A/N: I decided not to start with season 2. This is a memory of Emma and Hook's that I invented myself. It's loosely based on S4E03 "Rocky Road", but somebody else's heart, other than Marian's, will be frozen. Can you guess whose? :)

Only true love's kiss can break the spell...

Please review!


II - When Hearts Melt

This is the story of how two lost souls found each other - the former hopeless lost girl and the naval officer turned pirate. From the moment they first saw each other, they felt an undeniable attraction to each other, but they were so preoccupied with their own agendas in that moment in the Enchanted Forest when they first met, that they didn't let any of those feelings in just yet. Each of them wanted to find a way to Storybrooke. Hook was in league with Cora and Emma was desperate to get back to Henry. With so much else going on, it took them a while to really warm up to each other. Their first intimate moment took place when they were forced to spend time in close quarters with each other in Neverland, but their initial flirtation soon became love. They just weren't capable of admitting to those feelings so early on. Both of them were stubborn and in denial. Both of them had been severely hurt before. Their emotional scars ran deep, so it took them some time before they owned up to the way they truly felt for each other. Especially Emma had to put her trust issues behind her before opening up her heart again. Not to mention that, deep inside, she still felt like an abandoned little girl.

There was one moment in Hook and Emma's romantic history that stuck in their minds more than most. It could be referred to as their "breakthrough moment." They may have had their first kiss and even their second proper kiss before then, but Emma was still holding back even then, trying to ward Hook off to keep him safe. She feared he would end up getting killed in the end, if she truly let him into her heart. She felt that the men she had loved before had died because of her. It had happened to Neal, to Graham and even to Walsh, who it turned out had really been a flying monkey. Emma had lost them all, even if Walsh had betrayed her. The possibility of loosing Hook on top of all that simply terrified her. Emma had grieved enough in her young life and would rather push Hook away for his own safety than finally allow herself to love again and be happy. Her old wounds had still not entirely healed.


It was this breakthrough moment that first popped into Emma's head as she recounted it to Hook.

"What about that time the Snow Queen froze your heart over. Do you remember that?" Emma asked her now fiancé, as they lounged in The Jolly Roger's cabin, still cuddled up together beneath a woolen blanket.

"Oh, of course I do, love. She almost turned me into a popsicle!"

Emma snorted uncontrollably at this remark. "It's so strange to hear you use the word popsicle, when you didn't even know what ice cream was a few years back."

"What, Swan? A little respect if you please, Melady. I'll soon be your husband."

"And then what? You'll finally be able to control me?" Emma smirked knowingly.

"No, course not, but I was hoping to tame you a bit," said Hook, a mischievous smile streching across his face.

"Ha! You wish!" Emma retorted triumphantly.

"Nah, you're right. I'd much rather you played hard to get. Like you used to," Hook's eyes twinkled at the memories.

"Yeah, I know. I put you through the ringer."

"That you did, love. But it was worth it." At this, Hook gave Emma a peck on the cheek.

"So what about that time my heart was frozen?" he continued.

"Well, I still remember it as if it were yesterday." Emma pondered for a moment, thinking back on the day just a simple kiss of hers was able to save Killian's life.

It wasn't just any kiss, though. It was the only kiss that proves people are destined to be together. The one and only, the kiss of all kisses: true love's kiss.


As usual, everything began with a new villain arriving in town. This time it was the Snow Queen who brought her very frosty talent back to Storybrooke. Elsa had only just arrived there herself in search of her sister Anna, albeit by accident. However, as soon as Elsa had accidentally created a wall of frozen snow around Storybrooke, she had caught the Snow Queen's attention. Little did Elsa know what the Snow Queen had in store for her. They knew each other from several years back when Elsa was still focusing on her royal duties as queen of Arendelle, shortly after Anna had taken off to find out why her parents had gone to Misthaven a.k.a. The Enchanted Forest. It turned out that the Snow Queen was in fact Elsa's aunt, her mother's sister, only neither one of her parents had told Elsa about this relative of hers. They had never mentioned her and how much Elsa had in common with her. Why they had never told her about her family ties with this Snow Queen had puzzled Elsa - but she rememberd none of this that day. On the day the Snow Queen decided to take it upon herself to freeze one of Storybrooke's residents' hearts, Elsa neither knew nor remembered her long-lost aunt.

It just so happened that it was Hook's heart the Snow Queen ended up freezing, although she wasn't really bothered whom she would inflict this freezing spell on, as long as it would have the desired effect: the denizens of Storybrooke were to turn on Elsa, the only one they knew of who possessed the kind of power that could freeze things, possibly even hearts. As soon as one of Storybrooke's inhabitants' lives was placed in such peril, all eyes turned to the only possible culprit they could think of: Elsa. The residents of Storybrooke were completely oblivious to the fact that their ice cream lady who had purposefully chosen to come to Storybrooke, was set on teaching Elsa a lesson. This lesson consisted in Elsa finally learning that she couldn't trust anyone but herself, as everyone else would see her as an outsider due to her magical abilities, which she wasn't even able to control. She wanted to teach Elsa that even the people she thought she could trust would eventually turn on her. According to the Snow Queen, nobody was willing to trust someone like Elsa or like the Snow Queen herself. Elsa needed to learn only to rely on herself and to see an ally in the Snow Queen.

That was how Hook almost became a casualty in the Snow Queen's agenda. The day it happened was a Wednesday afternoon when Emma had taken a break from her sheriff duties to get away from it all. She had survived almost freezing to death herself due to Elsa's spell and needed to take her mind off things. Her father was after a thief in the woods, but she felt too exhausted to join him. David would catch him, Emma knew. Strolling along the sidewalk in the town centre, Emma suddenly brought up the subject of ice cream. They were talking about how Hook was slowly becoming accustomed to modern life, being able to use a cell phone without any help, but that he had never even had ice cream. Incredulous, Emma was determined to change this. She was in a playful mood that day and even though it wasn't exactly warm outside, Emma thought it would be a great distraction from the recent troubles in Storybrooke.

"Why don't we have an ice cream?" Emma had suggested to Hook, locking arms with him. "Wouldn't that be fun?"

"Sure, Swan. If you say so."

"Don't sound so unenthusiastic!" Emma had said, giving Hook a nudge. "It'll brighten the day and you ought to try it! C'mon, let's do it!"

"Alright, alright. Where is this ice cream place?"

"Right over there. Across the street."


And so, Emma and Killian had headed towards the ice cream store arm in arm, looking forward to this new and exciting experience they could add to their shared memories. Once they had made their choice of flavour - Emma deciding on Chocolate Chip Cookie and Killian trying Mint Chocolate Chip - the Snow Queen thought the man standing before her would be the perfect victim: a pirate! She had mustered the both of them before she enchanted Hook's ice cream cone. By the looks of it, she had thought, these two were in love, and if the blonde couldn't save her leather-clad friend, then that would just be another casualty the Snow Queen could add to the list. But Hook didn't even realise anything was wrong with him until the town meeting half an hour later, which they had both decided to attend on the fly. Better late than never, they had thought. Having finished their ice cream on the walk to the Mayor's office (which Snow now occupied), it didn't take long for Hook to feel ill. He had fainted during a heated debate in the middle of the meeting. Nobody had seen the warning signs of his hair turning from black to grey in an instant. When he had collapsed on the floor by Emma's side, it was already too late.

The denizens of Storybrooke had crowded around the poor pirate in dismay. Everyone had blamed Elsa. Luckily she wasn't in the room at the time. Emma saw it as her duty to set her fellow townspeople to rights. Elsa was harmless. She would never hurt anyone deliberately. Grumpy had pointed out that maybe it hadn't been deliberate, but the result was the same nonetheless: Elsa was dangerous. "You could be next", he had said pointing at Emma. But the saviour inside Emma knew what to do. She acted fast. Every fairytale told about stories of true love and how true love's kiss could break any curse. So, Emma kneeled down by Killian's motionless body and kissed him then and there, while the people of Storybrooke looked on hopefully. Emma kissed her captain slowly and gently, to make sure it would work, but she was doubtful whether it would actually take effect. True love's kiss? Really?, was what Emma secretly thought. And to be honest, it was a little awkward for Emma to kiss Hook in front of her mother, but she did it nonetheless, despite the doubts that had crept into her mind. Low and behold, after a few seconds, Hook's hair had slowly changed back to its natural sleek black shade and the thin layer of ice had melted from his face. Slowly, he had opened his eyes and had blinked until his vision had come back into focus. The first thing he had seen was Emma's contorted face, as she bent over him.

Grinning weakly, he had whispered, "Swan," a rough edge audible in his raspy voice. "You saved me!"

Emma's eyes had filled with tears in realisation that she truly loved Killian. She had never wanted to admit this to herself. Without a second thought, she began kissing Killian over and over again, vigourously, desperately - and the crowd around them had cheered with joy. Not only had Emma thawed Hook's heart, but he had melted hers, too.