A/N: Okay, so after some amazing feedback from all you lovely readers, I am here with the second chapter of 'To See You This Way'! This is a story that is so conducive to just fluff and love and cute sappy romance. It's cathartic to write, and lovely to dream up but I do just want to give you all a heads up: This chapter includes a snippet of part of the first chapter of Killian's book, and it is in first person (as told by Killian). Just didn't want anyone to get confused on that! And like I said, it's a small part, so Emma would have read something much longer than what I've got here, but this is the little portion I thought was most important for readers to see. I hope you guys continue to like the story, and thanks for reading!
After a few hours that were blissfully hectic at the clinic, Emma was cornered once more by her loving, but demanding and nosey friends. After Ruby dropped the bomb about Killian's book, and Mary Margaret and Elsa confirmed that he was back, a meeting had been called, the cavalry was summoned so to speak, and now they were here, at an emergency friend lunch at Granny's. If Emma was going to answer all these questions and feel all these emotions, there better be enough grilled cheese and onion rings to drown her sorrows in.
Under other circumstances, a meeting of these women would signal nothing but fun and love and acceptance to Emma. Between her three best friends from high school, Ruby, Belle, and Mary Margaret, and her newer but just as wonderful friend Elsa, who moved to town after meeting Liam two years ago, she had enough support to last ten lifetimes, but right now they needed answers before they could help, and their patience was beginning to wear a little thin.
"Okay, Emma, we've made all the small talk we're going to make. Now you have to tell us, what really happened when we all went to college?" Ruby's forthright question didn't surprise Emma, for her friend always valued open honesty and bluntness. That didn't make confessing easier though.
"What happened is I was in love with my best friend for years," Emma knew that wouldn't be enough to hold them over but it was the first time in a very long time she'd admitted her romantic love for Killian out loud. It felt like a weight was lifted but also like an old wound was being poked. Everything happening right now made Emma feel too raw, and too exposed to everyone and everything.
"Honey, I love you, but if you don't think we all knew that part already, you're in for a surprise." Belle placed her hand over Emma's and patted it gently, a silent prodding for her to continue.
"Well that last summer our friendship became more. We were together… until we weren't." Mary Margaret's shock at the announcement was profound, as was that of Ruby and Belle.
"Wait, Ems, you were with him, with him?" Ruby asked and Emma nodded, kind of surprised that they hadn't realized that.
"Of course I was. You all knew that, you gave me so much grief over the summer poking fun at my 'secret romance.'" Mary Margaret shook her head.
"Emma we all thought you were seeing Walsh Miller. We had absolutely no idea you were seeing Killian!" Emma choked on the sip of water she'd been drinking.
"I'm sorry, what? Walsh Miller?!" Her friends all nodded.
"Okay, sorry, operating at a loss here. Who is this guy?" Emma filled her non-native friend in.
"Walsh was a guy we all went to school with who I helped tutor for the SATs and then tried to kiss me, but I never dated him ever! Why would you guys think that?" Belle responded with a sad look on her face.
"Because Walsh told everyone that you were." Emma gaped at Belle, clutching her glass so tight it might have shattered with even an ounce more force.
"How has this never come up? I mean really guys, Walsh Miller?! You've never once made fun of that life choice you all thought I made, and he would have been worth berating me over." Ruby flipped her hair over her shoulder.
"Oh honey, trust me, we know how bad it looked, but by the time we were going to really confront you, Killian had left and you were devastated. We all assumed Walsh was a regret because you should have been with Killian, we never realized that you had been all this time." All of her friends' faces portrayed their genuine sympathy and Emma wanted to just curl up in a ball and hide.
"How many people thought I was with Walsh?" All three of her high school friends replied immediately.
"Everyone." Elsa grabbed at Emma's arm and drew her attention directly.
"Emma, maybe that's why Killian left. Maybe he thought you were with Walsh." Emma shook her head, now angry at that line of thinking.
"Elsa, I lost my virginity to him after five years of being his best friend. I know Killian, if he heard gossip, he'd have not only talked to me, he'd have punched Walsh in the face." Her friends were all quiet at that. "What?" Emma asked.
"You're just so sure of him, Emma. Even after everything." Belle's comments were interrupted by Ruby.
"Wait, Emma, where did Walsh kiss you?" What a strange question to be asked.
"In my backyard, why?" A niggling thought made its way to the forefront of Emma's mind, and a beginning of potential understanding settled in. The kiss happened not even two days before Killian left. What if he saw it? Emma had truly thought nothing of it, since she'd pushed Walsh away immediately, but it was possible that Killian had caught just the second where Emma hadn't yet reacted. It still wouldn't make the fact that he'd just left with barely a thirty second goodbye okay, but it would definitely explain a lot about how quickly things had gone sour. "It's been ten years though, and there's no way he could claim that he thought I was with Walsh all this time."
"You're right, but I think you and Killian were as close as you are because you're both very alike. If the tables had been reversed, would you have acted any differently?" Emma liked to think that she would have, that she'd have fought for him, or screamed or yelled or something, but then she realized that the girl she was at eighteen was at a completely different level of emotional maturity than the woman she was now. Heartbreak like that, even if just perceived, might have been too much to handle.
"I can't even know for sure that's what went wrong." That was the most frustrating thing. All of this was just conjecture.
"No you can't. Not until you talk to him." Ruby's words settled onto Emma like a cloud of anticipation. The moment was coming where they'd need to meet again, and she was so excited at the chance and utterly terrified that he'd hurt her all over again.
"I thought you might have the chance at dinner tonight, but Killian told us he won't be in." It still rocked her to her core to know that he was here, physically in Storybrooke. Elsa saw him only a few hours before and now it was time for Emma to ask a question of her own, but before she could, Mary Margaret spoke.
"Are his intentions good, Elsa? Be honest." Without hesitation her blonde friend nodded.
"I can't say anything else, because I just really don't know that much, but he came to try and make it better. He knows he was in the wrong, and now all he has his sights on is making amends for that and getting Emma back." Emma's heart leapt at the claim. He wanted her back, but Emma now thought he might never have really lost her in the first place. She'd certainly never known another love that came anywhere close to what she felt for him.
"He'll fix it," Belle said with conviction. Emma barked out a bit of laughter in the face of Belle's confidence.
"You sure about that?" Emma hoped that would be the case, but old habits died hard, and her sarcastic wit rose up as a means of defense.
"Absolutely. You guys are the real deal, and yeah, you have stuff to get through, but I've read enough stories to know what true love looks like. It has to work out." True love – Emma always considered her feelings for Killian to be just that, like something from a fairytale, but fairytales didn't usually have the Prince leaving without so much as a word. They did have hardships though, and the heroes always came out stronger when they braved those battles together.
"Jeez, Belle. Put the weight of your whole romantic world view on her shoulders, why don't you?" Ruby joked, and when all of her friends laughed, Emma knew the worst of this interrogation was over. Anticipation stayed close through the rest of the meal, and her afternoon, but so did hope, hope that things could work out, and that despite her reservations, she may yet find that happily ever after she'd always dreamed of.
…
Dinner was never going to work, Killian reasoned with himself as he finished clipping together the freshly printed papers in his hands. As soon as Elsa mentioned to him earlier that morning that she expected Emma at the house for dinner, Killian knew he had to find a way around it even if it went against every fiber of his being which was craving to see her again. Part of Killian wanted to rush this all, to just tell her everything and pray for her mercy, but thank God that wasn't the part of him making the decisions.
Instead of seeking immediate gratification shared with Liam and Elsa in their company as well, Killian decided to stay the course of his plan. Over the past three months, he didn't just write this novel for Emma, but charted a course of how to make his reentry into her life. If he was going to gain her trust back, it would take something more than happenstance. He needed romance, and thoughtfulness and proof that he loved her, and he was finalizing such a gesture right now as he placed the first chapter of his manuscript in an elegant green box.
The box exactly matched the shade of her eyes and he wrapped it closed with a white ribbon, attaching one last element inspired by the Emma he'd once known - a sprig of lilac blossoms. When they'd been kids, they'd wandered all around the area to find her bouquets upon bouquets of the flowers for the few weeks they were in bloom. Lilac season happened months back, but Killian located an out of season vendor in Boston and paid to have the flowers shipped here. It was a small portion of a much larger message that he hoped the first chapter of his book projected, which was that nothing and no one had ever compared to her in his eyes. He'd even written the first draft of the story with their original names and decided to give her that version so she knew without a doubt that she'd been in his thoughts all the while.
"Elsa's just arrived at the diner, so you should be all set, brother." Liam's words from the doorway of Killian's childhood bedroom, brought back memories of all the years he'd lived here under his brother's protection. Liam managed for such a long time to keep Killian out of trouble, despite their paternally gifted, genetic predisposition for general dishonor, and the pain of losing their mother when Killian was so young. He'd only been able to do it by transcending his role of brother and becoming a parent as well, but now that Killian was older, he felt a friendship with his brother he'd doubted would ever come when he was a boy. "This part would be a bit easier if she still lived next door."
"I'm not expecting any part of it to be easy. But a man unwilling to fight for what he wants, deserves what he gets." Liam's grin in the face of his statement prompted a smile from Killian as well.
"With words like that, how can you not prevail? But I'd get a move on if I were you." Killian agreed and gathered the box up in his arms before heading out into the warm, sunny day. He knew as he moved through the small town, that the sunglasses he wore would do little to hide who he was, but where he'd expected people to directly approach him, he got mostly stares and whispers between the passersby. Some people waved, but it wasn't until he was almost at Emma's apartment by the marina, that he ran into a truly friendly face.
"I knew I hadn't really seen the last of Killian Jones in this town." David Nolan, one of Killian's best friends from high school grinned at him as he crossed the small street with not one, but four kids in tow. Killian knew of all of Dave's good fortune, having done his best to keep in touch from across the country over the years, but to see these young ones in the flesh was a bittersweet thing. They were all lovely miniature mixtures of their parents, who Killian greatly admired, but they were also a representation of what he wanted with Emma, and the life he could have already been building with her. "Kids, this is your Uncle Killian, say hi." Killian expected them to be thrown off by calling him Uncle, since it was news to him that he was still held in such high regard by the Nolan's, but instead the kids looked at him with wonder in their eyes.
"You're who Auntie Emma's marrying?" The words from the little girl on crutches before him shocked Killian but he couldn't help smiling as he looked at Dave.
"This is Eva. She's a very good listener, but terrible with assumptions secrets." Eva looked a little remorseful and Killian set out to ease her mind.
"If all goes well, then yes, lass." She smiled at that as her younger brother crossed his little arms over his chest.
"You made her sick." Killian raised a brow and the boy continued. "We saw Auntie Emma, but she was Doctor Emma then, and Mommy said she got reminded about love and that's why she looked so sick. Now she needs grilled cheese to feel better, because it's the best medicine." Killian looked to David, needing just a bit of translation from what his son meant.
"Brady is our future doctor. He watches everything meticulously, but unlike his sister here, he's yet to grasp the listening part. Mary Margaret and the kids were there this morning when Emma found out about the book and that you're back. Now the girls are all at Granny's. But with that in hand, I'm sure you already know that and are going for a classic Killian gift." Killian scratched behind his ear, forgetting how well David always seemed to know him. Killian loved giving Emma little things all through their friendship and that last summer. He liked to know that she'd face a happy surprise, for sometimes life brought truly bad ones. He didn't realize that everyone had been paying attention though. Still, he nodded at David and addressed little Brady once more.
"I think what I did will take more than grilled cheese to fix, lad, but I'm doing my best." Brady considered for a moment before accepting Killian's words. His eyes shifted to the lilacs and the boys face lit up.
"Your prognosis is good." Killian let out a laugh at the strange choice of words, but it showed that the boy truly did take interest in Emma's line of work. He imagined Emma was a wonderful Aunt to all of these children, and he longed to see that relationship soon. Such a wish reminded him of his purpose, and with just a few more words promising not to be a stranger, and to keep David updated, Killian set off to find Emma's place finally.
The building where she lived was beautiful, a two family house freshly painted white. It was crisp and clean and a good size for a single woman living alone, but once at the door, Killian debated whether or not to leave his gift there or embrace some of their more questionable, youthful tendencies and slip it actually inside her house. Before he could think the better of the two choices, an old woman came out from the second part of the house. Killian instantly recognized her as Mrs. Hubbard, one of the kindest women who'd ever lived in Storybrooke.
"My goodness! You have nearly scared me to death. Quite a greeting upon your return Killian." He smiled, extending his hand to hold the woman's arm and steady her a bit.
"Apologies, mam, I did not intend to frighten anyone." Mrs. Hubbard smirked at that, her eyes soft though underneath the smile.
"No I dare say you didn't. You've come to make amends to Emma after all these years. Well it certainly took you long enough. That for her?" Mrs. Hubbard pointed at the box and Killian nodded and then she was pulling a ring of keys from her pocket and opening Emma's door. "Good. Presents are a start. I heard you bought the old Gardiner House too. She'll be plenty pleased for that when she forgives you, and if we need to hurry her along at all, I can always pretend my grandson's inheriting. I haven't had a good chance for playacting in many years."
"I appreciate the offer," Killian said, walking into Emma's house behind the old woman. "But I need to do this right. Honesty at every turn, and all that." He allowed himself a moment to look around the front of her house, finding it to be exactly what he expected. The house smelled of her, like lavender and vanilla and sunshine, and the place was clean without being meticulously neat. Her style remained eclectic, but she'd truly made a home here. Of that he was envious.
"Oh you're probably right. Now go on and put that on the table just there. She's a creature of habit, that one, and as soon as she gets home she'll drop her keys there. I'll write her a note saying I let you in so she knows you're not some crazy stalker now that you're back from California." Killian hadn't even thought of that possibility, so he appreciated Mrs. Hubbard's offer. Placing the box down on the counter, Killian knew it was time to go. Even if Emma wouldn't be back for hours, and despite his desire to get a better picture into how she lived now, he'd not earned the right to know such things, and would wait until he had done so to take such liberties.
Killian took his leave of Mrs. Hubbard and stepped back out into the beautiful Maine afternoon once more. For the rest of the day, he'd go to the new house and start making some of the changes he wanted to see. While he didn't want to move in there unless he had Emma by his side, there were still adjustments to be made to have it perfect for her. For a few hours at least he would work towards that goal, but everything at this point was just filler until he could see his Swan again.
…
Slamming the door behind me, I expected my brother to yell or scream or follow me, but nothing of the sort happened. Instead I stormed off to stew in my own anger and discontent. I'd been fighting this move ever since Liam told me of it weeks before, but being here in the flesh only made things worse. At home, everything reminded me of my Mum, which hurt like nothing I'd ever known, but leaving all together denied me the friends I'd had as long as I could remember, and the place I'd always called home. I had no love in my heart for Storybrooke, Maine. None in the slightest.
Whether it was instinct, or subtle clues that informed my steps, I made my way eventually to the beach, and in the face of the ocean felt my emotions dull slightly, a soft sense of calm washing over me. The sands currently hosted families and individuals alike, all seeking to enjoy the tail end of summer before the autumn returned once more. They all seemed happy enough, but there was no mandate dictating that only the joyful could enjoy the ocean.
I kicked off my shoes and walked through the grainy sands, avoiding the patches rocks to get down to the surf itself, but halfway down the beach I froze in place. All of my emotions swirled together and manifested as something greater that I could only describe as complete and utter awe.
About a hundred feet away from me stood a girl near my age with long blonde hair whipping around in the breeze. The tendrils, though battered by the wind, looked soft and luscious, and framed her face like the last rays of sunlight that brushed the earth at the end of a long day. Her skin looked sun kissed, but I knew any other time of the year she'd be fair, for even from here I could see her freckles. Everything about her was a vision, more lovely than I could ever have imagined and then her eyes locked with mine and time stopped.
It wasn't the unspeakably beautiful color, so much as the undeniable sense of life in her eyes that grabbed me. She radiated what it meant to be young and vibrant, and as someone who'd shut out such tendencies in my own life for months now, I craved any exposure to it I could get. When she smiled at me, I tried my best to smile back, but had no idea if I'd accomplished to do so. The blush that spread across her cheeks told me that maybe I hadn't. Hell, I was likely looking at her like a starving man looked at a steak, but I couldn't help it. She was too much for me to comprehend or even fathom.
"You're different." The words passed her lips and sounded like the sweetest chimes of a bell to my ears. I didn't truly understand their meaning, but I nodded.
"I just moved here." She shook her head, smiling again as she walked towards me, closing the space between us.
"That's not what I meant." I felt myself crack a smile for the first time in the longest time and it felt good, but not as good as being this close to her did.
"What did you mean?" I silently pleaded with the Gods to have mercy on me. Let her find my foreignness endearing, and not a reason to turn away from me. Instead of turning, she studied my features, lingering on my eyes before shrugging slightly.
"I don't know how to explain it, I just know. I'm Emma, Emma Swan." She extended her hand to me, and I reached out to take it readily. Kids our age didn't really shake hands, another indication that Emma too was different. Even at the first touch I felt the spark. Just with her kindness she'd zapped a bit of life back inside me, that had been missing for forever.
"Killian Jones."
"Do you know anything about sand dollars, Killian?" I shook my head, for other than what they looked like, I hadn't a clue about them. I wished in that moment that I'd written the bloody book on them just so as not to disappoint her, but she smiled again, pulling up the pail she'd had in her other hand and handing me something. "Around here, they're almost impossible to find, and you never find a perfect one, but today I did."
"It's beautiful." I said, my fingertips grazing the slope of the shell, but my eyes still flickered between the sand dollar and the girl who'd given it to me. It didn't hold a candle to her. I tried to hand it back but she shook her head.
"You keep it, as a welcome to Storybrooke." I couldn't understand such benevolence from a person I didn't even know, but every second in her presence only solidified for me that she was some angelic sort of miracle from beyond. I was only thirteen, and had never been in love, but in a matter of minutes Emma Swan was becoming the best part of my world, really the only part that shone with such light and goodness. Only after a beat of silence did I begin to panic. What could I do? What could I say to stay beside her and in her good graces?
"You know, in England, exchanging a sand dollar with someone is the highest form of trust. Legend says it creates a bond that can't be broken." She laughed at that, a melodic sound that sailed through the wind to me and warmed my heart to an impossible degree.
"That is bull shit and you know it." I grinned, loving that she'd seen through me so easily, and that she hadn't been afraid to curse while calling me out.
"Maybe, but we could start our own tradition." She raised a brow at that.
"Maybe we could." Her shy smile returned causing my heart to skip a beat, and as I watched the fading sun color her in warm hues and picture perfect lighting, I made a vow to do whatever it took to create such a bond between the two of us. There was just something about her that called to me, that told me I needed her, and it would not be denied.
Emma mentioned her need to return home, and I offered to walk her back, filling the time by answering her questions about where I was from, and what England was like. I wanted to ask her more about her, desiring a glimpse into who this magical girl was, but she evaded me, playing my eagerness to please her like a fiddle that had me talking the whole walk back. When I looked up to find that her house was right beside mine, I couldn't believe my luck or keep the beaming smile from my face.
"See you tomorrow?" She asked as she turned back from her front door.
"See you tomorrow, Swan." I watched her blush once more at my use of her surname even through the twilight, and never looked away as she went inside, only moving from my spot once I knew she was safely behind the door.
I walked the rest of the small distance to my new home with a completely different worldview. Liam looked at me curiously when he saw my smile and I thought he might actually tip over with surprise when I thanked him for moving us here. Before he could respond though I moved into my room and closed the door.
Rummaging through the boxes we'd had shipped from home, I looked and looked until I found the small wooden chest I'd been avoiding since Mum died. Inside were the things she'd most wanted me to have: pictures of us, my first baby tooth, my grandmother's engagement ring and so on. I hadn't so much as looked at the chest, never mind opened it, and I still didn't move to unlatch the metal inscribed with Celtic knots. Instead I placed the box on my dresser and then placed the sand dollar on top of it. The first gift Emma Swan ever gave me deserved a place of honor, and I could think of no place better than here. My mother would have liked her, of that I was sure, and that certainty gave me leave to start to fall in love with my new found savior next door.
…
Speechless – that was the only way to describe Emma's current state. The story he'd written, the one grounded in their truth and their history but also so many parts he'd never said aloud was so life altering, Emma could barely breathe. Tears streamed down her face and she closed her eyes, clutching the papers to her chest. If he was looking for forgiveness, he had it, because Emma knew in her heart that no one could write like this if their love wasn't true and real. Was she still scared? Absolutely, but she also realized that her greatest enemy was time. They'd missed out on so much already, why should they miss out on anything else.
Rummaging through her purse, Emma had one thought in mind – figure out where Killian was and talk to him. She didn't have his current number, but she did have Elsa. The phone rang once, twice, and just as Emma began to worry her friend picked up.
"Hi, Emma, everything all right?" Elsa's sincere want to help and to see Emma happy was a lovely thing, but determination to see Killian kept her own response somewhat less polite.
"Where is he, Els?" She could practically hear her friend smiling through the phone.
"He's been fixing up the new house for most of the day, but he mentioned something about sunset on the beach."
Of course he was there, Emma thought, as tears streamed down her face again, not even understanding the bit about the house. She wiped the tears away as she stood up, gathering her things and preparing herself to find him in the same spot where they'd met. She thanked Elsa quickly before almost running through her front door and down the winding streets to the beach. There were only a few people milling about, but standing right where she expected him was Killian, looking out at the water. She stood frozen on the sand, unsure of whether to speak or just keep walking towards him when he turned around to face her.
He was so much changed from the boy he'd been at eighteen, with a beard and a shorter hair cut and so much more manly definition, and yet looked so strikingly similar. His cerulean eyes pierced her soul just the same, and watched her with that same level of love that they always had. It felt like just yesterday and a lifetime ago since she'd seen him, and she felt the tears start again.
"Emma, love, you're even more beautiful than I remembered." Emma swallowed the thickness in her throat, trying to clear up space for words. As she did, he pulled something from the pocket of his jeans and offered it to her. It was the same sand dollar, which Emma had never even imagined he'd still have. "I couldn't find a new one, but I swear I've been looking."
She took the sand dollar from him, feeling the brush of their fingertips and closing her eyes at the contact. She could feel the tears starting again at how sweet and surreal all of this was. She didn't want him to see her cry, but there was no hiding it. In seconds, his arms were around her, and his hands had come to wipe away the tears.
"Emma, I'm more sorry than I can ever say. I made a mistake, and one moment's fear snowballed into the biggest regret of my life. Leaving you was the hardest thing I'd ever done, and to find it was all for nothing… I don't think I'll ever forgive myself for it."
"So it was the Walsh thing," Emma said, her voice too soft, and too full of emotion to sound like her own.
"Yes, love, but it shouldn't have mattered. The boy I was may have run, but the man isn't willing to give up so easily. I love you, Emma. I always have and I always will, and if forgiveness comes tomorrow, or next year, or fifty years from now, I'll wait for it. I will do anything to make this right." She looked into his face, and saw the truth residing there.
Without another thought she pulled him down to her and kissed him. It was better than any kiss they'd ever shared, more meaningful than any other kiss she'd ever have, and in it she found the strength to say that the past could be behind them. Her fingers ran through his soft hair at the nape of his neck, while he held onto her for dear life, clearly craving their connection just as much as she did. The fire that burned for Killian in her heart never died, it was simply waiting for his return, and when Emma pulled back, she immediately missed him all over again.
"Does that kiss mean you'll let us start again, love?" Emma shook her head at his hopeful words, but answered him before he could take it too badly.
"No. I don't want to forget everything we had. I have to believe it all happened for a reason, and that this is our second chance. You can't have a second chance without having had a first." Killian's thumb ran across her cheek as he smiled, the special one she knew he only ever gave to her.
"So what's next then?"
"If you think that I'm going to believe you haven't planned everything down to the smallest detail, you're crazy." He laughed at that, and his hand came down to take hers, intertwining their fingers.
"My plan didn't include that, kiss, love. Everything's changed."
"It has, but let's just pretend that it isn't." He nodded, pulling her along with him away from the beach and back to her house. When they reached her porch once more, Killian raised her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles gently.
"Might I see you tomorrow, love?" Emma nodded, glad for the chance to clear her head and sleep on everything that happened today. She knew she would wake up just as determined to try and heal things between herself and Killian, but a little space wouldn't hurt.
"Yes." He beamed at her and pressed one last soft kiss to her lips. With that, Emma moved into her house and leaned against the door once it was firmly closed behind her. After only a moment, she pushed away and walked into her bedroom, moving to her dresser. There, in the top drawer, hidden under a mountain of socks, was a picture of the two of them that they'd taken just a few days before he'd left. Emma removed it from its hiding place and placed it flat atop her dresser. They'd been so happy and carefree in that picture, and Emma now dared to dream that they'd find their way back to that place. Time would heal the wound, and Killian's love would mend this broken heart, she was sure of it.
Post-Note: I genuinely cannot express how much I have loved writing this chapter. This fic is fast becoming one of my favorites that I've written just because of the opportunities for parallels and cuteness and every good thing. If I had a dollar for every time I got way too excited over an idea for this fic, I could maybe solve the student debt crisis (well maybe not, but you get the idea). I hope you guys enjoyed, and I have outlined quite a few more chapters for this fic. I can see it rivaling some of my older stories in terms of how many chapters I could write, and I think it will probably be here a long time. Hope you'll all join me on this fun new adventure, and I would love to hear what you all think! Am I moving too fast? Too slow? Just right? Really anything and everything I would love to make this as great an adventure for you guys as it is for me! Thanks again for reading, and hope you all have a lovely Sunday.