Disclaimer: Anything you recognize doesn't belong to me.
There might be something there that wasn't there before.
~Not Imagine Dragons: Monster
Emma's mouth drops open. She quickly closes it, only for it to drop again.
"What the-?" She trails off, unsure of what word could exactly describe her mood. She decides to leave the gap just as it is, and shakes her head disapprovingly at the gown on her bed.
It's quite beautiful, a white dress, tight bodice with a bead outline, and a full skirt, appearing to be made from Swan feathers. It's really very gorgeous, and Emma had taken an instant liking to it, really she had, but there's a small problem nagging at the back of her head.
It's too beautiful for you.
And it's quite true.
Due to Emma's lapse of emotion and feeling when she first arrived, she had gotten horribly skinny, developed bags under her eyes, her hair had lost its luster. She was, in a word, disappointing. The swan dress is beautiful, perfect. Emma? Well, Emma is broken. And the broken do not fit the clothes of the beautiful.
She sighs, and searches for some new clothes, uncomfortable in only her under garments.
The Winds had come in earlier (Emma has grown accustomed to the human-like qualities of the enchanted Winds), and tugged restlessly at her clothes, wasting no time in sweeping them from the room when Emma had reluctantly stripped of her clothing. Off to burn the dress, no doubt.
Turning, she had found the beautiful white gown lain carefully across her sheets.
But there was no way in all of Hades that she was going to wear that.
Finding no alternatives, Emma begins to fret. What could she do but wear the dress? Perhaps it's for the best, anyway. After all, it is quite beautiful...
...
Killian (he still smiles, remembering his name rolling out of Emma Swan's mouth) glares at his reflection in the dusty mirror. It would appear as though nothing in all the realms can cover his defections, and being in the presence of a lass as beautiful as Swan does NOT help in hiding the ugly remains of a man. Of Killian.
Sighing, he straightens the collar of his white shirt, and smoothes over his dark blue sweater.
Emma Swan had agreed to dine with him, and he wants it to be perfect.
But how can it be perfect when Just Killian is as far from perfect as Emma is from loving him?
Biting at his lower lip and furrowing his light eyebrows in worry, he glances over at the floating rose.
Just in time to see a petal fall.
...
Killian stops breathing. He really does. And one can hardly blame him, he thinks, as he watches Emma Swan walk down to the table he sits at, dressed as an angel and smirking like a devil.
Bloody woman.
...
Emma tries not to smirk. She really does. But one can hardly blame her, she thinks, as she watches Killian stand to greet her as she approaches, dressed as a man and growling like a monster as his sweater catches on the table.
Silly girl,
she thinks.
There was never a monster, and perhaps once there was a man, but now there's just Killian.
...
Emma notices his silent struggle, and averts her eyes, wishing to avoid hurting his pride further than is needing. But out of the corner of her eyes, she studies him as he tries to hold his hand steady enough to eat without spilling all over the place.
Getting up silently, she ignores him as his head snaps up and he sadly watches her walk away.
...
Killian mentally slaps himself and stares at his soup. Stupid, bloody soup. He decides right then that he hates soup. Detests it really.
Suddenly, the door opens, only moments after it closed, and Emma Swan walks back in with a pair of straws.
Silently handing one to him, she takes her seat.
Staring at him solemnly, she says, "Watch this," then proceeds to blow bubbles in her soup in a very unladylike manner.
When he continues to only stare, she sucks some up the straw, then compresses it with her teeth. Smiling through the straw, she blows as hard as she can, hitting Killian directly in the face with room temperature soup.
Mouth gaping open, he watches as she grins, wiping her hands on her Swan gown. Then she turns away for a moment throw her hair over her shoulder.
And he attacks.
Spitting with the force of an alpaca, her dress becomes a mess of feathers and soup.
...
Later, they danced. They talked. They were compatible. Almost like friends. They wound up in Emma's library, with him reading to her quietly, as she fought to stay awake. Eventually, her head drooped onto his shoulder and her eyes fluttered shut. He smiled at her softly, then put the book down and carefully carried her to her room, then retired into his own.
For the first time in over three hundred years, no nightmares plagued the night, no demons plundered their minds.
For the first time, something had changed.
To any outsider, it would appear as an insignificant, polite change, made only from the politeness of people.
But to a staff that had served a man, come to know a monster, and watched as petals streamed like the tears of their master, they saw something.
Something beautiful, powerful, and pure.
They saw something there that wasn't there before.
And perhaps, change needn't always be a bad thing.
A/N:
Sorry the ultimately boring chapter, but, well, my brain is fried from make up work.
If someone would like to outlaw school, I would not, repeat, NOT be offended.
Anyway, thanks for all the support! I love you guys so much! You constant reviewers make my iife, and you new reviewers are the sweetest! :)
Anyway, I was thinking I might also do a short 2, maybe 3 shot based off of the song "Nothing" by The Script. (CaptainSwan, of course.) Good idea or no?
Leave a review and some love!
Stay perfect!
Eat Fiber Bars because they're yummy!
Hugs and Kisses and Fiber Bars,
~Mrs Killian Jones: Pureblood Who Almost Just Signed Her Real Name Like A Ditz
PS: For those of you that asked (and those that didn't , but wanted to), this is where you can buy a Killian-Cutout (among other places)
category/118/once-upon-a-time-abc