Killian rested his arms on the railing as he stared out at the ocean beyond the harbor.

He let out a deep breath and ran his fingers through his dark hair. The water always brought him peace – but for now, his nerves remained frayed.

As he heard footsteps, he hoped those nerves would be calmed soon.

"Hello, love," he greeted when he turned around.

"Hey, Killian," Belle replied as she ran her fingers through her hair. She then took a breath and held up a take-out bag.

"I grabbed us some lunch from Granny's."

Killian smiled. It changed to a grin as he teased, "I do hope you remembered my favorite."

She shook her head – and yet, she couldn't help the giggle that escaped.

"You are incorrigible, Killian."

He only hummed. He then gestured behind him and suggested, "Shall we head below?" She nodded before they both headed down.

A silence settled between them as they ate. Killian's eyes drifted toward a porthole while Belle simply focused on her sandwich.

With a sharp exhale, he broke it: "Belle, I owe you an apology – I shouldn't have lost my temper or yelled at you. It was…wrong."

She only stared down at her food as she swirled the ice in her cup. She twirled the ends of her hair with one of her fingers.

Killian sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "Won't you say something?"

Belle let out a sigh of her own. She then admitted, "I know - and can see - how badly you feel, and I do want to forgive you. So much. But…"

"But I hurt you," he supplied, his voice thick with emotion.

She nodded. With a deep breath, she then elaborated, "I know it wasn't your intention – but you still made me feel small and naive. Like I wasn't capable of making up my own mind."

Killian dropped his head as he muttered, "Bloody hell." When he brought his eyes back up to hers, he offered, "I know it only says so much, love, but I am so sorry for making you feel that way."

"I know you, Killian – and that says plenty."

He gave a small smile. She returned it.

Killian then breathed in and out slowly as he ran his hand along his jaw and over his face.

He then ventured, "Shall we talk about what - or rather who - led us…here," gesturing between the two of them.

With a sigh, she surmised, "Perhaps not just yet – it's still a little raw."

He nodded, understanding flashing in his blue eyes. She then suggested, "Perhaps we can catch up? I know it's only been a week, but it feels like longer."

"Aye, love," he agreed. A grin then spread across his features before a chuckle escaped.

Belle tilted her head. "What's funny?"

He sipped on his drink before he told her, "I was just thinking how it truly feels as though we've always been in each other's lives despite the opposite being true."

She rested her chin in her hand as she commented, "We are siblings – it just shows that family runs deep."

A grin then spread across her face, earning a raised eyebrow from her brother.

She sipped her iced tea before she told him, "I was just thinking how you still sometimes are a little too overprotective."

Killian rolled his eyes. He then maintained, "I have you know I'm much better than when we first met."

"Mm-hmm," she teased, her grin returning. She then took a breath and said, "But I am glad you're looking out for me."

"I always will, sis," he replied as he smiled. She smiled back.

Belle then spoke, "And speaking of looking out, Robin introduced me to the new employees."

"Did he now? What do you think of them?"

"Those college kids are sweet – but that one is very charismatic."

Killian laughed. "Ah, yes, that's our theater major who wants to be an actor – he is a rather flamboyant sort."

He paused as a smile made its way on his face. "But I rather like that about him – he is a good lad."

"He is," Belle agreed with a smile. She then asked, "And what about the older woman? I think she said something about being retired?"

Killian hummed as he chewed a French fry. Once he swallowed, he explained, "Aye, love, she's a former teacher who retired a couple years ago, but she found herself bored. She loves baking, so she thought she'd put it to use in a shop."

"Well, she's lovely – she's very grandmotherly." Belle sipped on her drink before she chuckled and added, "And I have a feeling she'll keep you all in line."

He couldn't help but chuckle. "Somehow I think she will, love."

The two of them then burst out with laughter. When they sobered, a contemplative expression formed on her face.

"Do you think things will go back to normal? The way they were before…"

She trailed off as Killian supplied, "Before our father came back in our lives."

She only nodded. He ran his hands over his face and through his hair.

"I wish I knew, love. I really do."

He let out a sigh. He then tilted his head, earning the same gesture from his sister.

He folded his hands as he surmised, "I dare say we came close with your birthday."

"Until" sat on the tip of his tongue – he willed himself to refrain saying it aloud.

Belle peered at him. She then shook her head before she offered, "I loved it so much – I loved having everyone together."

"Aye, I rather enjoyed it, too," Killian said before he took a few bites of his food.

He then told her, "You do rather have a bubbly personality that thrives on that sort of thing."

She rested her chin in her hand as she ventured, "Which surprises you because it was just me and Mum."

"Aye, love," he began with a nod of his head. He leaned back in his chair and said, "Tell me, weren't you rather close to your neighbors."

"We were," she confirmed before she ate a few pieces of fruit. She then told him, "The floor we lived on were all like family. We were very much part of each other's lives."

She then let out a giggle and spoke, "My first boyfriend actually lived across the hall from us."

Killian couldn't help but grin as he teased, "Oh, did he now?" She shook her head.

He chuckled before he said, "But seriously, love, what was he like?"

With a tilt of her head, she then reminisced, "Well, he was a year older than me, and he was captain of the football team."

"Really? A jock? I must confess you don't seem the type."

She couldn't help but roll her eyes and shake her head. Her brother then defended, "Sorry, love, I didn't mean that quite the way it sounded."

He paused and continued, "You just aren't a football fan, so it's a bit surprising."

Belle hummed. She then offered, "I suppose that's true." She ate a couple bites of her sandwich before she added, "But he did love baseball, so we had that in common."

"Ah. I imagine you two attended a few Yankees' games."

"That we did – although we were chaperoned."

"Colette wouldn't let you two be alone?"

"No, no, it wasn't that," Belle began as she gestured with her hands, "Mum - and Will's parents - were rather worried about just us in the midst of all those people."

Killian tilted his head. "That is a fair point – you two were still children."

He then chuckled and said, "Liam was much the same way. I'm fairly certain Mrs. Ava invented the task of putting together a bookcase."

"Really? I wonder why she felt the need?"

Belle then giggled while Killian rolled his eyes. She then offered, "I was just teasing, but it does seem as though you and Liam protect the ones you care about - especially your siblings."

He smiled at her. He then scratched behind his ear and admitted, "Although, I believe I may be a little worse than my brother."

"Even still, I know he'd be proud of you."

Killian smiled once more. His sister then continued, "What was her name?"

"Hmm?" he began as he took a bite of his burger. When he swallowed, he told her, "Ah. The lass' name was Olivia. We met at one of the soccer games."

With a chuckle, he then said, "I'm fairly certain I missed nearly everything that happened in that game – in fact, neither of us could say who won."

Belle giggled. She then hummed and sipped on her drink. When finished, she recalled, "Well, Will and I were neighbors, as I said, and we met during the summer. But we did wind up having a couple electives together."

"Did you two actually learn anything?"

"Of course we did. We weren't completely distracted, you know."

"You know, love, I can't say that surprises me." His expression then grew somber.

"A couple of those fights broke out during class, so I didn't make things easy for myself."

"Oh, Killian, do you still feel so badly about it?"

He sighed. "Only because I made things harder for myself - and for Liam. He already had to raise me – I shouldn't have been quite as difficult."

Killian ran his hand over his face and bemused, "I know you've heard all this before – and I know I shouldn't dwell on it, but…"

"But he's your brother. You'll always miss him," Belle supplied, sympathy crossing her features as she looked at him.

"Aye," he simply replied before he sipped on his drink. He then took a deep breath.

A silence settled over them – though this one felt more comfortable.

As they continued to eat, Belle then asked him, "What is your favorite memory growing up?"

Killian raised an eyebrow. "I'm fairly certain you've heard all of them."

She gestured with her fork and clarified, "I know – but I want the one that stands out most in your memory."

Killian tilted his head in thought. He furrowed his eyebrows as he continued to mull it over, eating his burger and fries as he did so.

A smile then spread across his face. "I do have a story for you, sis. But you owe me one in return."

She smiled back as she nodded. She then leaned forward and placed her chin back in her hand.

Killian sipped on his soda before he began, "Let's see, prom was only a week away, and Madeline and I returned from the movies."

"Madeline?" Belle interrupted, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion, "What about Olivia?"

He couldn't help but grin as he pointed out, "You do realize I was a teenage boy."

"Fair point," Belle conceded with a chuckle. She then said, "Okay, so you two came back from the movies. What next?"

"I walked the lass to the door and pecked her cheek. She then asked if I had picked up my tux yet, and I simply informed her I planned to borrow Liam's."

He then let out a sigh. Curious, his sister questioned, "Surely, that couldn't have been a problem, now, could it?"

"No – but my next comment proved rather disastrous."

Belle let out a sigh of her own. "Oh, Killian, what did you say?"

"That I didn't understand why everyone was so bloody excited for this ridiculous affair where we all had to dress up in our most fancy attire. It's a bit too pomp and circumstance for me."

Belle's eyes widened. "I can't imagine she handled that very well."

"Oh, believe me, she didn't." He ran his fingers through his hair and elaborated, "She called off the whole thing - us, the prom - and slammed the door in my face."

Belle's eyes grew even wider. Her eyebrows then furrowed as she supposed, "I'm guessing the story didn't end there since it's your best memory."

"Very perceptive, aren't we, love?" Killian offered, a teasing smile flitting across his features.

She shook her head before he told her, "We stopped speaking, and I truly thought things were over between us – until Liam made me see things differently."

He paused as he took a sip of his drink. Belle continued to eat – though she wore a curious and expectant expression.

He then continued. "My brother caught on to my rather foul mood, and I did admit what bothered me. He gave me advice I won't soon forget."

At his sister's head tilt, he stated, "A man unwilling to fight for what he wants deserves what he gets."

A fond smile made its way on his face – one replicated by Belle. He then explained, "I was still a lad in quite a few ways, but Liam didn't want me missing out because I let my mouth run away with me. He knew I had been looking forward to prom with Madeline – even if it wasn't quite my forte."

"Seems like Liam knew you pretty well," Belle commented as she had finished up her lunch.

Killian hummed. He then finished, "He convinced me to patch things with her as I truly did care about the lass. I don't think he realized the impact of his words – but he knew he needed to sound rather dire for me to listen."

"What, with those teenage hormones," she said. Though she hadn't meant to tease him, he still shook his head and chuckled.

The brunette then offered, "And those words always stayed with you," another smile making its way on her face.

"Aye, love, they have." A far-off look appeared in his blue eyes – a look that indicated just how much the memories meant to him.

"I'm glad you told me – I love hearing about our brother," Belle told him as she smiled warmly at him.

"I'm glad to have shared it with you, love," Killian told her as he returned the smile. The two of them ate the last of their meals.

He then grinned and offered, "And you no doubt enjoyed hearing about my hormonal teenage self – and you now owe me a story."

"So I do," she confirmed, and she couldn't help but smile. She folded her arms on the table and began, "Mine is of myself and my mother – and how she inspired my love of reading."

"I remember you saying she was an avid reader, and I figured she passed it down to you."

"Mm-hmm," Belle hummed. She recalled, "I was still a girl – only six or seven. Mum had just finished up at her receptionist job and had a few hours before she'd head to the restaurant for her server job."

"And she wanted to spend them with you," Killian interjected as his mouth curved upwards. He then closed the lid on his to-go box before he gestured toward hers.

"Want me to take that, love?"

She nodded before he grabbed it. As he tossed it, he surmised, "Let me guess, you two took a trip to the public library."

"Actually, we had one at home," she informed him. He smiled and shook his head as he sat back down.

Belle then continued, "Well, it was a library of sorts – my mother had three bookcases spread throughout our place, with a few of my books mixed in as well."

She let out a giggle, and Killian returned it. She then twirled her hair around her fingers.

"Anyway, she pulled me over to the sofa and told me she wanted to read her absolute favorite book to me."

She giggled once more and added, "One of them anyway." With a pause, she then clarified, "She chose Beauty and the Beast. And I absolutely fell in love with it," a fondness settling in across her features.

Killian mirrored her expression. With a tilt of his head, he then asked her, "Is that why she named you Belle?"

She covered her mouth to keep from laughing – but one squeaked out nonetheless. He raised an eyebrow as confusion overcame him.

"Care to share?"

"Sorry, I really didn't mean to laugh."

She paused before she told him, "In the fairytale, the heroine simply went by "Beauty", hence the name of the story."

Killian couldn't help but chuckle as he rubbed the back of his head.

"I suppose I should have known a bit better, shouldn't I? While Disney retains the essence, the details don't always match."

"I don't think anyone would blame you," Belle reassured him. She tilted her head before she added, "And just so you know, Mum picked my name because she found it lovely."

"No doubt she did." He leaned on his elbows and surmised, "I can just see you hanging onto Colette's every word as she read."

She hummed as a smile flitted across her face. She then told him, "It became my favorite part of the day. I always grew so terribly sad when the sitter would come."

"I'm sure your mum made it up to you." "She always did."

A comfortable silence settled between the siblings once more. Belle then let out another giggle, earning a head tilt from her brother.

When she sobered, she explained, "Will actually used to call me "Beauty". It had nothing to do with the story – or that it is the meaning of my name in French – but just because he thought it fit me."