AN: A little something before the premiere tonight. I tried to add in some of the spoilers we were given, and the end was my way of setting up the whole dark!Emma thing A&E talked about. (wanting vengeance = eventual darkness?)
Anyway, enjoy!
It had been six weeks.
Six weeks of quiet; calm, blissful, villain-less quiet. Emma doubted that there was ever such a thing as 'normal' in Storybrooke, but if the last month had been the closest they could get, it was good enough for her. She finally had time, and had been spending it with her family instead of chasing down bad guys and researching curses. She'd gotten to see Henry's Science Fair, and babysit Neal, and finally, finally go on that second date with Killian. The six weeks had been good to them all, and Emma was more than content to keep the trend going for six weeks more.
But, after all, it was still Storybrooke they were talking about and, naturally, the town had other plans.
On the last good morning, Emma woke up beside her pirate. She was startled, very briefly, by the arm slung over her waist and the familiar pattern of Granny's wallpaper before Emma remembered exactly how she'd ended up there.
And she had to give Killian credit where it was due; the guy didn't give up. She'd kept him waiting far longer than most men would stick around for, but Emma had decided last night that it was time she let herself be happy.
And she was, from the moment Killian had pressed her back against the mattress, his lips leaving her nerves ablaze, until the next morning, now hearing the sounds of him breathing rhythmic and steady.
She was surprised to be awake before him, knowing the early riser he was, and Emma seized the opportunity to take in the sight of Killian asleep. He looked younger than Emma had ever seen him, the harsher lines of his expression evened out, the flutter of his lashes as he dreamed. An involuntary grin turned up the corners of her mouth, and when Killian opened his eyes to Emma's a moment later, his answering smile made her heart pound.
Killian propped himself up on one arm. "Morning, love." he greeted, and God help her, because Emma had never heard his voice sound like that. "I trust you slept well?"
Emma hummed in response, feeling suddenly nervous. It had been a long time since she'd woken up in someone's bed, and it wasn't as though Killian was just some guy, anyway. He was, well, Killian.
And, being Killian, he picked up on Emma's mood. "Having second thoughts, Swan?" he said, trying to be playful, but Emma could see the way his expression faltered ever so slightly. She realized maybe she wasn't the only one in this bed who was nervous.
"Not exactly." Emma replied, turning to face him. "I'm just...getting used to this. Give me a minute."
Killian waited quietly, scanning Emma's face with a hint of apprehension. She could feel the way he tensed, his hand tighter on her side. Emma nodded after a moment, letting the grin take over. "Okay." she said, "Let's try again. How about we make ourselves decent and go down to the diner for breakfast?"
They had done just that (after one last round of indecency), and were finishing off their plates when Leroy had burst through the door, hollering as he made a beeline for Emma.
"Woah, slow down." she demanded, hearing Killian sigh across the table, "What's at the edge of town?"
"Darkness." Leroy said dramatically. "Some big cloud of evil."
Killian's ears perked up at that. "Another curse?" he wondered aloud, shooting a look to Emma. She glanced back at him before shifting her eyes around the diner, finding the other customers were watching them expectantly.
"We need to talk to my parents." Emma decided, standing up and using what Henry called her 'Savior Voice'. "Killian, go find Belle and have her meet us at the town line. I'll text Regina to be there, too."
Killian nodded, knowing it best not to argue that they should stick together. Emma instructed Leroy to make sure no one else go near the town line, and the dwarf rushed off again. As the door shut behind him, Emma met Killian's gaze.
"It's fine." she assured, sensing his unease. "Just get Belle, and I'll see you in a bit."
He nodded again as Emma gave him a fleeting kiss goodbye and hurried out of the diner.
Despite the town's expectation that Gold would return eventually (it was inevitable, of course, the damned imp was relentless-), no one had anticipated it would be quite so soon. Everyone was shaken by Gold's sudden appearance at the town line (and with the three witches, no less), but seeing the man had ignited something stronger than fear in Emma.
She was pissed.
She nearly trembled with anger when Gold opened his mouth, remembering all the hell he'd unleashed (would continue to unleash) and feeling her magic spark underneath the surface. Magic which, thanks to Regina's paranoia (and a bit of her own, if she was honest), Emma had been practicing. She felt stronger than before, more confident in her powers, and it only served to make Emma more set on kicking Gold's ass.
But as he and his accomplices vanished in a puff of smoke, all Emma could think was that all good things must come to an end. The past six weeks she had learned to live as Emma instead of the Savior, and she had enjoyed the quiet moments, for the first time in her life not waiting for the other shoe to drop (or, at least, thinking a lot less about the other shoe than she typically did). Gold and his witch buddies threatening that just made Emma more determined.
After the disturbance, Emma and the others retired to her parent's loft for the usual post-villain rundown. Regina-having a history with Gold and all three of the witches-was the most vocal, going on about their motivations, and Belle-understandably a wreck-managed to explain a few theories about how the four had found their way into town. Killian and her parents, Emma noticed, were unusually quiet.
When they had called it a night, Emma walked Killian out of the loft. He could sense her tenseness and turned to face her, leaning against the wall. "Don't let Rumplestiltskin get you down, love."
Emma rolled her eyes. "Says you." she teased, then gritted her teeth. "God, I just want him to pay for all of this crap. Someone's got to stop him, or Gold's just going to keep ruining lives."
Killian appraised her, tilting his head. "Speaking from experience, Swan, revenge on the Crocodile is easier said than done."
Emma leveled her gaze at him, standing up straighter. "Yeah, well, you know what else is easier said than done?" she countered, "Hurting people I care about and getting away with it."