A/N: This chapter is all about describing Emma and Killian's love, although I found myself delving deeper into Emma's struggle with her newly-found powers as well. I mainly covered S04E07 "The Snow Queen" with one or two moments of my own invention after Emma's "outburst."

I hope you enjoy it!


Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I've tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.

~Fire and Ice, Robert Frost


V - Fire and Ice

When Emma first met Killian, she knew he was lying about his true identity. Her superpower aided her in seeing right through his cover. From that moment on, Emma knew she had to tread with caution around this pirate. She had learned early on how to ice people out, how to build a wall of steel around herself that nobody could penetrate. This was her means of ensuring her own safety, her protection device.

Emma would not let herself get attached to anyone after having been shipped from foster home to foster home, never to be embraced as family, always to be discarded. She became an Ice Queen in her own right, but she was far from cold, even though she pretended to be callous and hard-hearted in order to cope with her misfortunate circumstances. On the inside, she was far from unfeeling. Emma's true nature was delicate, but she only revealed her softness to those she truly trusted. It turned out she had all-too-often trusted the wrong people. Neal may have had no choice in betraying her and he may have done so unwillingly, but he had let Emma down none the less. That breach of trust had left its mark. Emma was also deceived by the Snow Queen as a young girl, believing the front she had put on.

Emma's softness was her core self, but she had built many impenetrable layers around that fragility. Emotions like anger and regret bubbled beneath the surface and that volcano of ferocity erupted when Emma was pushed over the edge. When she was upset, Emma wasn't afraid to speak her mind. She could be hot-tempered when she wanted to be - another of her coping mechanisms. This was why her magical abilities took the form of fire and not ice. Sparks had burst from her fingertips - not crystals - when the Snow Queen had pushed Emma's buttons. Emotions connected to the sensation of heat were what really triggered Emma's powers.

Emma and Killian were like fire and ice. In each other they had met their match, but far from cancelling each other out, they completed each other. Emma, usually upholding a cold demeanour, felt hot and bothered around Killian. He had lit a fire inside Emma and her heart burned for him and only him. Her inner fire had burst into flames when she had fallen for Killian, no matter how long it had taken her to realise this. Killian's love for Emma had begun with a flame, hot and fierce, but it had grown into something deeper over time as his heart had matured. Now that flame was unquenchable. Emma had lit his veritable soul on fire and Killian had rekindled Emma's inner spirit. He had brought her back to life and she him. Because of Emma, Hook was able to leave his need to avenge Milah behind him. Because of Hook, Emma could finally open up her heart to someone again. Now they loved each other unconditionally. Hook stood by Emma's side through thick and thin and she supported him in equal measure.

When Henry was kidnapped by Pan and almost sacrificed, Hook was right there by Emma's side. When the Wicked Witch had endangered Henry, Hook had made it his job to protect him. When Emma's powers had exploded out of her from the depths of her very soul, Hook had been there for Emma. The Snow Queen's provocations had left Emma doubting the value of her newly-found family ties. When she had isolated herself because the doubts she felt were so unbearable, Killian had been the one to find her by Storybrooke's viewpoint. Being out of control had made Emma feel savage, like she wasn't herself anymore. Her family, too, had looked at her as if she were a monster, not their beloved daughter. She couldn't handle the fear she had seen in their eyes, even if it had only shone through for a brief moment. Emma had wanted to isolate herself, so she wouldn't harm anyone else, but Hook still knew where to look in order to find her. In her moment of grief and confusion, he had stood by Emma's side. She couldn't believe what she had done to David, as Emma had never known she had such strength inside her. She felt overwhelmed by how powerful she was.

Killian had been filled with anger and hate almost his whole life. After his brother's death, he was out for revenge, wanting to take everything from his kingdom that he could get his hands on. After all, the king was responsible for Liam's death, even if he hadn't actively killed him. Killian had always had an aptitude to be hot-headed, even if this side of him hadn't surfaced until he had felt betrayed. His pirate ways had also driven him to seek revenge on Rumpel. He became Hook's mortal enemy after he murdered Milah in cold blood. Hook had spent almost 300 years of his life concentrating on his goal of avenging Milah until the realisation had finally struck him that his life was empty without love. Instead of focusing on his past feelings of anger, he had begun to focus on his future. If he was going to find happiness again, he would need to leave the past in the past. That was why Killian had started courting Emma relentlessly, starting out as a thorn in her side and developing into her true love. When it came to Emma, Killian felt warm inside. She made him feel alive, but he couldn't help his feelings of coldness towards Rumpel, even if he had put his plan for revenge behind him. When Rumpel provoked him, the pirate still struggled to keep his cool.

A life focused on the sole purpose of destroying this one man was still deeply engrained in Hook's very veins. His hatred towards Rumpel was a part of him, even if he tried to conceal it. As a pirate, Hook had left nothing but destruction in his wake. He had plundered and pillaged entire villages, taking no heed to whom he inflicted harm along the way. In fact, that side of him was not at all that different from the way the Dark One had behaved. Emma, on the other hand, had always considered herself peaceful, but now she had turned into a veritable nuclear weapon. Until she learned to control her powers, she wouldn't feel safe around her loved ones, but her feelings of self-loathing were mixed with a sensation she knew all-too well. Emma was disappointed. She had expected more of her parents. Snow's outcry had sent a chill down Emma's spine. Was she capable of murder without even meaning to inflict any harm? How would she live with this beast lurking inside her?

The pain Emma had endured in her life had forced her to ice people out. She had even seemed stone-cold when she had first met Killian, but he had always known of the warmth that lay beneath the frost-bitten surface. Deep inside, Emma was filled with a heat so scorching; she could barely contain it once it was let loose. The fire burning inside her had seeped into her magical abilities, but Emma would have to learn to contain it like a flamethrower was able to. She would still be dangerous, but in control. Many a witch had attempted to extinguish Emma's fire, even when her magical abilities were in their early stages. They had known Emma was powerful, but she had never believed in herself. In this time of need, Emma's family may not have been ready to support her yet, but Killian was. He wasn't scared of Emma, as his faith in her was unshakeable. He knew without a doubt that Emma would be able to overcome this obstacle. Until she was ready to do so, he would wrap her in his arms, providing the comfort she so desperately needed right now, all the while assuring Emma that all would be well in the end.