing to Killian that his read on Emma's friend had been right and that though she was kind and lovely normally, she'd gone a little over the top as the leader of this town event. "With a perfectionist like Belle there's always something else that could be better or bigger or brighter. But it looks great and she'll see that when everyone gets there tonight. It's going to be a good showing this year for sure."
"Totally," Henry agreed. "I can't wait to tell Grace all about it when she gets here. We've even got a corn maze this time!"
"That's the reason we're back so early," Emma confided, filling in the blanks for Killian about Henry's new plans since at last meeting Killian was under the impression that tonight it would be the three of them venturing through the festival together. "Grace and her Dad stopped by to ask if Henry wanted to go with them tonight, and as soon as they floated Granny's for dinner Henry was in."
"What can I say? I know a good deal when I see one," Henry proclaimed and the three of them laughed before Grace and Jefferson pulled up to take Henry on his night's new adventure, with both Emma and Killian waving goodbye after them.
"So now that Henry's off, are you headed back to the square, Swan?" Killian asked, his thumb tracing over her wrist lightly as Emma moved a little closer to him, filling the space around him with a charged sense of yearning that hadn't been there only seconds before.
"No. I've clocked my good deed hours for the day but Elsa and Anna will be here pretty soon to pick me up so we can get ready at Ruby's."
"Ah, and here I was thinking you look stunning as is, love," Killian whispered, his voice dipping into that register that always seemed to provoke Emma. He watched as she licked her lips and then looked around, no doubt seeing what Killian had seen when he exited his house and ventured out here minutes before, which was a number of well meaning but rather nosey neighbors that were currently watching them.
"I was actually meaning to ask if I could get that shovel back that you borrowed before I go," Emma said with a smile at a slightly higher volume so that the eavesdroppers would hear and be thrown off the scent. It was flawlessly done too, and if Killian hadn't known that was code for a private interlude in the back shed behind his house he'd have believed her to truly be looking for the garden tool which he'd already returned. As it was though, Killian was eager to follow Emma's lead and get out of earshot of their over interested audience.
"Aye, love. It's just back here."
With measured steps so as not to seem too eager, Killian and Emma moved from the front yard back around the house. It was hard to move slowly when so much enticement stood before him, but somehow Killian prevailed and with as much calm as he could muster given the active surging of want coursing through him, Killian led Emma into the smaller building and then shut the door behind her, sealing them off from ambient sounds of the neighborhood and into a slightly more shadowy place.
The shed was mostly dark save for the sunlight that came in through the window, and though it had started a rather dusty, old place when Killian bought the property, he had seen to cleaning it up entirely as soon as the first opportunity came for him to steal a precious moment in here with Emma some weeks ago. Now it was a spot that they found themselves coming to more and more, and though Killian yearned for the days when they had more time and the ability to get lost in each other in the comfort of his bed or hers, this was what they could have in this moment, and he wouldn't turn down this chance for anything or anyone.
In seconds Emma was in his arms and Killian didn't know who started the kiss first but he did know it was heaven itself. It didn't matter that time had given him more access to Emma and more knowledge of the fire that burned underneath the surface, she was still like a live wire in his hands every time, sending his systems askew so the only thing he could feel and see and taste was her. She was everywhere and yet not close enough all at once, but soon enough the little space that was separating them was closed and their bodies were flush against each other as one of his hands held the small of her back and the other intertwined with the thick golden locks she'd set free from her hair tie at some point in the day. Eventually the back of her thighs came to hit against the wooden counter along the shed's wall that was totally cleared off for moments like this, and Killian boosted her up to sit there comfortably with her legs falling open as he came to stand between them.
"I keep telling myself we shouldn't do this," Emma moaned as Killian's mouth eventually moved from her lips down her jaw and to her slender neck.
Once there he was a mix of rough and tender with his attentions, wanting simultaneously to wind Emma up while pleasuring her perfectly. It wasn't enough of course, not nearly enough to have either of them fully satisfied, but as his hand slid down to meet the hem of her skirt and then moved up her thigh to the scrap of cotton that was all that lay between him and her waiting sex, Killian growled against her, satisfied that she was ready and needy for him.
"And why's that, love?" Killian asked as he pulled back, watching her eyes heat even more from their jade color to an almost molten green as his finger traced through the damp material against her sensitive flesh.
"Because it's risky. Someone could have seen us coming in here," Emma said, her eyes darting towards the yard before another low moan escaped her lips as Killian's fingers pushed past the seem of the thin fabric she wore and delved deeper into her. "Or they could hear us."
Killian chuckled at that, not because he found the thought particularly funny. Far from it actually since with Emma he was almost possessive with his want for privacy between him and her. The thought of anyone happening along these intimate moments clawed at him and were far from desirable, but it was Emma's feistiness and spirit that got to him now and flooded him with warmth. Even in the face of pleasure, pleasure that Killian could see written all over her gorgeous face and feel from the shivering thrills of her body against his, Emma had something to say. She was never at a loss for words and her wit was always there, reminding him that she was brilliant and so far beyond any other woman he'd ever met.
"I'd never let that happen, love," Killian whispered, meaning every part of that vow as his lips came to brush against her ear before he nipped the lobe ever so slightly. "Just trust me."
Emma didn't need to verbally confirm that she did either, for her actions were enough and the arching of her hips higher to him and towards his hand as her arms came around his neck were profession enough. She was beautiful like this, chasing a high that she wanted only him to give her, but it was that unspoken bond and that earned sense that she could actually put her faith in him that riled Killian up most. He had to taste her, had to claim her and his mouth came crashing back down to hers as his thumb swirled against her clit and her fingers filled her, reaching that spot inside he knew would set her off in just a matter of moments.
"Killian," she sighed into his mouth, her eyes closed and her breathing ragged. "I'm close."
Bloody hell those words and that damn thready tone of hers was invigorating. Nothing could ever compare to that, to the sensuous note of Emma reaching the climax she wanted. It was music to his ears and a boost to his ego, but it wasn't enough. Killian wouldn't be satisfied until she'd given her release to him and when he told her as much he felt her tighten, chasing that ecstasy even more until she was so close to the edge that the slightest brush would send her over.
"Someday soon, Emma, we're going to have more than this. A whole night just you and me, with hours spent showing you just how much I want you."
"God, yes," Emma whimpered, her eyes still closed and her lips looking swollen from the kisses he'd just taken.
"But for now I want to feel you come apart, Swan. I want you to feel this. Feel me. Let go, love."
No sooner had he given that command than she was cresting, falling over into bliss against his hand and setting him aflame as she did. He was rock hard right now, aching to take more of her, but it wasn't going to happen. Truthfully Killian knew how lucky they'd just gotten, for there were some times when interruption had come calling in the past week and they'd both left this tiny cabin like space frustrated, but at least he could see Emma happy and sated, and for him that would always be the greatest reward.
"Screw the risk," Emma said as she came down from her high, her breaths evening out as her eyes still shone with that hazy sense of lust that came after the best kind of loving. "It's worth it."
"I'm glad you agree, love," Killian whispered, his lips coming to stop just an inch from hers. "Because I've no intention of cutting back on these little moments of ours."
"Good," Emma whispered before pressing another kiss to his lips and then driving him right to the edge of madness as her hand moved further south down from his chest along the flat planes of his abdomen to the button of his jeans. She was seconds away from granting him the surest form of pleasure and taking him in hand, and past instances had taught Killian that he was totally in her control when Emma held the reins, but then, as if fate deemed fit to laugh at him, interruption came in the form of a car out front and the not so far away sounds of voices that Killian recognized as Elsa and Anna.
"You've got to be kidding me," Emma muttered to herself before shooting him an apologetic look, but Killian wasn't having that at all and he distracted her look of guilt with another kiss that seemed to wash away her tiny bit of defeat.
"We've faced worse setbacks love, and besides… there's always tomorrow," Killian promised, bringing a light back to Emma's eyes that spoke to hope that he was right and that they would, in fact, have more time spent like this together soon.
"You're still coming tonight, right?" Emma asked as she tried to tidy up her appearance a bit and Killian grinned at the sight of her cheeks appearing just a touch more flushed and her hair tousled a bit from the way he'd run his fingers through it. She threw it back up in a hair tie quickly and with an effectiveness that spoke to the fact that they'd done this more than a few times now, and that fact only made Killian's blood hum more and the want low in his gut climb higher.
"I wouldn't miss it. I'm grabbing a beer with David this evening, but I'll be over straight away when that's taken care of," Killian promised, wondering for a moment if Emma would realize what that talk might be about with her best friend's husband. After all, Killian was planning to confront David finally on what was really going on in this town, but Emma thankfully was oblivious, and only smiled wider at his words.
"Look at you making friends," she quipped.
"That's what you do when you find a new home, Swan."
"You get beer with the local vet?" Emma asked teasingly and Killian shook his head before pulling her to him once more, cutting through her humor with a bit of seriousness.
"Aye, love, but more importantly you put down roots."
"I like the sound of that," Emma whispered and Killian beamed down at her, taking her in and memorizing this moment so he'd have it with him always.
"As do I."
Unfortunately for both of them there was no more time in this particular instance to linger together or say more, but in a way that might have been a blessing, for after this stolen interlude with Emma Killian found three little words threatening to slip past the tip of his tongue. He couldn't be a hundred percent sure, of course, but it felt to him like he'd been close to saying that he loved her and at some point her smiles and her laughter and the general goodness that followed Emma everywhere would have sent him over the edge, having him confessing the truth of his heart before either of them was totally ready.
That urge to tell Emma how he really felt and the intense nature of the feelings he had for her had been cropping up more and more over the past few weeks, but what had won out in the battle between truth and concealment up to now was that Killian wanted – no needed – this to be right for Emma. The last thing he wanted was to push her for too much too fast, especially given how much more progress they'd made these past few weeks. In truth they'd gotten farther than he'd ever thought possible, especially given some of the tales she'd revealed from her previous interactions with romance, and Killian had learned from the mistakes of others. Instead of bumbling in he was going to be patient, and only when he knew that Emma wouldn't want to run from his advances would he give her those three words. In the meantime he was just trying to prove his love for her without having to put it in so many words, and though he'd already given her his heart, he was keeping that quiet for now until the time was right.
That didn't mean Killian wasn't actively thinking about all of this though, and these were the thoughts largely on his mind as he got ready for his evening out and then headed to the one bar that Storybrooke boasted. It was only when he'd actually entered the premises that he began to realize just how large a conversation he might be in for right now, and it took actually seeing David in the flesh for anything like worry to crop up on Killian's radar.
"Well look whose blending in like a regular townie," David said as he came to take a seat at the booth Killian had staked a claim on upon arriving. "Let me guess, Tiny even knows your drink order already."
"That he does," Killian agreed before nodding to the beer that had been ordered for David. "And he knows yours too."
"He better, otherwise what the hell am I tipping for?"
"The unparalleled ambiance no doubt," Killian joked and that had the two of them laughing, cutting away a large amount of the tension Killian was feeling and leaving him a little less daunted by what was about to unfold.
"I won't lie, I kind of expected this talk to come sooner, you being such an observant guy and all. But then again my company's probably not as desirable as Emma's and from what I hear you two have been spending an awful lot of time together."
"Oh come on now, Dave. We're friends right? You can be honest with me. I know you and your wife take a keen interest in Emma's love life. There's no need to pretend otherwise."
"What makes you say that?" David asked with all his normal good humor and a raised brow and Killian shrugged as he presented the irrefutable evidence.
"Well there's the comments I get from Mary Margaret every time I see her in town for one thing, and then also the fact that you and the missus have just 'happened to be nearby' three of the last four times Emma and I were out and about."
"Touché," David acquiesced with a laugh.
"Not that I can really fault you, mate. Seems a symptom of Storybrooke that everyone's got a need to know everything. As often as I've seen you and Mary Margaret, I've seen Graham and Ruby at least twice that much."
"Yeah, that doesn't surprise me in the slightest. Mary Margaret might be the mother hen of the group, but Ruby's the self-appointed defender, and she's gonna keep an eye on you until she's totally sure you're the right guy for Emma no matter how much she likes you."
"Any idea how long that will take?" Killian asked, not even bothering to hide that he was indeed angling for that kind of approval since he did believe himself to be the right man for his Swan, or at least a man who could love her more than anything else in the world as a woman like her deserved.
"Probably until you're married. Maybe engaged if something else pops up to keep her busy."
"Right then," Killian muttered before lifting the glass of rum that was on the table before him and toasting his glass upwards in a salute to David. "Cheers."
David returned the sentiment before drinking more of his beer, and then the moment of truth came where it was Killian's turn to make mention of why they were here at all. The only problem was that even if he was certain of what he was about to discuss with David, there was no easy way to broach the topic. As far as Killian knew there was no how to guide on discussing the existence and extent of magic in the world, and there definitely wasn't a manual on how to try and extrapolate information about how much it affected the woman he loved. So Killian was left to go on instinct. Luckily for him though, David seemed to read this predicament he was facing and he opened a window to that talk before Killian could find a graceful way to do so.
"So you've got your suspicions about what makes Storybrooke special, huh?" he asked measuredly and Killian exhaled a sigh before nodding.
"Aye, but look mate, I don't know how to say this without sounding crazy so I'll just put it out there: this town isn't normal. There are just too many little things – and some not so little things - off about it that logic can't explain away. It's like…"
"It's like…?" David asked, clearly eager to hear Killian's take on the situation but still reining himself in as he took another sip of his beer.
"Well it's like magic, probably because I suspect that's exactly what it is. I don't know how it works, and I obviously don't have definitive proof, but I know what I've seen and I know what I know. The only thing I don't understand – or I guess I should say the main thing I don't understand - is how the hell it's possible. I mean it shouldn't be possible."
With those words out there in the air between them, Killian didn't know what to expect. The wholly rational part of his brain, the part that was driven by decades of reasoning and still sometimes grappled with the fact that what his eyes had seen in certain cases couldn't possibly be true, was somewhat hoping for a rebuttal. It expected David to laugh at him and maybe toss out some mocking words, but instead there was nothing but a spark of something like recognition and then a measured nod as David put his beer bottle back on the countertop.
"And if it is possible..?" David asked casually, still apparently trying to size up Killian's reaction to the thought that there was some kind of supernatural force in town and amongst its people. "If Storybrooke has magic in it, what's that mean for you?"
"Well it means everything to me, because it's a part of Emma and Emma's… well Emma's fast becoming everything."
Finally after a few moments of severity and an almost stony face, David let loose a smile and though Killian had only spoken his mind he felt that he'd said something right, or at least something to gain more of the trust of his new friend and confidant. In that instant Killian knew this conversation was about to shift and he felt a sense of validation and a renewed eagerness to find out what he could so he'd be best prepared to be what Emma and what Henry would need. Because at the end of the day that was what mattered to him. He didn't care about abilities or how Emma had them or where they came from. All he cared about was that if she needed his support he could give it, and if she needed his understanding he could give that too. But he couldn't decipher where his place should be until he knew more, and that was why he'd even bothered coming to David at all about this.
"So no plans to run for the hills?" David clarified and Killian scoffed at the idea that he'd be heading in any direction other than towards Emma before retorting.
"Not bloody likely."
"Good man. Well I'll answer what I can, but some of this – heck most of this – is stuff you should probably hear from Emma when she's ready."
Killian agreed with that whole-heartedly and he looked forward to the day when she would confide in him, but for the time being there were some basic facts and groundwork that he wanted to get a handle on. It would make him feel better about all of this, and hopefully when the time did come for Emma to reveal the truth to him he'd be better prepared for her story if he understood these new rules of engagement a world with magic might have.
"You should also know I talked to Graham and Kristoff before coming here, and half the reason I'm even trusting you with this information is because Graham was incredibly thorough with the background check he ran on you. We're talking dark web, NSA level stuff. I honestly don't know how he does it."
Killian found himself chuckling again at that, not even remotely surprised that Graham had dug into the trenches of Killian's past and present. There wasn't anything he'd find to pose as a red flag of any sort, and though another person might have been offended, Killian couldn't muster that sentiment. After all Graham loved Ruby, and if that love was anything like what Killian felt for Emma, he could understand wanting to protect her at all costs no matter what the moral implications might be.
"That's just half the reason? What else possibly swayed you?" Killian prodded and then David grinned again.
"You did, or rather the way you are with Emma did. There's no denying what we all see when the two of you are together, and I have to believe feelings like that can't be faked. Call me a romantic but love like the one you seem to have for her just has to be real."
"It's real," Killian agreed. "It's so real that the rest of it almost doesn't matter. Whatever you tell me now isn't going to change how I feel, it's only going to help me be a better man for her."
David seemed to take that as his final sign that confiding in Killian would be okay, and over the next twenty minutes or so he laid out a number of elements about magic and Storybrooke that he understood from his place at the periphery of it all. He told Killian about how though Storybrooke was unique, it wasn't the only community of its kind in the world, and that magic in itself took on many different forms. Some fictional depictions of it were kind of on to something, but most were hyperbolic and largely incorrect. There weren't any vampires or banshees running around haunting this place, and there wasn't a war going on between good and evil or light and dark, just a number of people with a variety of gifts that were all used in the service of making this place a better little of the corner of the world to live in and helping out their fellow neighbors in good times and bad.
As far as Emma and her friends went, the six of them (including Anna who David said did not have magic of her own) had taken it upon themselves to live by that mentality of using magic only for good and for the right reasons. They had inherited as such a lot of the duties of past magical folks in town who watched over everyone and protected the peace and quiet Storybrooke boasted, but of the lot of them the only one who hadn't grown up within the comforts of a town that knew about and accepted magic was Emma. This for Killian began to explain so much and now he could only imagine how much harder it would have been for her as a child growing up in the system. Coming of age and moving through the world without a family would be hard enough, but struggling to understand her magic when there was no one to tell her that this was real and that she wasn't some freakish anomaly must have been so painful. It hurt Killian even to think that way, yet David didn't get into specifics both because he didn't want to betray Emma's confidences and because he didn't really have many answers.
"I love Emma like she's family because she is, but even now and even with us she's still guarded. All I know for sure is that when Emma came to town after a string of really crappy breaks it took her some time to accept the way things were. I wasn't here back then, but from what Mary Margaret says they were all more than a little worried that she wouldn't find her place here at all and that she wouldn't let anyone in…"
"But she stayed for Henry and the trust and belonging followed," Killian filled in, knowing that was the case even if the version of the story he had from Emma herself didn't include the presence of supernatural powers or that extra layer of ostracizing Emma had felt all those years before arriving in Maine.
"Exactly."
"And did you know about magic before you got here?" Killian asked, pulling a full on laugh from David that instantly spoke to how far from the case that was.
"No way. Before Mary Margaret people said magic and I thought David Blaine and those other posers that have people flocking to Vegas, but I checked and he's not really, you know, gifted. At least not according to Belle whose got some sort of registry for magical people in the public eye."
"And when Mary Margaret did finally tell you how did you react?"
"Same as you. I had my suspicions about some things and I felt like I was going crazy reading too much into it, but when she told me it didn't sway me at all. It was just something else to love her for. I honestly felt relieved to know, and then I felt sure that she was in it as much as I was and that was all I wanted."
"Sounds nice," Killian mused, not jealous per se, but desirous to get to that point sooner rather than later with Emma so he could feel that certainty as well.
"It was and within the week I asked her to marry me. There was no more denying what we were then, and what we were – what we still are – is right for each other."
Killian's heart began to ache at that, and again he was happy for his friend, a man who was clearly deserving of finding that kind of love and with Emma's good friend no less, but there was that longing deep in his soul to get to that place with Emma. He was being patient and he would remain as such, but it was difficult to do so when he felt as ready as he did for more.
"You'll get there, Killian," David said then as if reading his mind. "But Emma's going to take a little longer than Mary Margaret did just because of who she is and what she's been through."
"She tried to tell someone before, didn't she?" Killian asked, suspecting that she must have at the very least attempted to be candid with Henry's father. From the little bit Killian knew, Emma had tried to make it work with the man before he bolted out of the picture so fast he left blurred lines in his wake, but now Killian was positive that it wasn't just from the man not wanting commitment, but also not accepting magic and thus Emma in kind.
"She did and it went just as terribly as you're thinking. But she's getting there, and soon enough you guys will have your moment too and then we can wait around for the next guy to show up here trying to marry Elsa or Belle. Who knows, maybe then you can join me on this little magical introduction. We could make it a whole routine and everything."
"Sounds like a plan, mate," Killian agreed before ordering them both another drink and deciding to enjoy the little time they had before the evening's festivities without the heaviness of the town's big secret weighing around them.
It was actually surprisingly easy to do so too, but perhaps Killian shouldn't have been so shocked because he did know David to be a good man and an easy going kind of person. In fact, it was so easy and the mood was so light that Killian left the bar a little while later with David at his side knowing that this was another sign of the rightness of his coming here. This simplicity in forming new bonds and finding good people was a mark in Storybrooke's favor, and it only cemented Killian's belief that he'd been meant to find his way here and to the citizens who called this place home.
"So… are you ready for your first Storybrooke festival?" David asked smugly as they drew nearer to the town square where all the festivities were being held.
"More than you know," Killian countered, but perhaps he'd spoken too soon, for right at the moment the crowds of milling people broke long enough so that he could see Emma once more and this gorgeous, intriguing, and thoroughly complicated woman took his breath away as she so often did.
With her long flowing white skirt and a crown of wild flowers in her freely hanging golden hair, Emma was a vision, and whatever imagery he'd had in his mind with the limited knowledge he possessed of this evening beforehand, it was all blown out of the water when he took her in in full. She was a siren, a fairy, a creature out of lore made real somehow, and he was so completely under her spell that resistance wasn't possible. He felt every part the moth drawn to a flame with no wish to change that instinct, and then right at that instant she looked his way as if sensing his arrival and she smiled at him across the temporary fair grounds, filling him up with so much feeling and light it was almost too much to bear.
Without thinking at all and without so much as a word of goodbye to David Killian was in motion, making his way to her, and in those fleeting seconds where they were still apart, Killian reflected on how this woman was undeniably his future. There was simply no denying that this was the path he was supposed to be on, and everything had to work out in the end no matter what may come because he simply couldn't go on without having Emma Swan in his life and in his heart. Whatever happened, Killian would make Emma feel his love for her, and somehow, someway he'd win her heart and claim the ultimate prize of belonging to her and in her world for now and always.
Post-Note: So originally I was going to have this chapter include both Killian's talk with David and the harvest celebration/magical ritual from Emma's POV, but it soon became apparent to me that that was not going to work. There were just too many things I wanted to include to have it all in one installment, but not to worry. My hope is to get Emma's responding chapter (and also the full earning of the M rating) out sometime in the next week or so, and eventually I should have more time to commit to this story because I have two other AUs coming quickly to a close. Anyway thank you all so much for reading and I hope that you enjoyed!
