Killian

When David casually mentions that Emma plans to visit Storybrooke the next weekend, he starts planning a two-day fishing trip with anyone willing to join him. That gets shot down quickly when Tink, who knows him and his avoidance tactics quite well, finds out about it. And it is even less of a possibility after she goes and blabs to David and Robin about it, and they proceed to reprimand him and his lack of self-preservation for half an hour over drinks that were supposed to take the stress off, not add to it.

Regardless of his failed plans, Killian knows avoiding Emma Swan is in his best interest. So, he volunteers to take up some extra patrols and gently turns down Henry's invitation to his upcoming sword lessons patting himself in the back for his maturity.

(Or immaturity, according to Tink)

All his attempts are for naught, though, as he quite literally runs into her at the docks in the early hours of Saturday morning. She looked glorious with the sun alighting her blond locks and her green eyes shining like emeralds, and he fights every instinct he has to let her know exactly how beautiful he finds her at that moment. He doesn't have to fight his instinct for long as she snaps at him, and he is reminded of why he found Emma Swan the most infuriating (captivating) woman on Earth's bloody soil.

He's in the middle of planning his escape (leaving him alone with her would just lead to him telling her everything David doesn't want her to know or kissing her, and in both of those situations, he ends up with a broken nose) when his phone rings and he makes a quick run for it.

"Never thought I'd be thanking my bloody lucky stars to a fairy of all people," he said before Tink even had a chance to greet him. He knows she is not calling for a good reason (Tink hated waking up early and called him a psychopath for his penchant to do so), but he is grateful for the excuse it has given him to put as much distance between him and Emma Swan as possible.

"What the hell are you talking about, Jones? You know what, never mind. Robin just called; something happened at the northern docks near the cliffs. He wants you to go and meet with the deputies at the scene and then reconvene at the station. I am going with you, so hurry up."

She hangs up before he can even get a word in, and he sighs as he looks toward the figure still standing at the docks. He has an internal battle with himself on whether he should head back and get her as far away from the docks as possible, but he knows her; she would try to stay just to spite him or without the answers she wants, and he doesn't have the energy to fight her. Besides, he had warned her, and while Emma Swan might be a stubborn woman, she was also a protective mother and would heed his warning for Henry's sake.

With one last glance at her figure, he shakes his head and heads home to ready himself to deal with a sleep-deprived and grumbling Tinkerbell.

His stomach is the one that grumbles, reminding him he didn't have breakfast, right as he and Tink pull up at the northern docks less than an hour later. The docks are much smaller than those at the marina, probably fitting two or three barges. And they're rarely used besides by experienced fishermen who know how to thread the treacherous northern waters and take risks in search of rare fish breeds.

He's only been there once before, with David and Robin, to discuss whether they should add the location to their patrols, and he's really glad he won that argument as he steps out of the car. He can immediately sense the wrongness in the air, and by Tink's tense shoulders, he can tell she feels it too.

A young deputy named Gerard, one of Robin's most trusted men and one of his old recruits, turns to them at their arrival and quickly begins to share what they've found so far.

One fisherman named Edward is missing; his small boat was abandoned and hastily moored, his catch of the day still inside. Gerard and his partner Alec efficiently point out all the signs of a struggle they have managed to find that point towards this being an attack, and Killian can't help but feel proud despite the circumstances.

The two of them were in the first group they'd trained at the Academy. The recruits had been distrustful of him initially, which was understandable, but they'd quickly warmed up to him and grew to respect him as a teacher and leader. It was something he found hard to wrap his head around most days.

Tink has moved further down the docks to the edge, and she subtly signals him to come take a look. He doesn't need to ask her what she found as he approaches her and finds her frowning at something at her feet. At the very edge of the dock, three words are burned into the wooden planks. Gerard and Alec would not have noticed them as they looked like they'd been burned long ago into the wood, with seaweed and saltwater almost covering them.

Per omnes aqua.

But he was here last, and he knows they weren't there before today. He would have recognized them immediately; hard not to when he has them etched on his skin.

He doesn't have to look up to know that Tinkerbell is staring worriedly at him. For a brief moment, he regrets that she came along with him. Out of everyone in Storybrooke, she is the only one who knows what this is. If it had been someone else, he might have been able to keep it to himself a bit longer and give himself some time to process it. To shed the tears, he finds himself fighting.

"I never asked what it meant. I don't - I don't recognize the language, and I knew better than to ask," whispered Tink softly.

He looked up to find her staring at the horizon and avoiding his gaze, and despite his earlier thoughts about her presence, he was grateful to have her friendship in moments like this.

"Across all waters. It may vary depending on the sentence structure to mean through all waters. I'm not entirely sure; I never learned enough of the language to understand it fully."

He knows he doesn't have to explain to her what this means to him or who taught him that language. Appreciates that she won't ask him anything else, that she will ignore the glassiness in his eyes and won't try to theorize with him what this might mean.

She squeezes his shoulders as she walks back to Gerard and Alec, telling them to wrap up and prepare their report for David as they would meet with him at the station and pass it on, and leaves him gazing at the words his heart will never let go of.

It is shaping to be quite a heavy morning for him, so he really shouldn't be surprised when he strides into the station only to be confronted by Emma Swan for his presence.

This bloody woman.

She had been trying to rile him up all bloody morning, infuriating (bewitching) him from the moment he set eyes on her, and he could not understand her problem.

Beyond his personal objections to her presence, he finds it odd that David invited her to the meeting, but one look at his face tells him enough about how willing he was in that. David nods at him, though, and he and Tink proceed to relay what they saw at the docks. He hesitates for a second regarding the words on the docks; few would notice if they weren't paying close attention.

David and Emma do.

When he finishes the report without mentioning his personal link to the words, Tink sharply glances at him but remains quiet. He knows she won't tell a soul unless he does, and he makes a mental note to buy her some of Granny's cheesecake.

David, ever observant like his wife, notices though, so he is not surprised when David approaches him for a private chat in his office as everyone else is leaving. What does surprise him is that he leaves Emma behind in the bullpen (something she is glowering about) and proceeds to lock the door behind him.

"You do not have to tell me right now. But I know it is not the full story, Jones. But we got more pressing issues right now." David presses further before Killian can answer, and he begins to recognize the fierce determination in David's eyes. "You need a security detail and I have set up a roster already, this is not a request Killian. I'll pull the king card if I have to."

David looks just as pompous as Liam used to be for a moment when bossing him around, and his heart aches. Much like with Liam, this is a recurring argument between them, and Dave is too stubborn for his own good.

(Like father like daughter, it seems)

"I don't need a bloody security detail, mate. Don't make me remind you how much older than you I am or them. Besides, I would have trained my own bloody security detail. If they can get to me, they can get to them. Seems a bit idiotic if you ask me."

Killian is not a cocky man, but he is a confident one. He has had centuries to hone his fighting skills and formal education to boot. Few have managed to best him, and often with luck on their side.

"Yeah, well, I'm not asking you. There is strength in numbers, and you lived much of those 600 years surrounded by a crew of men loyal to you. I would call that a security detail," scoffed David.

He rolls his eyes as he readies his next argument, but David suddenly changes the topic (one of his favorite tactics) and ends up almost cursing his bad luck at his choice of topic.

"What was that out there, with Emma? I thought you two got along."

Killian fights the urge to start ranting in front of Emma's father about how his daughter drives him crazy and has outright been vying for a fight and chooses to shake his head instead.

"How would I know? I haven't seen her in months. But you should probably talk to her about the case and why you haven't said anything. I'd imagine she's not feeling quite kind today with all these secrets."

David deflates at his words and gazes mournfully at Emma's silhouette, and Killian feels bad for him and Snow. They constantly tried to do right by Emma, but she avoided communication and feelings to the extent that she basically welcomed misunderstandings.

Misunderstandings that end up hurting her.

Because he knew her well enough to know that as she was sitting in that bullpen eyeing up everyone for information, she was also thinking and feeling like an outsider. Which, in turn, made her prickly and downright rude sometimes as a coping mechanism to push people away. Leading to a vicious cycle of her confirming her fears in some twisted self-fulfilling prophecy that everyone would leave her. It was frustrating, especially when you were left standing on the other side of her walls.

But gods, did he love that woman.

David is not unaware of his distraction, and he can see him signal to the Merry Men outside to begin setting up a patrol for his security detail. Killian wonders absentmindedly why he keeps falling for the man's diversion tactic as he readies himself for another round of their argument.

He does not want a security detail and will fight to avoid getting one.

It is a fight he loses, and twenty minutes later, he storms out of David's office with one of the Merry Men tailing him immediately.

He does win the battle with himself to not look at Emma as her gaze burns a hole in his retreating back.

That night it takes him hours to fall asleep, tossing and turning for hours and then falling in a fitful sleep. It is what probably saves his life as he suddenly wakes up right in time to stop a silver dagger from stabbing him in the heart.

He was not called the scourge of the seven seas for nothing, and in seconds he has recovered himself and is more than ready to defend himself, having kept a dagger under his pillow. His assailant moves fast and tries to attack from another angle, managing to slice him on his chest. As Killian shakes himself out of sleep, he curses at himself for not listening to David's suggestion to let his security detail be stationed inside the apartment.

Before he and the assailant can do anything else, though, his bedroom door slams open, and two knives fly out of the dark. He turns to find Will Scarlet walking in and thanks his lucky stars that David and Robin were as stubborn as him. The would-be assassin moves inhumanly fast to dodge the knives and dashes into his bathroom with them at his heels.

The two of them are left alone in his bathroom, with no tracks left beyond the saltwater that has inundated it. He internally curses at the cleaning he must do, the wound on his chest, and the call he must now make to David and Robin.

His thoughts are interrupted as Scarlet turns to him, rolling his eyes as he pushes him back to the bedroom.

"Oi put some bloody clothes on. Will you?"

Thirty minutes later, he is sitting on the arm of his couch as Tink crouches down to take a look at his wound to heal him. He is unpleasantly reminded of the last time they were in the exact same position and winced at how recent that was. His body was riddled with enough scars; there was no need to add more of them on a frequent basis. Tink is blocking his view of the door, and that is how he finds himself surprised by Emma Swan's presence as she suddenly appears demanding answers for a third time in less than 24 hours with David trailing behind her.

"What happened?"

(Was that concern in her voice? Surely not)

Will starts to relay what little information they have to report about the attack to David and Emma just as Robin, flanked by another deputy, strides into his living room. He's not a fan of having so many people in his space, especially not when one of them is Emma Swan.

(He'd imagined her at his place in completely different circumstances)

She keeps running her gaze over everything (including his bare chest) and is probably cataloging him and his personality off a sweep of her eyes of his living room. He wonders what conclusions she draws about him.

(Wonders if that even matters anymore)

As the conversation dwindles down, he sees her slowly walk to his kitchen to continue her perusal, and he is chasing after her before he'd even made the conscious choice to do so.

"You know, lass, I could tell you something about walking around in a citizens' home without a badge, but I think I shall let it go this time."

He knows it is petty of him to bring it up, and he can see her shoulders tense, can imagine how's she probably rolling her eyes as she slowly turns to face him, but she's been getting under his skin all day, and Killian is not known for his patience.

However, Emma, much like her father, chooses to change the subject and throws him completely off base.

"I never pegged you for a Jane Austen fan. Or romance, for that matter," she said, nodding to the pile of books on his kitchen island.

(He wonders if she realizes she has a tell as his eyes drop to the lips she is currently biting nervously)

There is a challenge in her eyes, and for the first time in forever, he doesn't understand what she's angling for. But she looks fierce and wild, and he can't help the heat coursing through his veins. Before he knows it, he's smirking and has an innuendo ready on his lips. He takes one step in her direction and hesitates.

(This is a road he's been down before)

"My apologies to interrupt, Emma. Jones, a moment, please."

He and Emma startle at the interruption, and Robin raises an eyebrow at him as he stands there expectantly with a smirk on his face. That bastard knew exactly what he was doing.

He can't say anything right now, though, not with the risk of Robin running his mouth so he excuses himself from Emma and follows Robin into his bedroom. As he closes the door, he makes eye contact with Emma, who is still standing in his kitchen, and he tells himself the flash of disappointment on her face was his imagination and wishful thinking.

"I am going to talk, and you will listen without arguing; you understand that?"

Killian had been expecting Robin to lose his patience with him sooner rather than later, but he had assumed that Robin would at least wait until morning. He doesn't appreciate another attack right now, so he sighs as he looks for a T-shirt while ignoring Robin's annoyed huffs.

"David already had this conversation with you today, but I imagine it didn't do much. But David has much more patience than I do Killian. I need you to stop being so cavalier about all of this. They are trying to kill you, man!"

Killian opens his mouth, ready to defend himself but Robin quells him with a look and rumbles on.

"You have to take this more seriously. What would have happened had Will not defied your orders and not stationed himself inside the apartment? You would have been dead," said Robin as he sighed and seemed to deflate.

"I know that this is more complicated than what you have shared. Will told me; about the tattoo on your hip. The words there. You don't need to explain it right now, but tomorrow morning you will. It is time we go on the offensive."

"And what do you propose we do, Locksley? We don't even know who we're bloody facing to start with," snarled Killian, incensed that Will had dared discuss that with Robin. He was definitely not holding back next time they sparred. "And I remind you that we have been working on it, quite seriously, I'd say, me included."

"You and Belle have been researching old sea legends. Tales, myths, and stories that we cannot verify when you could focus on factual information closer to home," barked Robin as he glared at him.

This was a discussion they often had ever since the first attack. Sometimes it would be just him and Robin or David; sometimes, they would team up against him. But without fail, they insisted that he look closer at his past and consider who would want revenge on him.

They probably imagined the list was long, but Killian had lived centuries, and most of them had died by now.

Either by time or his hand.

He had spent the majority of his years chasing after revenge, making Rumplestiltskin the most logical suspect. He would never trust the Dark One, but he trusted Belle, and she insisted that he had nothing to do with all of this and had even given Belle some resources for her research, so he laid that one to rest.

(Or at least he tried his hardest to)

And so the list becomes much more smaller.

Blackbeard was no friend of his, but the Jolly Roger is his now; he has no reason to go after Hook anymore. He was also not powerful enough to do all this, and the attacks didn't fit how he operated. Neither were other pirates he had encountered on the sea.

Which brought him back to the start.

"I bloody well told both you and Dave that we have looked at it from every angle but haven't found a suspect. And no amateur can cross realms and go undetected for this long. Besides, I don't think I need to remind you that tales and myths are exactly what we ourselves are in this realm," argued Killian.

This only seems to infuriate Robin even more, and Killian wonders if he notices how they are following the script of their last argument.

"Not from every angle. You have been looking for enemies of Captain Hook, but you and I both know you must look for enemies of Killian Jones or maybe even the Jones family. Fact over myth, Killian. That is where the truth lies, and you bloody well know it. You are just too scared to do it," hissed Robin.

"You're asking me to remember things from more than two fucking hundred years ago, Robin. I don't have all the answers you seem to think I have. I bloody well think I have more questions than you," growled Killian.

It seems to be the answer Robin was hoping for as he straightens up and throws him an assessing look.

"We might have a solution for that, actually," he said apprehensively. "Regina suggested it, actually. What if your brother or even your parents knew more about this enemy? What if we - "

"If you are going to suggest what I think you are, you might want to brace yourself for impact, mate. I will not do a bloody seance, Robin. You know how I feel about this, about magic and about them," snarled Killian.

The thought of seeing Liam or his mother is a heartbreaking one. It had been centuries since he last saw them, and Killian had a lot of reckoning to do with what he had done in all those years. Even the thought of seeing Brennan Jones has him running cold.

(Even more reckoning to do, he had murdered his own fucking father)

"What about Emma?"

"Emma? What the hell are you talking about, Locksley?"

"What if we let Emma do it, I know she lost her magic to Zelena's spell, but Regina said she should technically have it back. It is light magic, and I know you don't have an issue with her magic. What if - "

"No. My answer doesn't change, mate. It is more than that. I will not change my mind," growled Killian. "Besides, Emma would have to actually practice with her magic and can't exactly do that in New York," argued Killian exasperatedly. This discussion was going nowhere, and he just wanted to get everyone out of his apartment and sleep. It was either that or the oblivion that rum could give him.

"Well, yes, but that could change soon, so maybe - "

"What do you mean that could change soon?" interrupted Killian immediately.

His heart was twisting and fluttering in his chest at the thought of Emma Swan moving back to Storybrooke.

"David told me that Emma expressed interest in moving back. He and Mary Margaret might start looking for a farm to leave the loft to Emma and Henry," said Robin with a sly grin. "Don't think I have forgotten that moment I interrupted just now. My apologies for that," snickered Robin, his exasperation and annoyance with Killian suddenly disappearing.

"You don't need to apologize because there was no moment, Locksley. The lack of sleep is getting to you, I see. This seems like the perfect opportunity for you all to bugger off from my apartment and let me sleep," muttered Killian as he started pushing Robin toward the door and out into the living room where Emma, Will, and Tink were sitting in his living room as David talked to a deputy in the kitchen.

It was four in the morning, and his day had gone from bad to worse; he had no time for anything except his bed and maybe some rum. And he definitely didn't want to deal with anyone right now.

And, of course, It is because of today's bad luck or because she simply read his mind (his bad luck is unending today, so that really wouldn't surprise him) that Emma Swan strides unfalteringly towards him with a storm in her green eyes.

He knows with absolute certainty then and there that he will not be having any sleep tonight.