#bless henry jones for being a bad dad

[beesqvp]

OMG FOLKS IF I PLAY MY CARDS RIGHT I'LL BE WRITING ONE MY COLLEGE ESSAYS ABOUT ONE OF MY BIGGEST HYPERFIXATIONS IM LITERALLY BUZZING AND VIBRATING RN AAAAAAAA

#IM LITERALLY SO HAPPY #I THOUGHT I WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO DO THIS ASSIGNMENT AT ALL #YET HERE I AM #I'VE NEVER BEEN MORE EXCITED TO SIT DOWN AND WRITE ON PAPER #bless henry jones for being a bad dad #and junior for sucking it up like a man

[dasaniperson]

So I had this idea where Scout actually knows Spy is his father during that infamous death scene. Then I wrote a short five about it

———————————————————————

Scout knew he was dying. The pain from his wound was numb by now, but the puddle of blood below him kept growing and he was just so tired.

It was a lot different than he expected, actually. He thought dying would be confusing and fast, like a dream, but instead he was calm. It wasn’t the happy kind of calm, nor the sad kind. It was just… blank. Everything was so perfectly quiet.

His perfect silence was interrupted by the sound of dress shoes clacking, another set of footsteps, this time without any shoes, and a voice.

“— own by monk tailors since the seventh century.” It was Spy talking. He kind of hoped that he’d just pass by him. “ I will let you use it as an adult diaper when you pry it off my cold,” He could see the edge of Spy's shoulder coming around the corner. “dead,” he was all the way around the corner, but faced back towards whoever was with him. “body.” The last word was cut short as Spy saw him. Sniper peaked around the corner and his face fell. Spy just kind of looked… surprised.

“Mate.” Sniper said to Spy. Spy sighed and put his face in his hand, looking exasperated. It didn’t surprise him. Spy barely seemed to respect him as a person, much less someone to grieve. Spy should feel something though, at least as a father. “Yes. I know.” There’s no sympathy in his tone, it’s the same voice he uses during work. “Give us a moment.” Is he really going to die with Spy? Maybe he should be happy to die with his father, most people would take this as a last minute blessing from the heavens. Then again, he hasn’t believed in god since he got his dog tags.

Spy makes his way over to him and crouches down. He shoves one hand into his pocket, the other clutching a wood plank. Upon closer inspection his knee has a splash of blood on it. “Scout. There’s something I need to tell you.” Is he finally going to confess to being his father? Scout’s known for a good four years now, and he got over it all quickly enough, it’s not like Spy ever tried to make anything of their relationship. Still, Scout can’t help but be curious as to why or how any of it happened. His eyes flick away from him. “I…” Spy has a chance right now to begin to redeem himself in Scout’s eyes.

“I’ll be right back.”

For a second Scout can’t believe it. But then he’s blazing with anger. Of course. Of course Spy would leave him to die. Of course Spy wouldn’t take the last opportunity he’ll ever have to make up with his son. Of course. It’s Spy after all. Why is he so mad? He knew it would end like this.

Maybe he’s mad because Spy gave him hope then ripped it away immediately. Or maybe it’s because Spy disappointed him again, but no, it’s not any of those. It’s because he expected it. He expected Spy to leave him. He knew Spy wouldn’t even try to look sad for his sake. His anger gives way to sadness. Then Tom Jones comes around the corner.

At first Scout thinks it’s his brain playing tricks on him. There’s no way Tom Jones is here of all places. He looked too perfect to be here, exactly how Scout imagined him, except this Tom Jones has a wooden board tucked under his arm. Just like Spy, minus the pink coloration and giant letters on it. Ah. That should probably have been obvious from the beginning. Spy walks over.

“What’s new, pussycat?” Scout almost wants to laugh over the sheer ridiculousness of the situation, but he can’t find the strength. Why is Spy disguising himself as Tom Jones of all people? Sure scout looks up to him and all, but only as a musician, never on a personal level. If Spy thinks that this is what would make Scout happy, then he really is blind.

He crouches down again. “Scout… do you know my hit song, Sex Bomb?” What is Spy saying? Bringing up Sex Bomb right now? Nevertheless, Scout nods slightly, going along with whatever Spy is leading up to. “Scout, twenty seven years ago I dropped a ‘Sex Bomb’ on your mother.” So Spy’s really going there, huh? “I was young then, and I ran from the explosion.” That’s his excuse then. He was young. Maybe Scout can understand that. But he never came back. Even when he met Spy again when he was hired at only seventeen, Spy still didn’t even try. “But now the fallout of that Sex Bomb has caught up with me.” Is that all he is to Spy? An accident caused by his own foolishness? “This is where the analogy starts to break down, so if it’s alright with you I’ll retire the Sex Bomb metaphor now.”

But then he sees it. And maybe it’s just because Tom Jones’s face is infinitely more expressive than Spy’s, but he looks… sad. He’s got this downtrodden look to him. Spy reaches a hand forward and onto Scout’s shoulder “You’re stronger than you’ll ever know, Jeremy.”

Jeremy. Spy used his real name. Jeremy had actually thought he didn’t know it for a while. Then Spy’s words sink in. Did Spy really think Jeremy was strong? He’d never even hinted at so much as liking Jeremy. As likely as it was that Spy was lying, Jeremy couldn’t quite find it in himself to think that.

“I’m proud of you.” Proud? He didn’t know what Spy had to be proud of. “I’ve always been proud of you.” Always? Why had he never shown it then? “Son.”

Son? He had given up that chance a long time ago, when he abandoned him. When he never told him that he was his dad. When he put on that godforsaken Tom Jones disguise. He couldn’t come back and take the title of father at the last second, and to be honest? Scout hadn’t needed a father in years. Spy had made the choice not to raise him when he had the chance, and now Jeremy’s twenty seven, he’s an adult. An adult that grew up a long time ago, nothing’s going to change that now.

So as he looks up at Tom Jones’s eyes he actually wishes that they were Spy's for once. At least then he could have proven to Jeremy that he wasn’t a complete wimp.

Jeremy knows he has to say something, he won’t let Spy live with the fact that he hid behind a mask during his child’s final moments. Jeremy sighs, and he knows that it’s his final breath. And he utters one word

“Coward”

And then he was gone.

————

“Hey Henry?” He looked up at his oldest brother. “Yeah?” Henry looked down at him, smiling. “How’re you always so brave?” It was true. Henry never seemed to fear anything. He would face kids twice his size without hesitation if they were doing something mean. “It ain’t bravery kid, it’s just that I gotta do something when I see bad stuff goin’ on” That didn’t make any sense. How could Henry not be brave? “I don’t understand” Henry had told him to ask when he didn’t get what he was saying. “Well kid, if there’s something you don’t like, you gotta change it, and you can’t do that by doing nothing,” Jeremy supposed that made sense, but Henry was still brave, no matter what he said.

“If there’s something you don’t like, you gotta change it,”

And then he was back.

————

He was back in that blood spattered hallway, surrounded by broken to bits robots. And holy fuck ow his wound was definitely still there and so were Spy and Sniper, who was naked for some reason. They were both walking away, unaware that he was alive. He tried to call out, but all that came out was a weak cough. Sniper turned around first “Well, I’ll be…” then Spy turned around. He said nothing but pure relief on his face. Maybe he did care. Spy hobbled over to him and lifted him up off the floor. Holding one of Scout’s arms over his shoulder for support. He nodded slightly to Sniper, who turned around and headed back down the way they had been going. “So, you figured it out.” Spy spoke suddenly, obviously referring to his fatherhood “Yeah,” he didn’t really have the energy to give a long winded response. “When did you figure it out?” “Four years ago.” He answers honestly. It may have been easier to lie and say it was only at the very end when he figured out. It may have saved them all a lot of explaining “and you never told me you knew?” It was a fair inquiry, but Scout didn’t have any one solid answer to that, “never came up.” Spy rolls his eyes at the lackluster answer. “We’re going to be talking about this later.” He had known that was going to happen. Neither of them were in any state to have a heart to heart conversation about feelings right now. Scout hummed slightly in agreement.

Scout was still mad at Spy, but when someone holds you as you die, you tend to feel a bit more understanding towards them. He was going to let this play out. He doubted they would ever truly become father and son this far along in a not so friendly relationship, but he was willing to give Spy a chance to at least be a decent friend.

#tf2 dad spy #dad spy #dad!spy #dadspy #team fortress two #tf2 spy #tf2 fanfiction #tf2 scout #tf2

[elizabeethan]

Spaces Between Us Chapter 13: You & I

The hardships of real life separated them six years ago, and Emma has been struggling to put that fact behind her ever since. But then, only after she’s convinced herself that she’s moved on and that her new life is enough, Killian Jones comes back.

A Captain Swan Modern AU

Complete

As my grandma used to say,"theyah." (she meant "there" and she would brush her hands together, but she had a very heavy a Maine accent) 

Thank you to everyone who read this, and to everyone who commented, left kudos, liked it, reblogged it, sent flails.... you're the best!!

Thank you, as usual, to my beta and friend @the-darkdragonfly​, and to @donteattheappleshook​ and @xhookswenchx​ for listening to my ramblings and helping me figure out the plot to this <3

Read the Rest

Read on Ao3

Read my Other Stuff

~~~~

His warm fingers tickle her awake, dancing delicately over the skin of her waist and making her giggle before she hisses at the bright sunlight stinging her eyes. “It’s too early for all that.” 

 “No it isn’t,” he argues, kissing a hot trail down her neck until his lips reach her breast. She swears she was wearing a shirt when she went to bed… “We’ve got to get up soon anyway.” 

 “Then why are you initiating what you're initiating?” 

 “I can be quick.” 

 She snorts, reaching her fingers into his thick hair and letting out an appreciative sound as he flicks his tongue over her nipple. “I’m sure you can.” 

 “Let me do my work in peace, please,” he chastises playfully as he drags his mouth down her stomach, tucking his fingers into the hem of her underwear and tugging them down her thighs. 

 “If you insist,” she sighs, letting her head fall back against the pillow and grounding herself as she scratches her fingers against his scalp. 

He certainly does take his work seriously, succeeding in his promise to be quick and getting her ready for him in just a matter of minutes. She pulls on his hair a bit harder and he lifts his head, looking up at her with shiny lips and a glint in his eyes before he wipes his chin and crawls up her body slowly, peppering kisses along the way. “Already?” he asks when he reaches her ear, and she giggles. 

 “You promised to be quick, I thought you’d be pleased to know that you delivered.” 

 “Oh, I’m very pleased. If there’s one thing parenthood has taught me, it's how to get my lady love off in a jiffy.” 

 “Shut up,” she laughs, though the sound is cut off quickly when he plunges himself into her, nearly to the hilt before he pulls back out and slides in again, slowly this time. She groans in appreciation for the way he stretches her, hitting everywhere just right as he sets a steady pace. 

 “I love you,” he whispers against the shell of her ear, tracing his tongue over the sensitive skin just below. “So much.”

 “I love you, too,” she whispers back breathlessly, then with a moan, “don’t stop.” 

 “You like it like this?” he asks, biting her skin and pushing into her at just the right angle. 

 She whimpers and nods, her nails clawing at his back. She’s so close already, his mouth bringing her halfway there before they’d even started, and when he reaches his fingers between them where she needs him the most, she cries out again. 

 “There,” she begs, her legs shaking as she holds him in place. “Oh, fuck, right there.” 

 When he whispers, “come for me,” with his tone commanding and gentle, there's little she can do but obey him. 

 He’s heavy on top of her, her chest heaving beneath him, but she wouldn’t have it any other way. She loves being here with him more than just about anything. The way he kisses her cheek over and over while they catch their breath makes her heart flutter more. 

 “You don’t actually have to go, right?” she asks jokingly as she runs her fingers up and down his back. “You’re actually just going to work? Won’t Will be mad if you miss a day, Mr. Mechanic?”

 With a laugh and another kiss to her cheek at the charming nickname she gave him when his friend hired him to work in his garage, he answers, “I bloody well better go. I promised Ruby I’d be there and I certainly don't want to be on her bad side.” She giggles, though he continues, “and I want to watch that bastard get exactly what he deserves.” 

 She nods, letting out a long, steady breath. Walsh’s trial is today, and while Killian isn’t allowed to testify because of his relationship with the victim-- her-- Ruby has a lot to say about that evening. At first, there was talk of Killian being unfit to serve and having made irresponsible choices because of his emotional connection with Emma. But after Ruby’s accounts of that night and the body camera footage, it was clear that he acted as appropriately as he ever has. Walsh shot first, and the sheriff responded using non-lethal force. And besides, Killian left the force on his own accord, anyway. 

 At first, she was almost angry that he’d lived. Part of her wanted the surgeons to let him die; another part of her wanted Killian to have taken a better shot. But he was shot himself, so the fact that he got him in the shoulder was pretty damn good. Plus, Walsh will never be able to fully use his arm again. 

 And… he’s probably going to jail for a long time. Which would be cool, considering the amount of times he’s been beaten up already.

 “There’s too much going on in there,” he murmurs, kissing her temple. “Tell me what you’re thinking?” 

 With a shrug, she says, “just thinking about what happened. It’s been a long eight months.” 

 He hums. “Aye, it has. Hasn’t been so bad, though.” 

 “No,” she agrees softly. “But I’ll be glad when this whole trial thing is over. Maybe we can finally leave this place.” 

 “Are you implying that you aren’t a fan of my apartment?” he asks through feigned offence. “I find it to be quite quaint.” 

 “Oh, it’s quaint,” she giggles. “I just feel bad making Henry sleep in a closet.” 

 “It’s not a closet! I pay extra for two bedrooms!”

 With a soft smile, she cups his cheek in her palm and says, “I’m sorry, my love, but that is a walk-in closet.” 

 He rolls his eyes, then rolls off of her and offers her his hand to hoist her off the bed. “Soon we can get him a nice big bedroom, promise. Once the trial’s over, there’s nothing holding us here.” 

 It’s true. While they haven’t fully talked about where they’ll end up when all is said and done, Walsh signed the divorce papers from his cell a few weeks ago. And with the pre-nup null and void, Emma took her half of his fortune and donated it to an organization that supports victims of domestic violence and their children. 

 “Henry’s appointment is at ten, right?” 

 “Yeah,” she nods. Starting him up with Archie has been a blessing. Emma had a lot of fears that he would handle the transitions with difficulty, but with Dr. Hopper’s help, he’s been well adjusted, and she couldn’t be prouder. 

 They struggled with how to tell him about his father, but she never wants to lie to him. They moved out of their old house with haste, grabbing everything they could as quickly as possible so that Emma wouldn’t have to be there for a second longer than she had to. And while Henry was confused, he didn’t seem overly upset. He enjoyed living with the sheriff for a few days, even creating a comfortable nook for Abby, before they sat him down and told him everything. 

 When Emma told her son that the man who’s been in his life all along isn’t actually his father, she thought he would be upset. In reality, though, he simply shrugged and asked if Killian’s house had macaroni and cheese. 

 When Emma told her son who his real father is, a few days after they moved in with him for both safety and stability, he cheered and gave Killian the biggest hug she’s ever seen him give anyone. 

 She still can’t think about that day without crying. 

 “So Sherrie is actually my dad?” 

 Emma nods. “Yes, baby. I’m sorry that this is so confusing.” 

 He ignores her sentiment and asks, “and I can call him daddy?” 

 “You can call him anything you want.” 

 Turning towards Killian, he asks again, “can I call you daddy?” 

 The look on his face is so heartbreaking that Emma’s tears flow freely. Killian looks up at his son, meeting his eyes with glassy ones, and nods. “I’d love that.” 

 “Have you got one as well?” he asks, shaking her from her memories as she wipes away a rogue tear.

 “Wednesday. You’re okay to watch Henry in the morning, right?” 

 “It’s not exactly babysitting, Swan,” he reminds her gently, and she grins at the name he uses and the fact that it’s finally her name again. 

 “I know, but…” 

 “Go and see Ingrid on Wednesday, love. I’m glad you’re still finding it beneficial to talk with her.” 

 Honestly, finding a therapist who happens to have experience working with victims of domestic violence in this small town was a surprise to Emma, but she’s found her work with Ingrid to be invaluable. While she’s known all along that what happened wasn’t her fault, and that she shouldn’t feel guilty about what she and her son went through for all those years, it’s been helpful to hear that from a professional as well. Ingrid reminded her that, while the physical abuse happened only near the end of their relationship, Emma was being emotionally abused the entire time she knew Walsh. She was trapped from the moment she met him, little by little being gaslighted until she believed that she would have nothing if she left him. As hard as it was for her to see how toxic he was at first, it was even harder to imagine leaving when she thought he had so much power over her.

 The guilt that came with finding out she put herself and her child through that for nothing was unmatched. Her feelings and thoughts about herself as a mother, about how she failed to protect her son, are something she’s been battling for months and will likely never be able to fully let go of. Finding out that Killian is Henry’s father gave her the freedom to leave, but it also gave her the most traumatic experience of her life and brought endless feelings of self-hatred, and that’s something she’s been working on coming to terms with, slowly but surely. 

 “Alright,” she agrees, pressing a chaste kiss to his lips as she walks past him towards the bathroom. 

 “I’ll go give him his nebulizer while you get ready.” 

 Stopping short in her path to the shower, she turns to him and smiles. “I love you.” 

 Returning her smile with his own, he says, “I love you, too, Swan.” 

 In eight months, he’s become more of a father than Walsh was Henry’s entire life. 

 ~~~~

 As he watches Walsh being escorted into the courtroom, donning his orange jumpsuit and shackles, Killian is reminded of the last time he saw the man who almost took everything from him. It was months ago, once he was finally transferred to the Storybrooke Sheriff’s Department’s jail cell. He was still clearly favoring his left arm, his right shoulder completely out of commission as a result of Killian’s rather good shot, and he felt a sick sense of accomplishment seeing the monster struggling to get comfortable on the firm cot with the sling wrapped around him. 

 “Need something?” he’d asked, although he wasn’t too chuffed to give the bastard anything that would take away his obvious malaise. 

 He scoffed and responded, “yeah, my pain meds would be nice. Are you always in the business of torture?”

 “Aye,” Killian responded without thinking, then he stood up and walked to Walsh’s cell, keys in hand. “I suppose I am. But I really only focus on torturing the absolute most wretched inmates. Like you.” 

 Walsh shook his head and laughed, but Killian didn’t miss the look of fear in his eyes as he inserted the key and swung the cell door open, shutting it behind him. “Talk about protect and serve.” 

 Killian hummed in response and nodded as well as he moved to stand over Walsh’s cot, staring down into his eyes with anger, the strength of which he won’t ever feel again. “The fact is, mate, I couldn’t care less about my duties as the sheriff. Not when the safety and happiness of my son and the woman I love are on the line.” Walsh laughed once more and rolled his eyes, so Killian moved quickly to thrust his open hand down upon his neck, pressing just hard enough to make the animal’s eye pop from his head. “You threatened them. You tried to kill her. You neglected the child you thought was yours for his entire life. You are garbage; a waste of oxygen. Trust me when I tell you that I will do everything in my power to ensure that you never live to see the light of day. You will never take a breath outside of a barbed wire fence. You will never eat anything but the slop they feed you. You will never experience pleasure for as long as you live. And I promise you, you will live for decades in an iron cage, right where you belong.” 

 He was quiet for a moment as his cheeks started to turn red and his eyes grew wider, before he finally gruffed, “I can’t breathe.” 

 “Perfect,” Killian responded. “Then you know exactly how she felt. Count yourself lucky that I’m not going to try and shoot you again.” 

 He released his forceful grip, shoving Walsh down onto the cot as he took in a forceful breath, before he turned and locked the cell, walking back to his desk and collecting his things. When his shift ended, Killian Jones walked out of the Storybrooke Sheriff’s Department precinct for the final time. 

 ~~~~

 Henry’s birthday is definitely cause for celebration. He’s turning six. It’s the first time Killian will be able to celebrate his son’s birthday. He’s finally with his Emma, with nothing stopping them from being happy together. There’s a lot for his family to be happy about. 

 “Daddy!” Henry calls as he sprints at full speed towards his father. “Daddy, can I have cake yet?” 

 “No, not yet. You haven’t even touched your lunch. And don’t let your mother see you running wild like that.”

 His more intensive therapies have been working as well as they can, but they know they have to be careful to avoid another serious attack-- one that might not end as well as the last had. Killian only just became a part of his son’s life. He doesn’t intend to lose him. 

 “But it’s my birthday,” he complains, rolling his eyes and giving him a look that could rival his mother’s. 

 “Your birthday isn’t until Monday.”

 “Well, it’s my tarty.” 

 “Your party.” 

 “I think I wanna ask mommy.” 

 Killian chuckles. “If mommy doesn’t tell you to wait until after lunch, I’ll give you five dollars.” 

 His eyes light up and widen immediately, cloudy gray perfectly complimenting the black pupils as he turns from him and runs straight for the door. He watches from the deck as Henry begs and pleads with his mother, giving her his best bambi eyes, before he sees her nod, the lad jumping for joy and shrinking excitedly. He runs towards the sliding door and pounds his fists against it, shouting through the glass, “you owe me five dollars!”

 With a sigh, Killian brushes past his son, ruffling his hair just a bit, before he wraps both arms around Emma’s waist, pulling her in for a hug from behind. “You really got me there, Swan.” 

 “Did I?” she asks. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” 

 She leans back into his chest, turning her head so that she can press a soft kiss to his jaw. “No? Are you telling me our son didn’t inform you of my poorly-made offer?” 

 With a giggle, she answers, “of course he did. That’s what you get for trying to negotiate with our six year old.” 

 He squeezes her a bit tighter, reveling in their loneliness in the kitchen. “He’s still five,” he reminds her, content to never let him grow up.

 “Yes,” she hums. “And what a big difference the two days will make.” 

 He pushes his lips against her cheek and says, “I’m afraid he’s getting too old. We’ll have to return him soon.” 

 “And what,” she laughs, “trade him in for a newer model?” 

 “Aye, that’s the price of fatherhood most men aren’t willing to pay. But I’m not like those other men.” 

 She doesn’t need to be facing him for him to know that she rolls her eyes. “You are absolutely ridiculous.” 

 “--ly in love with you,” he corrects. She does spin around now, turning to face him and burying her face in his neck as her arms hold him in her iron grip. “What is it?” he whispers into her hair more seriously. 

 “Nothing,” she responds softly. “I’m just… happy. It still surprises me sometimes. That we’re here and celebrating our son’s birthday together; that nothing’s stopping us.” 

 “Aye, love, me too,” he agrees, running his hands up and down along the contours of her spine. “I wouldn’t trade it for the world.” 

 “You won’t ever have to,” she reminds him with a smile as she pulls away just enough to look at him. “We won.” 

 He grins down at her, running his thumb along her cheek as he holds her jaw with his palm. With her ex-husband being found guilty on all charges, his life sentence without the possibility for parole means they’ll never be apart again. “Yes, my love,” he says, leaning down to kiss her chastely. “Let’s simply avoid the scorned husbands and attempts on both of our lives in the future, aye?”

 She agrees with a nod. “Yes, that sounds like a good plan. Fucking idiot got exactly what he deserved, though.” 

 He laughs and says, “as eloquently put as always. I couldn’t agree more.” 

 As it turns out, the prosecution lawyer was very experienced and was able to use Walsh’s statements of intent to kill his wife, as well as the loaded gun pointed directly at her and at the sheriff, to prove two counts of attempted second degree murder, plus assault with a deadly weapon, plus domestic violence, plus election fraud, plus embezzelment. Suffice it to say, Walsh won’t be seeing much daylight for quite some time. 

 Of course, the honorable man in Killian almost thought that sending his mistress’s husband to jail for life as a means to be with her was taking the cheap way out, but he got over those feelings very quickly. It’s not about Killian being with Emma, after all. Not really. 

 As their son laughs raucously on the swing set with his cousin, he sees exactly what it’s about. 

 “I suppose we should do the cake,” Emma finally sighs, lifting her head 

 “I suppose,” he concedes, squeezing her tighter in his hold and pressing a kiss to her temple. 

 ~~~~

 The afternoon rolls into evening, everyone finding a lawn chair or chaise lounge to relax in as David starts a fire and Mary Margaret prepares for an outdoor movie. Honestly, Killian’s son is spoiled with the grandeur of his sixth birthday party, with the giant white screen and the projector displaying The Good Dinosaur for all the children to enjoy. 

 Emma sighs happily as she leans back against Killian’s chest, taking his wrists in her hands and pulling his arms around her middle. She feels warm against him as the fire heats her skin and her sweatshirt, and he can’t get enough of the feeling of the weight of her body pressed to his own. 

 “I love you,” she finally whispers into the dark as the movie starts, the sounds enough to drown out her voice so that only Killian can hear.

 “I love you, too,” he agrees softly, sentimentally, squeezing her just a bit tighter. “More than just about anything.” 

 “Just about?” 

 He hums out a laugh and nods. “I’m afraid I love our son just a tiny bit more than you. That’s normal, right?” 

 “Yes,” she agrees softly, turning to face him and pressing a kiss to his neck. “I’m afraid I love our kids more than you, too.” 

 He smiles and laughs lightly against her, returning her soft kiss with one of his own as he sighs and looks on at their son happily enjoying his special day. “Wait,” he says as it finally dawns on him; the specific wording she chose and the coy smile she dons through a giggle. “Kids?” 

 She hums in agreement, nodding against his chest and pulling his arms tighter around herself until his palm is pressed to her stomach. “I found out this morning.” 

 “Emma,” he breathes, unable to comprehend her meaning. 

 “I was thinking if it’s a boy, we could name him after your brother. At least his middle name. Thoughts?” 

 “Emma,” he tries again, separating his arms and pulling away only far enough to help her turn towards him. “Are you…” 

 “Shh,” she insists, pressing her finger to his lips and grinning at him and she turns to face him head on. Then she whispers, “it’s a secret. I’m pregnant.” 

 He can’t breathe, a shocked sound coming out of his mouth as he leans towards her and captures her lips in his. She grins against him, holding onto the neck of his sweatshirt to pull him impossibly closer to herself. “You’re sure?” 

 “I’ll call the doctor on Monday to make an appointment, but I took three tests. All positive.” 

 “Fuck,” he breathes almost silently, trying hard not to alert those around them of their shift in mood but finding it near impossible. “Fuck, I love you. I thought…” 

 She shakes her head, cradling the back of his neck in her hands as she answers his silent question. “I probably never would’ve been ready,” she explains. They’ve talked about it in passing, and she’s insisted that her last pregnancy was difficult and that she’s still recovering from the trauma she’s endured and is therefore unable to consider the possibility of having another child. “If I had a say, I probably would’ve kept putting it off,” she whispers. “But… surprise.” She shrugs and grins at him.

 He kisses her, because he can think of no other way to express his feelings towards her than to show her what she means to him. There are no words to tell her exactly what she’s given him, not just now, but every second he’s known her. No words, except, “marry me.” 

 She giggles breathlessly, the air escaping her lips hitting the tip of his nose as she gasps, “what?” 

 With a grin, he responds more seriously, “marry me. Please.” He clears his throat and tries again. “Emma Swan-- love of my life, mother of my children-- will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?” 

 “You’re serious?” she breathes softly, careful not to alert the other parents present of the sudden shift between them. “You know I just got divorced, like, two months ago.” 

 “Aye, but I should've asked you to marry me seven years ago. The divorce is merely semantics.” 

 She laughs breathlessly again, disbelievingly, and nods her head before pulling him close to her. “Yes,” she whispers against him before pressing a passionate, if not also chaste, kiss to his lips. He can tell that she wants to deepen it, perhaps she wants to take him inside and show him how excited she is, but they're at their son’s birthday party and they have to keep things G-Rated. PG; nothing higher. “Yes,” she says again. Then once more, “yes, I’ll marry you.” 

 Andrew Liam Jones was born seven months later. He was monitored closely throughout Emma’s pregnancy to ensure proper development of his lungs, and when he was born, he screamed like a banshee to alert his parents of his healthy arrival. He weighed seven pounds, three ounces, and was twenty-one inches long. His big brother, newly renamed Henry David Jones following an amendment to his birth certificate, refused to leave the baby’s side until he fell asleep, needing to be carried out of the maternity suite by his uncle while his parents took in the bliss and terror of having a new life to care for. 

 Emma and Killian were married two months after the arrival of their second child, the small ceremony taking place on the secluded, rocky beach in Storybrooke, Maine. At first, Killian wanted to remove his family from the hellish town that nearly stole his life away from him, but she disagreed. This was where they were reunited. This was where they found each other again. This was where she found herself again. It’s where her children were born and raised. So, when she finds a beautiful, blue victorian style home on the outskirts of town and cries at how perfect it is for their family, at how close she would be to her sister, they place an offer. And they win. 

 They won when they found each other again and they know that they will never lose at anything ever again so long as they have each other. 

~~~~

~~~~

Tagging: @courtorderedcake @kmomof4 @stahlop @klynn-stormz @laschatzi @emelizabeth88 @lfh1226-linda @kday426 @elisethewritingbeast @timeless-love-story @captain-emmajones @gingerpolyglot @ebcaver @ilovemesomekillianjones @teamhook @superchocovian @itsfabianadocarmo @tiganasummertree @gingerchangeling @jrob64 @onceratheart18 @xhookswenchx @winterbaby89 @swampmedusa @ultraluckycatnd @dancingnancyy @love-with-you-i-have-everything @shireness-says @snowbellewells​ @hollyethecurious @ouatpost @daxx04 @the-darkdragonfly @donteattheappleshook​ @therooksshiningknight @eeteeaytay​ @xsajx​ @itsfridaysomewhere​ @alexa-fangirl-forever​ @jonesfandomfanatic​ @wefoundloveunderthelight​ @qualitycoffeethings​ @rapunzelsghosts​ @spaceconveyor

#captain swan #captain swan fanfic #cs ff #cs ff au #captain swan au #spaces between us #spaces ff #cs fluff #cs smut

[intothewickedwood]

hiiii! top 5 ouat characters + top 5 ouat seasons :) 💫✨🧡🤗

Thank you for the asks! I’m not sure if you got my last ask about your fave seasons and episodes but let me know if you didn’t recieve it and I can send again if you would like :D!

Top 20 Ouat Characters 

Did this recently, so gonna do top 10 for funsies xD! And also I got very carried away. Explanations for top 5: https://intothewickedwood.tumblr.com/post/634530746567180288/13-who-are-your-top-five-favorite-characters

1. Alice Jones / Tilly

2. Zelena

3. Snow White / Mary Margaret Blanchard

4. Prince Charming / David Nolan

5. Emma Swan

6. Henry Mills

He’s an awesome kid. I especially likes him in season one where he had a bit of a cheeky side and I loved his boundless belief and felt so sorry for him. I love his relationships with all his family

7. Princess Abigail / Kathryn Nolan

I just love her to bits. She deserved so much better and I just want her to be happy dammit! She’s so sweet and went out of her way to help David find his true love in the EF and to try to let them know that they had her blessing in SB. Loved her friendship with David and Regina/ It still breaks my heart that Regina betrayed her! I wish we got more of her!

8. The Mad Hatter / Jefferson

I love how creepy and twisted he is in his introductory episode. He gave me the shivers and I felt so scared for Emma and MM. He’s a unique take on the Mad Hatter and I have to say my favourite. I love that he’s a single dad who’s primary motivations are to be back with and care for his daughter. Warms my heart! 

9. Princess Anna

What can I say? I love Frozen and surprisingly I prefer Anna to Elsa in Ouat, which is strange because it’s the opposite for the Frozen movies. I just love her quirkiness. I love that she just blurts out whatever’s on her mind. I love how much she loves and cares for her sister and I think she’s adorable.

10. Robin Mills / Margot

I love her. She’s one half of my second favourite ship and I think she’s awesome. I love how much she loves and cares for Alice /Tilly and I love her relationships with her mum and auntie. I only wish we got more of her

11. Red Riding Hood / Ruby Lucas

The twist in Red-Handed will forever be my favourite of the show! I love that she’s a wolf person/ werewolf?/ lycan? I think it’s so cool learning about the lore of her people and I love stories in which a character can’t control their powers. You can than X-Men for that. I just love her in general! Her friendship with Sow is so great! They would do anything for eachother! She has a big heart and just wants the best for her family and friends that she sees as family

12. Cora Mills

I love her messed up relationships with her daughters. I think she’s a great villain both in the past and present. She’s so wonderfully manipulative. I think she’s amazing and I’m glad she’s not my mum.

13. Peter Pan

He was such a great, unique take on the character. He was creepy as hell and evil for the sake of being evil. Loved the twist that he was Rumple’s Dad. It was a great arc. He was terrifying. I would not want to be in his presence.

14. Pinocchio / August W. Booth

I love him. I know he has shady ways and has done some bad things but I love how mysterious he is, especially in season one. I love his friendship with Emma and I think he’s very wise. Wooden Swan battles to be my otp for Emma.

15. Graham Humbert

Okay, I have a huge crush but also I love how much of a dork he is. He was so important to Emma’s story. I miss him. Gremma is probably my otp. I wish we got more of him.

16. Jiminy Cricket / Archie Hopper

He’s just so kind and caring. I want him to be my therapist! He always wants the best for people, no matter what they’ve done. I love his friendship with Henry and I just wanna wrap Archie up and put him in my bag. Basically I wanna kidnap him.

17. Aurora

I love her development. I’m a big fan of the movie ‘Sleeping Beauty’ and was so happy when she joined the show. Her relationships with Mulan and Phillip were amazing and they will forever be my number one ot3! She became so brave and was so unbelievably helpful to complete strangers! She has a great heart.

18. Wish Realm Captain Hook / Rogers

He’s a freaking great father and deserved so much better. He deserved to be their to watch his daughter, who is his entire world, grow up. He would do anything, even die for her and it makes my wanna cry. Knightrook is my favourite familial relationship on the show. Even when cursed, he knew he had to protect her. 

19. Mother Gothel / Eloise Gardener

I’m gonna get killed for this but I just think she’s a great villain. She makes me genuinely hate her, which I can’t say for many other villains in the show. But she is so irredemably evil in the show and an amazing villain in fics. She hurt my favourite character Alice so deeply but it makes for amazing angst. And I love a character who plays mind games.

20. Elsa

Again, big fan of Frozen. I love how gay she is for Emma and I love her sisterly bond with Anna so freaking much. They would do anthing for eachother. Her magic is so cool to watch! I love her!

Top 5 Ouat Seasons

1. Season One

2. Season Three

3. Season Seven

4. Season Four

5. Season Two

Explanations here: https://intothewickedwood.tumblr.com/post/627077185253048320/ouat-40-day-challenge

#ouat #once upon a time #henry mills #jefferson #elsa #peter pan #princess anna #ruby lucas #asks #emmaswcns #long post #flash warning #ask game #am*

[let-it-raines]

Rising from the Ashes (16/?)

When her husband died, Emma wasn’t sure that she could ever move on. He left her with a broken heart and a baby who was only three-months old. It’s enough to take most people down, to make them not want to keep going, but Emma Swan isn’t most people. She’s stronger than she has any right to be.

And after years of heartache, she’s found ways to move on…one of those being in Neal’s best friend, Killian Jones.

As she’s always known, however, things are more complicated than they ever seem to be.

Rating: Mature

A/N: I cannot thank you guys enough for reading this story. Lots of things are about to start happening, not all of them pleasant, and I simply ask that you trust me again. You know I’m a happy ending kind of girl 💙

Found on AO3: Beginning | Current

Tumblr:  1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 

Tag list: @blowmiakisscolin @jamif @artistic-writer @cs-forlife @qualitycoffeethings @resident-of-storybrooke @captainsjedi @captswanis4vr @teamhook @ekr032-blog-blog @mayquita @bmbbcs4evr @wellhellotragic @kmomof4 @jennjenn615 @onceuponaprincessworld @shady-swan-jones  @snow-into-ash @andiirivera @mariakov81 @shireness-says @kristi555 @facesiousbutton82 @superchocovian @jonirobinson64 @snowbellewells @thejollyroger-writer

-/-

Liam: Caleb is officially going to be our son, so if you’d like, you can tell Emma now!It’s no longer a secret!

Killian: Bloody hell. That’s fantastic!

Killian: I’m more than thrilled for you two, and I’ll have to call you tomorrow.

Liam: I can’t believe I’m going to be a dad.

Killian: Welcome to the club. It’s the best one.

He’s got a smile on his face for the rest of the day after receiving Liam’s texts about he and Belle’s news about Caleb, and for how things have been lately, that’s something that he appreciates even more than usual. He’s been drowning himself in that all too familiar feeling of guilt, and it’s only when he’s occupied at work or with his family that he’s able for it to lessen, for the weight crushing his heart to lift to a bearable pain that allows him to breathe.

This, finding out that his brother and Belle get to fulfill a dream they’ve had for a good while, one that’s been breaking their hearts for years as they continuously fell short, helps to lift his spirits for a few minutes. Being a dad is his greatest joy in life. He understands that it’s not for everyone, that not everyone wants it, and he gets that. It’s difficult, emotional, disgusting sometimes, and causes more stress than many other things in his life. It’s all about personal preference and want, but when you want to be a parent, well, he doesn’t see how anyone could ever think that it’s not a wonderful blessing.

And that little boy, Caleb, is about to have more love and family than he knows what to do with.

He has to no idea how he’s going to get his family over to England this year to meet the lad, but it’s got to happen. Liam and Belle made the effort to be here for Ada’s birth and for so many milestones in Henry’s life that he can’t imagine not being around to meet this kid once he’s gotten a bit settled into life in a new home.

This is bloody magnificent.

It makes him happy when he hasn’t had a lot to feel happy about lately. Well, that’s not true. He falls asleep at night with the love of his life in his arms, and he wakes up in the morning and gets to take care and love these two children who are the lights of his life. Really, he has everything he ever wanted, everything he ever dreamed about when he realized that he didn’t want to live the life of the bachelor Navy Captain forever.

He has everything in the palm of his hands.

He can feel it all slipping through his fingers.

It’s been exactly forty-seven days since he took Henry to therapy and saw Neal get into a car before returning back to the office, and even though he told himself that it was nothing and that Neal deserves his own time, he has not listened to his thoughts. In fact, he has run marathons with them and paid more attention to Neal’s every movement than he has those of his girlfriend’s.

One day he’d love to propose to Emma so as not to be nearly thirty-eight and still calling her his girlfriend when they share their entire life with each other.

Among other reasons such as loving her and wanting to commit to her in every way possible. Those being the most important.

And yet he can’t propose to her. Not now. Not when he’s harboring this secret that she would hate him for, that she will hate him for. He’d wanted to propose before Neal was found alive, and after he came home was not the time. He’d wanted to propose after they’d gotten back together in December, but it was too soon, their wounds still too fresh. He’s wanted to propose every day of this year, but he cannot ask Emma to marry him, to love him for the rest of their days, when he’s entirely sure that her ex-husband has been lying to all of them about what he’s been doing since he got home…and possibly before then.

He’s seen a lot of outlandish things in his life and in his time traveling to different countries, but thinking that Neal Cassidy is living some kind of secret life has got to be the most outlandish thought to ever cross his mind. It’s Neal, the man who he used to go out for drinks with, the man who he used to watch football matches with, the man who Emma once loved more than anyone in the world, the man who was living in his house until he officially moved to DC last week.

Neal Cassidy who is his friend.

Neal Cassidy who is his son’s father.

Of all of the things that make his thoughts horrible, he thinks the worst is that he could possibly accuse Henry’s dad of being someone other than who he says he is when Henry looks up to Neal.

It’s that thought that has made him walk miles back and forth while weighing everything in his mind.

But his thoughts of protecting Emma and Henry, Ada too, are the ones that have made him decide that if he can’t stop thinking about it, there must be something to it. And when Kyle Thomasson came up to Neal at the zoo and started talking about their time together in London, that’s when he knew for sure that something is not adding up, that something is not right. It could have been a mistake, yeah. Neal’s face has been plastered across the television and online, but Kyle seemed sure enough that it stuck with him.

Neal Gold.

Of course, Emma pulled him away from listening so that he could hear that his little girl had just said his name for her first word. He wanted to mark the moment as one of the best in his life, but he was distracted and confused, his mind focusing on everything else. But he wouldn’t let the craziness completely take away from the moment. He simply wouldn’t. Too much has already been taken from his family, and he wanted to treasure the fact that his little girl with her chubby cheeks and hazel eyes said his name. He wanted to be able to appreciate that the little girl who he was terrified of being a bad father to, is still terrified of being a bad father to, loves him enough to say his name before she says any other words. He knows that there are other factors, that it’s really her saying sounds, but he loves whenever she babbles his name to him.

He can’t keep having family moments taken away from him. He won’t keep letting it happen.

Which is why he’s spent his nights compiling every oddity about Neal to try to make sense of his thoughts and his stories. While Neal was still living with them, he took the time to notice more about him than anyone would expect him to. If he’s honest with himself, he’s gone too far with his investment, with his theories, and he’s ashamed of it all. He’s deeply ashamed, but he doesn’t think he’s wrong to think that every duck isn’t in its row and that every domino isn’t perfectly placed. If he were to tip one over, he’s sure they’d all still fall, just not in the right way.

It’s all been a perfect merry go round of thoughts, the same words repeating over and over again in his mind so that he can’t make them stop, so that he can’t make them fall away.

Ashes to ashes, we all fall down.

But now that he suspects something, now that Neal is out of the house and not sharing a breakfast table with him, it’s been easier to try to make his thoughts more coherent. It’s been easier to know that he’d lost his mind and started following the man to his therapy appointments and support groups. Sometimes Neal went into the buildings. Other times he didn’t, either getting into another random car and driving away or never showing up to the right addresses to begin with. When he got into the cars, Killian tried to follow him, but traffic and crafty driving had always made him lose his tail. He’s an idiot for not being able to get it done, but he’s also an idiot for thinking that he should be following Neal.

A step too far and a step too short all at once.

If Neal found out…it’d be all over. He would destroy everything that mattered to him over some dumb hunch that he’s convinced himself is real and reliable and important in keeping all of those things (those people – Emma, Henry, and Ada) together in the little bubble of happiness that they’ve finally found after so much heartbreak and heartache, shattered pieces still littering the floor.

He cannot shatter them again.

He’s going to.

He’s an idiot for lying to Emma about his slightly late days at the office every now and then. They’re not supposed to have any secrets, but he can’t tell her about this. Not yet. Maybe when he knows more, when he has more information. He needs to know something solid for sure before talking to Emma. She believes him about a lot of preposterous things, but this…this would be asking too much.

There’s just…something is not right. That much he knows for sure. Neal is hiding something, and he doesn’t know what. But it’s there. It has to be. There are so many things that don’t make sense, so many oddities and disconnections that simply don’t make sense. Every day of his life is spent connecting metaphorical dots and actualizing how they would play out in real life, and he can’t get his mind to stop doing that here.

He’s terrified, actual chills seeping into his bones and settling until there’s a hollow ache, that something, someone, is going to hurt his family. He’s terrified that it’s going to be someone other than him as he tries to figure out why Neal was lying to them about where he spends his time.

What if Neal hurts Emma? What if he hurts Henry? What if they’ve welcomed him back into their lives with open arms only for him to be lying to them?

There are several facts that Killian has always known. They’ve been a constant in the past decade of his life, and he never thought he’d change them. His world has been built around them, and they were set in stone.

He met Emma Swan on November tenth, two thousand and eight.

Emma Swan fell in love with Neal Cassidy, and they had a wonderful marriage that was full of life and light that the both of them were missing during their childhoods.

Emma Swan gave birth to Henry Cassidy on September fourth, two thousand and eleven, and she and Neal were the proudest parents on the planet.

Neal Cassidy deployed for Afghanistan on October third, two thousand and eleven.

Neal Cassidy was declared missing and presumably dead on December eleventh, two thousand and eleven.

Killian kissed Emma for the first time on April twenty third, two thousand and fifteen, and it was the most glorious moment of his life until she told him that she loved him for the first time on August seventh of that same year.

They moved in together in Alexandria, bought a house and moved to Portland, continued to date and raise their son with as much love as either of them could muster, and on May seventeenth, two thousand and nineteen Ada Grace Jones was born and he knew for a fact that his heart could never be so full of love.

His life was practically perfect in the way that lives can be perfect.

And then it wasn’t.

On September thirteenth, two thousand and nineteen, Neal Cassidy was found alive and rescued in Afghanistan where he was a prisoner of war for just shy of eight years.

Killian’s entire life was flipped, twisted, revived, and changed.

These are things he can’t dispute, that he can’t change. He’s always thought that. For a long time he lived in a world of facts, a place where only black and white existed, no murky gray filling the middle. His father left him, his mother died, and his brother moved back to England instead of staying in America with him. It was how it was, and that’s how he lived.

That’s no longer true.

Because what if everything he knows was a lie?

What if? What if? What if?

He thought Emma and Neal had a great marriage, and even though it had its bright moments, he now knows that it was darkly shaded in variations of gray, merging into black at some points, rarely merging back into the light.

He thought Neal was always a proud parent to Henry, that he was as excited for that baby to be born as Killian was for Ada to make her entrance, but that fact was all a lie too.

He thought that Neal was dead, but he wasn’t. He was a prisoner of war being tortured and beaten for information he likely didn’t have.

But what if he wasn’t? What if that fact isn’t true either?

That’s the crutch of the entire situation. That’s the crazy thought that keeps replaying over and over again. Something about Neal isn’t adding up, and if some of the things Killian has known for years aren’t true, who’s to say that others can’t be as well?

He’s ashamed of himself for thinking this way when his focus should be on making sure that Henry is okay now that his dad is living away from him. He’s ashamed that he’s thinking awful thoughts about a man who is his friend and is a part of his family, but he’s not going to be ashamed if he’s right about this all.

Because what if Neal wasn’t a prisoner of war all of that time? It’s quite possibly the most preposterous thing he’s ever thought, but crazy thoughts turn out to be true every day. What if Neal was deployed and simply…never came home? It doesn’t make sense, he knows, but when he thinks about the man who they ran into at the zoo, the man who was convinced that he knew Neal in London, it…does.

It makes sense because Killian remembers being in London with his family and thinking that he saw Neal at the park. It’s a large city, one that anyone could discreetly make their way through, but what if he really did see Neal that day? What if Kyle really did spend his evenings drinking ale and watching football with Neal at a pub?

But it doesn’t explain anything, not really. Why would Neal live in London instead of coming home? How would he dodge the military like that? How would he create a new identity? Why would he? What would he have been doing in London all of this time? Did he check up on Emma and Henry at all? And if he was in London, how did he become captured again? How was he in that cell for the SEALs to rescue him?

That’s the part he can’t add together no matter how hard he tries. He cannot think of any possible explanation for that. Not a one.

He also can’t think of how any of this relates to what’s going on now. He can’t figure out why Neal had lied, why he would skip out on therapy and dinner and go places he tells no one about. He can’t figure out why the man would come home and put such effort into building a life with Henry (and Emma) if he really did stay away from them for eight years voluntarily? What is Neal doing, and why is he doing it?

Nothing adds up.

Nothing at all.

There’s no way in hell he can figure any of this out on his own.

When he walks in his front door after work, he feels drained, all of the life practically sucked out of him despite having a good day at work and beaming over Liam and Belle’s news. Shedding his suit jacket, he hangs it on the hook by the door and takes the few steps into the kitchen where Henry is sitting at the table with notebooks spread out and his hand gripping onto his pencil as he does his homework. Ada is working on standing, her little legs holding her up as she holds onto a kitchen chair, cruising a bit. God, she’s growing up so fast with her first birthday next month, and he wonders how the hell it’s all gone by so quickly. He’s not ready for his baby to be one, but it’s not as if he can stop time.

Maybe he can try.

“Hey, Henry,” he greets, clapping his hand down on his shoulder and kissing the top of his head. “Did you have a good day at school? You excited about your field trip to the lighthouse tomorrow?”

“Yeah, but Mary Margaret says we have to do a project too, which is boring.”

“Oh come on, projects are fun! Your mum and I will help anyways, okay? Besides, you get to go to the top of the lighthouse and see everything. I feel like that makes the project worth it.”

“Maybe.” Henry shrugs before pressing up in his chair and cupping his hands around Killian’s ear. “Mom is making broccoli tonight, and it smells so bad.”

“But it tastes so good,” he chuckles, knowing that Henry isn’t going to change his mind on the vegetable.

“Dada,” Ada mumbles, reaching over to him as she guides herself along the table only to plop down, hard, against the wood floor before scrambling herself back up again.

“Hello, my little love,” he smiles, reaching down to pick her up and press a smacking kiss against her cheek that makes her giggle while he runs his fingers over her stomach and over the soft material of her dress. “Did you have a good day too? Solve any mathematical equations at nursery? Make a new best friend? Grow a few new inches?”

“Ada can’t do math, Daddy.”

“Oh, you’re right,” he laughs, flashing a smile at Henry. “She can’t do math quite yet, but who knows? Maybe your sister will be a little Einstein.”

“That’s a TV show.”

“It is indeed.”

Emma rounds the corner at that moment, yanking at her shorts to pull them up. She must have run to the restroom or something and trusted Ada and Henry not to break the house down in her two minute absence.

“Hey,” she says, switching her direction and walking toward him, pressing up on her toes and kissing his cheek, “I didn’t hear you come in.”

“I’m very good at sneaking around.”

“That is not as funny of a joke as you think it is.”

She’s being playful, but he realizes the truth in his choice of words. He shouldn’t have said that. Not at all.

“All of my jokes are funny.”

“No they’re not,” Henry very helpfully supplies.

“See,” Emma laughs, backing up from him and walking back toward the stove, “Henry agrees with me, so obviously the two of us are right.”

“Obviously,” he agrees, putting Ada back on the ground so that she can keep propping herself up before he walks to the kitchen island and sits down on a barstool. “So I’m told that we’re having broccoli tonight, and it is not popular among the peanut gallery.”

“It never is, but the cool thing about being the mom is that what I say goes.”

“Very, very true.”

-/-

-/-

“I hate you,” Henry screams at Emma, his face as red as a ripe tomato while tears stream down his face.

“That is not okay, Henry,” Emma says calmly, her arms crossed over her chest and her lips pressed into a straight line. He’s got no clue what to do here, no wise words of wisdom. No one ever really prepared him for what to do when his girlfriend’s four year old decides to yell at her because she said no to a box of cookies at the supermarket. “We do not say that.”

“I hate you. I hate you. I hate you.”

“Henry.”

“You’re mean.”

“Henry, I understand that you want a cookie and think they’re yummy, but not right now.”

He huffs, crossing his arms over his chest, seemingly mimicking Emma in his posture all while Killian is shocked into silence over what to do. Or what not do really. It isn’t his place to parent, and he feels stuck between that metaphorical rock and hard place as all of this unfolds.

“I hate you.”

“Well, I love you.”

Emma and Henry go back and forth for what has to be ten more minutes before Henry calms himself down and Emma takes him into his bedroom where he hears them quietly whisper to each other, a gentle hush after the absolute chaos of earlier. He feels awkward and out of place. Henry is honestly the first kid he’s ever been around for such a large amount of time, and he’s usually only here for the good moments. He’s Henry’s mum’s fun boyfriend who takes him to the park and buys him ice cream because them going out together is supposed to be a treat for the lad. But ever since he and Emma started dating, he’s seen so much more, seen the darker, harsher sides of parenting that he rarely saw before, and he’s still in an odd limbo of not knowing what his place is.

He and Emma love each other, and he loves Henry. It’s just…odd.

Grabbing a glass of water, he takes a few steps into the living room a sits down in the large lounge chair, rubbing his thumb over the rim of the cup. This is not what he was expecting when he came over for dinner tonight, and he’s nervous for how Emma is going to be feeling when she comes out of Henry’s bedroom.

Liam: It’s now two in the morning, and I’ve been watching a show about baking for five hours.

Liam: I’m not sure if I’ve ever baked a day in my life.

Killian: Great British Bake Off?

Liam: Yep.

Killian: If you have a cup of tea next to you, you’re fulfilling all kinds of stereotypes.

Liam: I did just tell my wife that we had a jolly good shag, so I feel like this is true.

Killian: That’s more than I ever needed to know.

Belle: Your brother did not say that, and I agree. That’s more than you ever needed to know.

Killian: Amen, love.

He’s typing another message when he hears a door shut behind him and sees Emma emerge from Henry’s room, her hair now pulled up into a bun on top of her head, the loose blonde strands falling on her forehead and down her neck. He opens his mouth to say something, to ask if she got Henry down for bed, but he doesn’t get the chance before Emma is unceremoniously plopping down into his lap and wrapping her arms around his neck while her face burrows into his shoulder. He can feel her shoulders shake, her entire body quivering, and he can do nothing but rub his hand up and down her back while he rests his chin on the top of her head.

“Shh, shh,” he whispers, words failing him for how to comfort her when she’s showing him such a vulnerable side that he only gets to see when Emma can’t hold back her emotions anymore. She’s the strongest person he’s ever known, and her being vulnerable with him is another example of that. “You’re okay, sweetheart. You’re okay.”

“He said that he hates me,” she mumbles against his neck, her lips touching his skin while her hair tickles just under his nose. “He hates me, and I don’t know what to do about that.”

“He doesn’t hate you. He’s simply upset.”

“B-b-but why did he say it? He’s never done that before. I love him so much, and he hates me.”

“I don’t know,” he soothes, wracking his brain for the right thing to say, “but I know that he doesn’t mean it, Swan. He could never. That boy loves you more than anything.”

“I don’t want to talk about it anymore.”

“Then we won’t. What do you want to do instead?”

Her arms tighten around his neck, and she twists her head to rest it on his shoulder, her cheek pressing against his t-shirt. “We can watch TV so that I can forget about the fact that I’m a terrible mother.”

“Emma – ”

“Please don’t.”

“But – ”

“Killian, I don’t want to talk about it.”

He nods his head and moves his hand to find the remote, turning it on and flipping through the channels until he decides on a rerun of Oceans Eleven, figuring that it’s entertaining enough to keep them occupied and won’t at all remind Emma of why she’s upset. Henry’s four. He’s not some criminal mastermind planning a heist of a casino. This should be fine.

And it is. They sit in silence for a long time, Emma continuously adjusting herself in his lap while his hand slowly moves back and forth over her back and her waist. He thinks that she’s asleep, that the little puffs of air that are being breathed out on his neck are a good sign of that, but then she starts speaking.

“I know he doesn’t hate me. He loves me. I mean, I’m his mom, and I’m trying so hard to be a good one. But it still stings, you know? That kid wreaked havoc on my body for months, but I loved him. I do love him. More than anything in the world. And all I want is to not screw him up. I didn’t have a mom for most of my life, and I don’t have Neal here to help me and to help me make these decisions. I have…well, I have you, and I’m so thankful for you. You have to know that. I just – ”

“You had a rough night,” he finishes for her, leaning his head back against the cushions so that he can look in her eyes, the green especially bright under the tears that are covering her irises. “It’s okay. And I’ll say it as many times as I need to, but you don’t have to do anything alone, not when I’m here.”

“Thank you.”

“Think nothing of it,” he promises, pressing forward to kiss her eyebrow. “I love you, Emma.”

“I love you too. You’re a good man.”

“Oh I don’t know about that. I’m probably the reason Henry wants a cookie so badly. He does get sweets when we go out.”

“He wants them because he’s four. That’s how it works.”

“Had he calmed down before he went to sleep?”

“Yeah,” Emma sighs, her fingers tracing patterns at the tape of his neck, moving between his skin and his hair. “He did. He was so angry, you know? But we went through our routine and then he told me he loved me right before he drifted off to sleep. So I felt better even if I still feel like absolute shit.”

“Tomorrow will be better. Would it be totally hypocritical if we indulged in some sweets to make you feel better?”

“It would, but I’m the mom. What I say goes.”

-/-

-/-

The rest of their evening is spent feeding both Ada and Henry, the two surprisingly similar in their resistance to eating vegetables despite the age gap, but they manage to get it done, as they always do, even if there’s a little kicking and screaming along the way. He helps Henry with his homework before Neal calls, something he’s done every day since he moved. It’s usually the highlight of Henry’s evening, and all things considered, the lad is handling it well. Killian can tell that he misses Neal, that he misses having him around to spend time with, but he’s doing okay.

Henry loves Neal just as Neal loves Henry, and it’s what makes all of Killian’s thoughts about Neal so much more heartbreaking.

He has to be wrong. He has to be.

He knows that he’s not.

Eventually the get the kids to bed, Ada refusing to fall asleep more than usual, but once both of their bedroom doors are closed, he and Emma walk down the hall to their room and fall onto the mattress, their limbs spreading out in exhaustion while the ceiling fan turns above them.

“Liam and Belle are adopting a two-year-old boy named Caleb.”

“I’m sorry. What?” Emma gasps, quickly turning on the bed until she’s sitting up, her hair falling down and creating a curtain over his face. “Did you just say they’re adopting?”

“I did.”

She slaps his chest, her hit far more powerful than she probably realizes. It always is. “How long have you known about this? When did it start? They’re really getting to be parents? Is the paperwork official? Oh God I hope the paperwork is official because if it’s not – ”

“The paperwork is official,” he promises, reaching his hand up to cup her cheek, soft skin against his rough palm while he tries to stop the spiral she’s going down. “I’ve known since Christmas, but Liam asked me not to say anything because he didn’t want to jinx it, I guess. Or maybe he didn’t want everyone to get their hopes up and get Belle’s hopes up when it wasn’t a for sure thing.”

Emma’s lips press together as she nods her head in agreement before a smile breaks out on her face, one that actually takes his breath away. The could also be her elbow on his rib, but it’s probably both.

“I get that. I mean, I didn’t try for Henry, but we tried for Ada and you know how difficult that was even though we only had to wait a little under a year. I can’t – I can’t imagine going through what they’ve been through.”

He taps his thumb against her bottom lip, agreeing with every word that she just said. He’s had a lot of heartache in his lifetime, but he can’t imagine going through that.

“Me either, love.”

Emma sighs before falling back over on the bed, the mattress squeaking a bit as one of the throw pillows topples onto the ground. “I can’t believe you managed to keep that a secret from me for so long. I’m impressed, Jones.”

His heart lurches at that, guilt beginning to thrum through his veins so that his blood somehow both boils and goes cold. She has no idea what he’s going through, and he doesn’t want her to know.

God, he’s such an asshole.

He may very well be the worst man on the planet. How many times does he have to think that before it comes true?

“Your superpower is obviously a little off kilter,” he teases, twisting his head to the side to smile at her, forcing the joy onto his face.

“Never,” she laughs, and his heart breaks a little more. “I’m so freaking happy for them. I can’t believe I’m going to be an aunt again. Can I call Belle in the morning?”

“You could call her right now, but I’m not sure she’ll answer.”

“True.”

“How was therapy today?” he asks, changing the subject as he gets up from bed and begins undoing his jeans, shimmying out of them and folding them.

“Weird,” Emma admits, sitting up and propping herself on her elbows. “I mean, I like Dr. Lawrence, but I’m just not used to talking to anyone but you about all of the craziness that’s going on up in my head.”

“Considering I have an equal amount of crazy going on in mine, it’s likely a good thing you’re still talking to someone else. You and Henry have been through a lot.”

“So have you.”

He clicks his tongue, disagreement on his lips even though he knows she’s right. But because he’s the biggest asshole in the world and can’t talk about any of the thoughts he’s having right now, he unbuttons his shirt, letting it hang off of his shoulders, and stalks over to Emma, leaning over her and caging her in.

“Aye, but I’m far more interested in you and I not talking than anything else right now.”

“Really now?” she purrs, looping her arms around his neck and arching her back up so that she can ghost her lips over his.

“Aye.”

“Well then, Captain, I’d say you’re going to struggle then because you talk far too much during sex.”

“I’ve never heard any complaints from you.”

“That’s because I can’t get a word in edgewise.”

He chuckles at that, something deep and low, and for the next few minutes as their lips and bodies move with and against each other, he forgets every awful, dark thought he’s been having for the past few weeks.

-/-

“You like your burgers well done, right?” Mary Margaret asks him as she sets the meat out on a tray the next day at their lunch with the Nolans.

“Yes, that’s fine.”

“Okay good. That’s how the kids like it too. That’s also how Emma cooks them because grilling isn’t really her thing.”

“She’s a woman of many talents, but that is not one of them.”

“I’m literally standing right here,” Emma groans, taking a sip of her lemonade as she messes with her sweater, fingering at the frayed edges that hang over the waistband of her jeans. “And I can so grill. It’s not that hard.”

“Sure, love.”

Emma cuts her eyes at him, the right side of her lips moving up despite his teasing insult. She’s been in such a good mood today, practically skipping as she walks, and he loves to see her happy like that.

“If you keep talking like that, you’re not going to get to eat.”

“Oh no. However will I live if my girlfriend doesn’t feed me? You know I can’t do anything without being waited on by you. I’m a helpless man.”

“That is not even funny.”

He winks. “I know.”

“You two are just so cute,” Mary Margaret sighs. He’d honestly forgotten she was in the room. He doesn’t know how, but he did. “I can’t get over it. It’s like watching my little sister fall in love.”

“We’ve been together for four years. I think we’re pretty solidly there. You act like I’m a teenager.”

“Teenage Emma would have slapped me for saying something like that.” Mary Margaret smiles affectionately at Emma, and he can see the affection in Emma’s eyes, even if she sometimes gets annoyed with how Mary Margaret talks to her. “Now let’s go grill some burgers because I’m starving, and I think the boys may throw a riot if they don’t eat soon.”

“Henry and Leo or David and Killian?”

“David and Killian, obviously.”

He shakes his head at the two of them as Mary Margaret picks up the tray of meat and walks outside, Emma quickly following behind her. He’d offered to cook today, but Mary Margaret insisted that she would do it since it wouldn’t take so long. It’s nice coming over to their house to spend some time with them, even if David isn’t home from work yet, having to work a shift on Saturday for one of his cases. He should be home soon, though, and it’s part of what keeps Killian inside the Nolans’ kitchen instead of going outside with everyone else. The other is that Ada is currently napping in her car seat, and since they don’t have a baby monitor here, he didn’t want to leave her inside by herself. They’ve done it plenty of times before, always coming to check on her every few minutes, but he didn’t want to leave his girl right now.

Grabbing a beer bottle out of the fridge, he twists open the top and settles down at the kitchen island, scooting up in the barstool and thumbing at his phone, replying to texts Liam and Belle have sent him today. Emma called Belle first thing this morning and ever since then his brother has been sending pictures they have of Caleb. He’s the cutest thing with the freckles spread across his face and the red hair gracing his head. He looks happy too, and that’s all that really matters to any of them. He’s got some good people who want to be his parents.

He also responds to a few texts from Neal. They haven’t shipped all of his clothes yet, so Killian has to remember to box all of those up and send them on Monday or Tuesday. Henry also wants to send him some more drawings, so he probably needs to get a protective notebook to do that in.

Ada coos in her seat, and he glances over only to see that she’s still asleep, twisting a bit. He smiles before going back to his phone, typing in a few reminders for tonight as he hears the click of the front door, heavy footsteps following it as David comes out of the entryway and into view.

“Just make yourself at home, why don’t you?”

“Always,” he laughs, stretching his arms over his head to ease some of the aches that he’s feeling. “Everyone is out in the backyard. I’m watching Ada while she sleeps.”

“She’ll be fine on her own.”

“I know.” He takes a sip of his drink while David takes off his coat and his badge, placing them on the counter top. “I don’t mind spending some time by myself either.”

“You okay?”

“Yeah? Why would you even ask?”

David points at him, circling his finger around him, and Killian gulps, the façade that he’s been putting on for weeks now crumbling much faster than he thought it would. If he could tell anyone his thoughts, it’d be David. He could always tell Liam, but Liam wouldn’t – Liam wouldn’t know enough to help him. David would. David knows Neal, has known him for nearly as long as he and Emma have, and David might…would David believe him? Would David help him? Could he? He’s a detective. He has resources, far more than Killian does.

Of course, David might also think he’s batshit crazy and tell Emma, making him lose everything he has.

Everything.

“You look like you’ve eaten some rotten sushi.”

“What a pleasant thing to say.”

David shrugs. “It’s the truth, so I ask again, you okay? Are you and Emma okay? God, please tell me that you and Emma are okay.”

He nods his head up and down before leaning forward and rubbing his fingers between his brows, trying to even out the lines, those of age and stress. This is all too much for him. This would be too much for anyone, and he’s not sure that he can carry the weight alone anymore.

Add another notch to his asshole ranking for laying it all down on David as well.

“We’re fine. Well,” he huffs, a dark chuckle escaping his lips as he sits up, straightening his back and not bothering to take a breath, “except for the fact that I think my girlfriend’s ex-husband is some kind of bloody liar who wasn’t really captured for all of that time he was gone.”

The words escape his lips before he can stop them, tumbling out as quickly and as smoothly as the beer runs down his throat. He needs something stronger. He needs rum. Hell, he doesn’t even like beer that much, but it’s something for when he doesn’t want or need to get a little intoxicated.

He kind of wishes he was drunk right now. It would numb the pain he’s feeling and give him a plausible excuse as to the absolute bullshit he just spewed to David.

Honestly, though, he can’t focus on the erratic beating of his heart or the way his lips suddenly feel dry when all he can focus on is David’s lips continuously parting and pressing together, his eyes widened into round saucers, and all of the color on his face palling to a white that matches the white of his knuckles as he grasps them into fists. The man must think he’s insane. He is insane. He is.

But he’s not.

“What the fuck?” David sputters, stumbling back a bit before he straightens himself out, shoulders hunching forward before they push back into their usual broad state.

“Exactly.”

“No, seriously,” David starts again, some of the color coming back into his face as he runs his hand through his hair, making it come out of its styled place, “what the fuck are you talking about?”

“Neal. I’m talking about Neal. Something is wrong there, and I can’t live thinking this by myself anymore and you’re the poor sap who gets to listen to it all.”

“I don’t…I don’t understand.”

“I don’t either.”

“Why are you telling me? Why not Emma? I mean, she could talk you down.”

He laughs again, but it gets stopped, the sound turning into a quiet whisper. “Dave I can’t – I can’t…” He has to stop talking, a sob getting caught in his throat while he massages his face with his fingers in a desperate attempt to calm himself down, all of the emotions beginning to fall loose from the tight hold that he’s had on them now that he’s spoken the words aloud. “I can’t let her get hurt again. She doesn’t deserve it. Emma has been through more than anyone. She was abandoned at birth, had a bad marriage where her husband disappeared and she was left to raise a kid alone, and then that husband came back from the dead. And yet she has trusted me with her heart. I can’t break it. I can’t do that to her.”

“Killian, I think you’re being paranoid. I think maybe you’re jealous of Neal and – ”

“I’m not bloody jealous of Neal,” he barks, slamming his hand down on the kitchen counter, only quieting when he remembers his daughter sleeping a few feet away from him. “I’m fucking pissed at him because something is happening. Something doesn’t match up. Something isn’t right, and I am terrified that whatever is going on is going to hurt Emma and Henry.”

He can feel the tears streaming down his cheek, a hot sting pressing behind his eyes. This can’t be happening. It can’t. He’s going crazy. He’s imagining things. He has to be.

Why can’t he make up his mind?

“Hey, Hey,” David soothes, his voice a quiet whisper, while he leans over the counter and places his hand on Killian’s shoulder. “It’s okay. You’re okay. I don’t want Emma to get hurt either. I love her too.”

“She’s my life,” he croaks, finally looking up at David again. “I have watched her go through so much pain, even the pain I have caused, and I can’t do it again. Not like this. So I need you to help me, okay? I don’t know how. I don’t know what I want you to look into, but something is wrong with Neal. I don’t know, mate. I don’t – for some reason I think he wasn’t captured for all of this time, that he was somehow free. It doesn’t make any sense, but I – ”

“I believe you, okay?” David promises, looking around his kitchen to make sure no one has come inside from the backyard. “You’re right. Something about Neal is off. I haven’t had the opportunity to notice like you, but there are definitely more oddities than before. I just…Killian, he works for the federal government. They’ve screened him. If he was up to something, they’d know.”

“But what if they’re not screening the right person? To them he’s Neal Cassidy, a war hero who’s been gone for eight years. There’s nothing to screen. But what if he’s…what if he’s been going by a different identity. When we were in DC a few weeks ago, this guy came up to him and called him Neal Gold. Neal insisted that the man just knew him from TV, you know? And had gotten the name messed up. But he kept saying that they used to go to The Three Kings in London together. And, yeah, it could have been a mistake, but Dave, I swear that I saw someone who looked just like Neal when Emma and I were in London two years ago. I didn’t think anything of it but…what if that was actually him?”

David doesn’t say anything. He stares in him in silence, his fingers tapping against the counter the only sound besides the pounding of his heart in his chest.

“Fuck. What if you’re right?”

“I know,” he sighs, the weight that’s been pushing him down lifting off of him a little bit. Not much. He’s still hiding things from Emma when he promised he’d never do that. He’s still holding the cards to rip both Emma and Henry apart. He’s holding the cards to have his family ripped from him again, and this time it won’t be for two weeks. It could be forever. “What if I am? I don’t want to be, but what if Neal has been living some kind of secret life? And if he has...why the hell has he come back?”

“Listen, this is crazy. Flat out insane, and this stays between you and me because this is not something that I’m supposed to do, but if you can give me all of the information you have, I’ll do what I can to look into it. You don’t need to be messing with any of this shit.”

“Okay, I can – thank you because I – ”

The kitchen door slams closed, and all of the words on his lips die as Emma comes into the room, her hair falling down over her shoulders and this effervescent smile painted on her lips. She looks beautiful. Happy. And he doesn’t deserve her.

He has never deserved her a day in his life.

“Woah, why so serious guys?” she laughs, her hands ghosting over his back as she grabs a bottle of water out of the fridge, placing it on the counter. When neither of them say anything, she speaks again, “Babe? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” he lies, plastering a smile on his face as he turns to look at her, allowing her to place her hands on her chest. She doesn’t believe him, her brows pinched together in distrust.

“What are you hiding from me?”

“Nothing, love,” he says again, wishing he could have thought of other words.

“Killian, I know when you’re lying. Superpower or whatever. I swear it still works.”

“Aye, I just…I think I just desperately need to kiss you right now.”

He leans down to kiss her, to press his lips against hers and feel them be connected, but Emma sways back, her head moving around while she laughs.

“No, seriously. Talk to me. Ignore the fact that my brother is awkwardly standing right next to us.”

“And that’s my cue to leave,” David says, sympathetically shrugging before he walks away and leaves Killian to fight this battle all on his own when he finally felt like he had someone on his side.

Emma looks back to him, her eyes large and pleading, the green as bright as ever, and she slides her hands from his chest until they’re wrapped around his neck as she sways further into him.

“Sometimes I’m overwhelmed is all,” he answers honestly, knowing that he can’t lie to her even if he’s leaving out the truth. “I know feelings are easier for me than for you, but sometimes they’re still hard, you know? I thought I was going to lose you, to lose everything I had, and that does something to a man, even months afterward.” “You’re never going to lose me,” she promises, her gaze never leaving his. “That’s not something you have to worry about.”

“Aye, I know. It still affects me, you know?”

“I know.” Emma presses up on her toes and gently slides her lips over his, the soft warmth that always radiates from Emma consuming him and grounding him, making every single one of his worries fade away if only for the thirty seconds that Emma is gently sucking on his bottom lip. “I love you, Killian Jones. You’re a good man and a good dad. Nothing is ever going to change that.”

“I love you too, and I hope so.”

She tilts her head to the side, that same happy little smile on her face that he loves. “Why don’t you come outside and come play with the kids on the swing set? Your son says you’re the best at getting him really high off the ground, and your daughter just kind of babbles words. But those words are our names, so it’s super cute. We can easily wake her up and be selfish even if we’ll have to pay for it later.”

“I’ll be right out, love.”

Her eyes squint the slightest bit, her gaze entirely focused on him as she studies him. He hopes that he’s not giving anything away, that he’s not letting her know, but he already knows that he has failed.

Emma’s hand moves up to caress his cheek, the softness brushing against the hair on his cheeks, and he closes his eyes and leans into her touch, letting her support him for a moment. “You sure you’re okay? Because you know I’m always here to talk when you’re ready. It’s just us. No walls, no secrets. Just us.”

“I promise I’ll tell you everything later. I’m not…I’m not trying to hide anything from you. It’s simply not the right time yet.”

She gets a little smile on her face then, her eyes lighting up even more than they were, and he realizes that he’s really gone and done it now. Because what else could Emma possibly think he’s hiding from her and only sharing with her brother? She’s waiting on him to propose. She wants him to propose, and that ring is still sitting in his uniform pocket, likely collecting dust.

He’s a bastard who does not deserve this woman’s heart.

“I can wait,” Emma practically sighs, that same smile growing bigger so that the lines around her eyes crease, “but I think you and I both know that there’s no such thing as the right time. And besides, you know me. You know what I’ll say to whatever little plots you’ve got going on in that big brain of yours.”

If only she knew.

“Aye,” he chuckles, twisting his head and kissing her palm, lingering for as long as he can while he simply breathes her in. “Go play with the kids, Swan. I’m going to run to the toilet and bring Ada outside with me. You know I have the bladder of a small child.”

“You do have to pee a lot on road trips.”

“Exactly.”

Emma walks away with a laugh on her face, the sound trailing behind her like music to his ears, but it only calms him for a moment before he’s running to David and Mary Margaret’s guest bathroom and slamming the door behind him, fumbling with the lock so that no one comes in. He can barely breathe, his stomach rolling, and before he can even try to stop it he’s vomiting into the toilet, his eyes filling with tears and his entire body shaking. This is all too much for him, and he just brought David into it too.

He’s likely ruining his entire life.

What is he going to do if everything that matters to him, if everything he has, is taken from him?

What is he going to do if he’s the one to rip everything away from Emma?

He can’t break her heart. She doesn’t deserve it. He’ll live a miserable life thousands of times. He’ll go to the end of the world for her. But he can’t let her get hurt again.

And yet he’s already set the wheels in motion and pushed the damn start button himself. 

#rising from the ashes #cs fic #cs ff #captain swan fic #captain swan

[the-zodiacs-written-in-the-stars]

Writer’s Month Day 26: Wedding

Three years prior to the main-story, Rick and Lizzy go to New Orleans to attend her sister’s wedding.

“I think this is too early. Is this too early? This is too early.”

Lizzy smiled fondly and rolled her eyes at her boyfriend before she leaned in and kissed his cheek. He was behind the steering wheel, driving them to New Orleans. Ricky was truly adorable.

“We've been dating for a year. You met my parents already”, pointed Lizzy out. “And I have spent countless family dinners with your family by now. Don't be like this.”

“Your parents. But not your siblings”, muttered Rick with a frown.

“Because they're always all over the place”, huffed Lizzy dismissively. “Besides, you do know the woman of the hour. My sister insists on you being at her wedding, so you will be at her wedding.”

Rick grumbled though he did shut up. He did know Laureen personally and he also knew the groom – Doctor Charles Jones, their ME. Him and Mike regularly worked close with him. He was rather grumpy and tended to keep to himself mostly. Himself and the woman he loved.

“Besi—ides, you get a private tour of New Orleans from yours truly”, declared Lizzy.

She grinned at him and winked, making him sigh and nod.

~*~

Quanna Liddell was a bright woman, her smile was contagious as she pulled Rick into a hug. Her dreadlocks were put up in a high pony-tail, held up with a purple band that matched her dress. She was curvy in build, very different from Elizabeth and Laureen, both her daughters being more on the insanely tall, skinny side, something they may have inherited from their father Dean.

“It's so good to see you again!”, exclaimed Quanna with a smile.

Quanna and Dean had come to Los Angeles for Thanksgiving, spending it with Rick's family after Rick had invited them. With all their kids having moved out by now, they gladly took the invitation to spend their Thanksgiving with at least two of their kids; Doc and Laureen had happily come too (well, Laureen had, Doc had just glared. Until he had gotten to the pumpkin pie Rick's mom had made and Rick swore he had never seen the big grump this happy before in his life).

“You two are going to stay in Lizzy's old bedroom, if you don't mind”, offered Dean.

He smiled and patted Rick on the back. Dean was more the body-type of his daughters. Skinny tall with high cheek-bones. He was so easy going that seeing him always relaxed Rick. Which was a blessing; he had always been afraid of meeting a dad, like an actual over-protective dad type. Dean had just laughed and dismissed him when Rick had first met him and been dreadful of any threats. He had said he trusted his daughter's judgment and if she saw something in him, it must be there.

“Sounds perfect to me”, nodded Rick, relieved he got to share a room with his girlfriend.

“You haven't met our other children yet, have you?”, asked Dean. “Come on in.”

Rick nodded and followed Dean and Quanna inside. So far, from driving through the streets, he had to admit that he really liked this city. The visual of it was great. Inside the house, in what looked like a very lived-in living room (so many decorations – it reminded him of Lizzy and all the small figures and things she collected. Apparently, that ran in the family too), there were already four people. Rick frowned a little confused. He was under the impression that Lizzy and Laureen only had three siblings. He did another head-count. No. There were four.

“Guys!”, exclaimed Lizzy excitedly.

She ran up to them and hugged them one by one. Rick smiled as the tallest man got up to shake hands. “I'm Frank. Lizzy's older brother. And this is my wife Anabel. It's good to finally meet you. Lizzy talks a lot about you.”

Anabel lifted a hand and waved at him. Okay. Frank had moved away from New Orleans ten years ago with his wife, Rick remembered that Lizzy told him that. The second born, being the second one to move out but staying longer at home than Laureen who had moved out at twenty-two, as soon as she had enough money to go and try to live her dream in Los Angeles. That left the two youngest. Henry and Mary. Mary was twenty-one and studying art in... Europe. Somewhere. Rick couldn't remember. Henry was a musician, a singer and guitarist who constantly toured the states, playing at bars and living from day to day (Quanna had spent half of Thanksgiving complaining about that. She worried about her son. Rightfully so, Rick would probably have a meltdown too if he had a kid and that kid would be out there, traveling and living from day to day).

“Mh. Not bad”, commented Mary, her eyebrows raised as she looked at Rick.

She was shorter than her sisters but somehow still on the more lanky side, her hair put up in two knots, one on either side of her head. Henry next to her slowly pulled his headphones off when he noticed the new arrivals and also turned his full attention toward Rick.

“Not bad indeed”, agreed Henry with a grin. “Very pretty.”

“Guys. Stop flirting with my boyfriend, he's taken”, grunted Lizzy possessively.

“It's already late, you must be tired”, sighed Quanna concerned. “You want to go to bed, or eat something first? We did save you some dinner, you know.”

“Ma, I'd never say no to dad's cooking”, stated Lizzy seriously.

Rick grinned as he followed toward the kitchen. The entire family trailed after them too, because apparently late second dinner seemed very tempting. The whole time they ate, Henry and Mary bickered to the point of throwing food to which Dean chuckled and Quanna laughed. It... felt like home. It reminded Rick of family dinners with his own family. So many different personalities.

~*~

The next day was the day of the wedding. Rick had to admit that Laureen looked absolutely breathtaking in her white dress with the soft purple flowers decorating her cleavage and the lower end of the frilly dress. Her bridesmaids were her sisters Lizzy and Mary, as well as her best friend – Sunny Korrapati. Rick had seen Sunny a couple times at the hospital already when visiting injured victims or witnesses, she was one of the top surgeons in New York and, as the nickname suggested, an absolute sunshine personality. She had gone to med school with Charles and met his best friend through him. Now she was the maid of honor at Charles' wedding. That was cute. Rick couldn't wait to have his best friend as his best man at his own wedding. He side-eyed Lizzy and blushed a bit.

The ceremony was absolutely beautiful and the food afterward was delicious. Rick and Lizzy were sitting at the same table as the Liddell-family, of course. And aside from them were the maid of honor and the best man... who was a best woman, who was actually Rick's boss.

“Uhm. Captain Lacroix. Fancy seeing you here, ma'am”, grinned Rick awkwardly.

The captain looked unimpressed at him. “It's no secret Charles and I are close friends. But if you show anyone at the precinct photos of me in a dress, I will personally make you give speeding tickets for the rest of your career, Alfaro.”

“Yes, ma'am”, squeaked Rick and gulped hard.

The captain was really very scary and Rick was absolutely terrified of her on a good day. There was no way he was ever telling anyone about how pretty she could look with princess-curls and in a dress. He had ever only seen her in suits and with her hair up in a messy bun and a glare on her face that would only soften the tiniest bit after about five coffees in the morning.

“Amy, please stop threatening the guests”, requested Laureen with a sigh.

“Not when your guest is one of my punk officers”, grunted Amy sternly.

“But I thought he was a good one. Alfaro, you always talk highly of him”, offered Sunny.

She frowned confused as she sipped her champagne, while Amy growled. “That was a private conversation over Monopoly, Sunny. Respect the game night rules.”

“Game night? With the captain?”, whispered Rick doe-eyed.

“Of course”, grunted Doc and rolled his eyes. “You still don't get that she is my best friend. We're close. And me and my... wife... have regular game nights with our best friends.”

Rick nodded and looked from the darkly glaring Captain Lacroix to the grumpy Doc. Best friends. It figured. He could just picture them braiding each other's hair – well, Doc didn't have hair, but still. In all reality, the two probably spent lunch by sitting together and glaring intensely and that... was bonding. Still, the stark contrast between those two and Sunny and Laureen was incredible. Laureen was a pastel-colored pastry chef and bakery owner, while Sunny in her all pink outfit and with her bright smiles alone lit up the whole room. How... did those four fit together into one game-night...? Rick shook his head amused, before being pulled out of his chair by Lizzy.

“Dance with me instead of bugging people”, demanded Lizzy amused.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and immediately everything around them seemed forgotten as Rick got lost in her dark, warm eyes. Everything about this was surreal to him – he was so used to being the one with the family that welcomed everyone in that it was odd to be on the receiving end of such a thing, then seeing two people he was used to seeing at the workplace and with stern expressions both so... soft now (not that he'd ever call the captain that to her face, but in that dress, with that make-up and hair...? She looked soft)? A large part of him really wanted to get a picture of the captain so he could show it to Mike – he would understand why all of this was so baffling! And the idea of the captain and Doc playing Monopoly was just... out of this universe. Parallel universe maybe? Mh. Maybe they had crossed into one on their drive to New Orleans.

“I love your parents. And your siblings are awesome. And this city is... amazing”, hummed Rick. “I'm... glad you took me as your plus one, Lizabella.”

He smiled and leaned in to kiss her, earning a very pleased look from Lizzy. “Boy, you make for a yummy arm-candy of course did I take you with me. You think I want to show up single on my own sister's wedding? Especially on a count-down wedding like this.”

“Count-down wedding?”, echoed Rick confused.

“Frankie was the first to get married, much to no one's surprise. He had his whole life planned out in precise details. Getting married before he was 30 was one of them. Laureen took it slower, but still she is the firstborn so it figures she'd get married too at some point. See the math? Firstborn, second born... I'm the third born”, elaborated Lizzy with an eyeroll. “Oh, don't look like a startled deer I'm not proposing. But it still looks better to at least have a partner on a wedding.”

“And Mary and Henry?”, asked Rick curiously, looking over her shoulder at the youngest Liddells.

“Mary's too focused on her art-studies and the fact that she's all the way in Paris makes it easy to hide whatever she's got going on in her love-life”, replied Lizzy. “For all I know she could be in a committed relationship. She's never been a fan of relationship gossip. And Henry has a new boyfriend in every city he tours. His life-style doesn't necessarily help with long-term relationships. Besides, they will most definitely wait until I'm getting married before worrying about that.”

“You said not to worry, but I do start to pressured”, noted Rick lightly.

“I mean”, drawled Lizzy with a mischievous smile before she leaned in and kissed him slowly. “You are very cute. Steady income. Lovely family that seems to like me alright too. Keep playing your cards right and who knows where our relationship leads us, pretty boy.”

Rick grinned at that and pulled her some closer, close enough so he could kiss her again. Wedding plans were maybe a little too early, they really had only been dating for a year. But this was maybe the most intense relationship Rick ever had and if he was being honest with himself, the thought of Lizzy in a wedding dress was the opposite of scary for him.

#writersmonth2019 #Virgo: Elizabeth Liddell #The Earth: Ricardo Alfaro #Ship: Rizzy #Story: Written in the Stars #Project: Written in the Stars

[downeystarkjr]

Lost Stars - Cursed Killian AU - Chapter 6

Summary: Killian and Emma finally have their happy ending and are looking forward to their future together. However, fate has other plans and decides Killian needs to pay the price for returning from the Underworld by being sent 5 years back in time to New York with a new life and new memories and a new love. With no memory of Emma or who he really is. Killian and Emma’s True Love is put to the test when they cross paths once more as The Saviour does all she can to bring her pirate back. If things weren’t bad enough, Emma and the other heroes have to deal with the arrival of The Flying Dutchman to the Storybrooke docks, the captain of which is on the hunt for the infamous Captain Hook…

Rating: M

Content/Triggers: Cursed Killian, fluff, angst, whump, nightmares

Previous chapters: 1 2 3 4 5

Full story on AO3 here

Chapter 6

“Swan?” the pirate called from in front of the bedroom door after going upstairs. “Love, are you in there?” he asked, slowly reaching out to hold the door handle.

As if Emma knew what Killian was going to do, she rushed over to their bedroom door, placing her hands on it as an attempt to keep it closed. “Killian, what are you doing here? You’re supposed to be on your ship,” she questioned in a light tone rather than worried. “If my parents knew you were here before our wedding,” she added with a smirk, teasing her pirate before he interrupted her in an equally light-hearted tone of voice.

“Well they’re not here love, it’s just you and me,” Killian chuckled, figuring Emma was holding the door handle to make sure it stayed closed with how difficult it was to turn.

“Easy there, tiger, a man of honour wouldn’t barge right into a woman’s bedroom,” Emma joked, doing her best not to laugh but failed almost instantly. She wanted to see Killian and enjoy the comfort of being in the embrace of his loving arms, not looking forward to spending the night alone and waking up without him asleep by her side in their bed. However, she didn’t want to risk anything going wrong for their wedding, as superstitious as that sounded. “It’s bad luck to see the bride before the wedding, Jones.”

“You don’t have to worry about that Emma, we’ve had our fair share of bad luck and we’ve overcome all of it,” Killian reminded, placing his  palm and forehead against the door, his bride doing the same on the other side. What more could possibly happen to them to stop them from getting married? “I just needed to be near you Swan…just open the door…” he uttered quietly, encouraging his love.

Emma bit her lip hesitantly, a part of her wanted to throw away the rulebook and allow her dear groom into their bedroom. “Hold on, I’ll open the door but we can’t see each other, not until tomorrow,” she explained, coming up with a loophole around the rule.

Killian raised an eyebrow, moving his head away from the door as Emma began to finally open it. He had an idea about what Emma was thinking and saw he was proven right when the door was opened just enough for her to reach her arm out towards him.

“Only a few hours remain before I can call you my Lady Jones,” Killian gently took Emma’s hand in his own, softly placing a tender kiss to the back of it which caused yet another loving smile to break out on the Saviour’s face.

“And you, my pirate prince,” she replied affectionately, squeezing her husband-to-be’s one hand. Emma was filled with uncontrollable excitement for her marriage to Killian and his reaction to seeing her in the wedding dress she chose. “I love you Killian.”

“I love you too Swan, my love for you grows each day I’m with you.”

“You always have been good with words Captain,” Emma was relieved there was a door between them because she was able to hide the wild blush covering her cheeks. How did she get so lucky to find a man like Killian? A man who knew her better than anyone and could make her smile and blush with just a few words and through his loving actions. And she was getting married to him.  

The wedding day finally arrived. Despite not liking the loneliness of waking up without the other, Killian and Emma had awoken early that morning out of excitement for the day’s events. Couples often felt nerves or cold feet the day of their wedding, but not the Saviour and the Captain. How could they be nervous when they both knew marriage was what they wanted?

Killian was dressed and ready waiting on the top deck of his ship with Henry. The guests were due to arrive soon, before the bride was to make her appearance to the wedding. Meanwhile, Emma was with her mother as Snow applied the finishing touches to her daughter’s hair and makeup.

“Oh honey,” the older of the two smile tearfully, taking in Emma’s appearance after Elsa gave the bride the bridal bouquet of flowers. “You and Killian are going to be so happy together.”

Emma gave her mother a hug, careful of the delicate wedding gown. “I know mom, and I’m glad you and dad are here to witness this.” After spending twenty eight years struggling with life alone as an orphan surrounded by people who never failed to let her down, Emma found her son, her parents and the man she loved and saw a future with.

“Is that really my daughter?” David gasped in surprise at the sight of his beloved first born when he walked into the room. He had never seen Emma in her wedding dress before. She was all grown up and ready to become a wife that very day. “You know it’s not too late to cancel the wedding right?” Prince Charming joked and hugged Emma. Killian had grown on him during the pirate and Emma’s relationship. David saw how much the two loved each other and showed no reluctance in giving Killian his blessing to the marriage.

“Dad, come on, I’m in my wedding dress, I’m not calling it off,” Emma chuckled, picking up on her father’s joke as she hugged back.

“As long as you’re sure, we should start heading over to the ship,” David suggested, gently cupping his daughter’s cheek, proud of Emma that she had allowed herself to open up to love.

When Emma arrived at the docks with her father, she could hear the music playing as they neared the Jolly Roger. Killian was at the altar, seeing how all the guests invited had shown up and took their seats for the wedding to begin.

“She’s coming, good luck Killian,” Henry said to his step-father to be when he noticed the bridal party approaching the ship while the violinists started to play the music to match with the procession as one by one, Elsa, Ruby, Regina and Snow, carrying baby Neal, walked down the aisle. After, the music changed to the tune of ‘Here Comes the Bride’ and it was finally time for Emma to walk down the aisle arm in arm with her father. She hoped Killian would choose to turn round and look at her while she glided down the short distance to her True Love and beamed with happiness when she saw he couldn’t take his eyes off her. It made Emma chuckle softly to herself noticing how stunned and filled with adoration her pirate was gazing at his bride.

Killian was head over heels in love with Emma, and if it was even possible, seeing how perfectly beautiful Emma appeared made him fall deeper in love.

“Swan…you look beautiful,” he mouthed to her while Henry glanced between the two as he held the rings.

“Thank you,” Emma mouthed back, Killian’s words warmed her heart. His reaction was what she could have hoped for, seeing him smiling at her with awe. She saw how Killian’s attire shared similarities with what he wore during their first dance and had to admit he looked incredible and was not surprised Killian did not choose to sport a modern world tuxedo.

“Now I know why you did your best to stop me seeing the dress,” the pirate whispered to his bride when she approached by his side and as David went to sit down by Snow. “Are you ready love?”

“I’m glad I didn’t sneak a glimpse of your suit when I heard Blue had it,” Emma responded back in a whisper so only Killian could hear. “Of course, never been more ready,” she grinned widely and nodded for the ceremony to begin.

After the guests being welcomed to the wedding, it was time for the bride and groom to read out their vows to one another. Emma turned to glance up to look adoringly in Killian’s ocean blue eyes, holding both his hand and hook. “Killian, it’s no secret that things weren’t easy for me growing up, and as a result I put up my walls so that I wouldn’t get hurt. But then you came along and changed all that, although I did make it a challenge for you,” she paused to laugh, seeing Killian chuckle in recollection of  how difficult had been to get Emma to accept her feelings for him.

“I’ve never met anyone so persistent in getting  to know who I am behind my walls, who would do anything for me, including giving up your home and everything you owned just to find me. No one has ever loved me like that, and, Killian, I love you so much more than you can imagine,” Emma continued, pouring out her heart to Killian as she expressed her vows, looking nowhere but in his eyes. “You’ve always been there for me and I know you’re incapable of letting me down. Today I give you my love, my heart and lifelong devotion. With you, I’ve found my kindred spirit, my best friend, my husband, my True Love.” The Saviour finished, blinking away the tears welling up in her eyes. Tears that Killian was quick to carefully wipe away without smudging her make up, which she was thankful was waterproof.

The Charmings watched their daughter read out her vows, knowing how difficult it was for her to let her feelings be known to anyone. Snow squeezed her husband’s hand with her head rested against his shoulder at the mention of True Love.

“Love was always something I constantly lost, and I stopped believing in my own happy ending and that love was possible for me. Instead, I went after my revenge,” Killian started to tell Emma his vows, speaking from his heart. “However, it was only when I started to get to know you that I allowed myself to accept the feelings I had for you, feelings that quickly changed to love with our first kiss,” he smiled fondly. “I knew back then that you were the one I wanted, the one I needed.” While Killian said his vows, he continued to hold Emma’s hand, stroking it gently with his thumb.

“You’re the reason I’m the man I am today, my Saviour… I wanted to be someone who you deserved and you were enough to help me fight my inner darkness that loomed over my heart and villainous past,” the pirate continued, honestly seeing Emma as the cause of him changing from villain to a hero. “Emma, you’re the only future I want and there is nothing more important to me than your happiness. And I’m honoured that I make up a part of that happiness, and that we’re about to become husband and wife,” Killian couldn’t believe he was actually marrying the love of his life on his ship beneath the sunlit sky over the peaceful ocean. “You’re where I belong, my darling Swan. My Emma, my happy ending .”

Hearing Killian say those words melted Emma’s heart. He was the only one who ever said those words to her, the only one who made her truly feel special. That had never happened before she and Killian became girlfriend and boyfriend. When two said their ‘I do’s’ and exchanged rings, Killian didn’t waste any time after hearing “You may now kiss the bride.”

“At bloody last,” he smirked and leaned forward, pulling Emma closer to him by the waist and kissed her lips passionately. The pirate felt his wife kiss back with an equal amount of love, his hands stroking up her back while Emma’s fingers explored his brown hair. The newlyweds were making the most of the kiss, not really noticing the sound of applause from the guests. “I love you Emma Jones.”

“I love you more, my Killian Jones,” Emma replied sweetly, mumbling against her husband’s lips before kissing him further. They were married. The two people who had previously disregarded the possibility of a happy ending let alone marriage. “Shall we go to our reception?” she asked, gesturing a little with her head to the wedding guests who were waiting for the Jones couple to leave first out of wedding etiquette.

“Do you really think that’s possible? With how much I love you?” the pirate countered in playful banter with Emma and nodded, agreeing with her suggestion. “Aye of course,” he added and wrapped an arm around his wife’s waist, leading her back down the aisle to get off the ship.

“We could do this all day,” Emma laughed, referring to the light-hearted debate. She laughed more when Killian lifted her up in his arms bridal style until they approached the docks.

“That really is the most perfect dress love, you look more beautiful than I’ve ever seen and you’re naturally the most gorgeous woman I’ve met,” Killian was honest with his compliment as he lowered Emma back down to her feet, careful of her detailed wedding gown and cape.

However, before Emma could respond, the ground beneath them shook harshly. What was happening now? Couldn’t she have one day of happiness to enjoy with her True Love without needing to deal with a crisis?

“Bloody hell…”

“What was that?” the newlywed woman questioned with wide eyes and looked around her. Even the other inhabitants of Storybrooke were startled by what they assumed to be an earthquake. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the end of it. It was only when Killian tugged at her hand, trying to keep her near him that the Saviour saw a cloud of smoke surround her husband. “Killian! What’s happening?!” she cried with worry.

“I don’t know Swan, just don’t let go!” Killian shouted over the loud breeze as he tried to fight the cloud of smoke that was attempting to pull the husband and wife couple apart.

“I won’t Killian, I promise!” Emma vowed, a few tears running down her cheeks when she realised what was about to happen. “Whatever is going on, I’ll fix it I swear, I’ll always find you!” She gave Killian her word in their weddings vows that she was never going to give up on him.

“I know you will, I believe in you Swan,” Killian replied, doing his best to continue to hold onto Emma. Trying to remain strong to assure his wife that everything was going to be alright despite not seeiming that way right now. “I love you,” he reminded and managed to kiss Emma’s lips one last time before the cloud of smoke forced the two to let go of one another.

“Killian!” Emma let out a heartbroken yell, the last thing the pirate heard from her as the smoke enveloped him, taking him away in a flash of thunder. Away from Storybrooke.

Away from Emma.

Tagging a few users who might like the story. I’d love to know what you think! @yayimallamaagain @phiralovesloki @lenfaz @flipperbrain@cocohook38@hollyethecurious@winterbaby89@xhookswenchx@teamhook@resident-of-storybrooke@fairytalesandtimetravel@aye-captn@captainswanbookclub@captainswanbigbang@goldengirlschildhood@themilahskillybear@the-corsair-and-her-quill @clockadile@wellhellotragic @killian-whump@blittrellzsouthernangel@yayimallamaagain@sherlockianwhovian@snowbellewells

@hollyethecurious @winterbaby89

#cs #cs ff #cs fan fic #cs fan art #cs fic #cs ff rec #captain hook #Captain Swan #captain swan fanfiction #captain swan fan art #captain swan fan fic #killian jones #Killian and Emma #killian #captain killian jones #emma #emma swan #emma jones #Emma x Hook #killian whump #ouat #once upon a time #Jennifer Morrison #colin o'donoghue #story #storybrooke

[serendipitousrambles]

I was tagged by @bubblynancy . I've done this twice (Harry Potter, Star Wars, Stranger Things) and (Disney, It, F.R.I.E.N.D.S) so I only chose two fandoms this time that I’m not in as much anymore

Fandoms:

Star vs the forces of evil

Once upon a time (but I'm ignoring season 7 because wtf is going on?)

The first character you loved:

Probably Marco, he's just an awkward nerd and some weird Princess ended up in his life and he just kind of goes with it and he's kind bless him

Henry was so cute in season 1 and aw I just wanted to protect him

The character you never expected to love so much?

King River (Star's dad) he's not in it that much but he makes me laugh and wow idk why but he's a silly character and I love his interactions with Marco plus he's so cute with Queen Moon and yeah 😂

Captain Hook aka Killian Jones because he was evil and bad but now I'm literally in love with him because he turned out to be caring and his eyes are so blue 😍

The Character you relate to the most:

As much as she annoys me I'm a bit like Ponyhead because I'm pretty self centred

The Character You’d slap:

Toffee

Rumple, I just can't get behind him

Three favourite Characters (in order of preference)

Marco, Star, Tom

Killian Jones, Emma, Regina

A character you liked at first but don’t anymore

Jackie was cool but then she got in the way of Starco but she also just started getting on my nerves and just didn't seem like an authentic character

Snow White just got annoying after a while I'm sorry, she was too much

A character you did not like at first, but do now

Tom, I feel kind of bad for him because as much as I ship Starco, I need some kind of mutual, kind break up rather than Star just being with him because she feels she can't have Marco because it's just not fair to him

Regina redeemed herself

Three Otps:

Starco (Star x Marco are adorable and we got a kiss so it's almost canon)

Captain Swan

I'm not going to tag anyone because it's been going around a bit now haha but feel free if you want to take part!

#fandom tag #it took me ages to do this haha sorry!

[searchingwardrobes]

CS Valentine's One-shots: Day Five

Prompt: Valentine’s proposal, or in this case, a proposal followed by a Valentine’s wedding

  I was having trouble with my muse for the last few prompts. Then I remembered that in my MC God Bless the Broken Road, I mentioned in the epilogue that Emma and Killian were married by the following Valentine’s Day. I don’t know if this breaks the “rules” or not, but I couldn’t help doing a one shot of those deleted scenes. It ended up longer and a whole lot angstier than I intended, and I’m also not sure I succeeded in making it stand alone. *Warning: Shameless self-promotion ahead* Therefore, here are links to the other stuff in this verse if you are interested:

MC God Bless the Broken Road: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8072611/chapters/18497593

Series Musings of Pastor’s Kid Killian Jones: https://archiveofourown.org/series/629957

Popcorn with Milk Duds (one-shot): https://archiveofourown.org/works/11792322

Held (one-shot): https://archiveofourown.org/works/12654315

I was also inspired by the story I have heard my entire life of how my dad proposed to my mom J

Rated T for themes. Trigger warnings: brief mentions of drug abuse, brief mentions of teen pregnancy, religious themes

Always and Forever

Emma stood in front of her mirror, noting the blush rising to her cheeks as she fastened the clasp of the necklace Killian had given her for Valentine’s Day years ago. Her fingers trembled slightly, and she kept gnawing at her lower lip. It was completely and utterly ridiculous for her to be this nervous. Sure, they were calling this their “first” date, but it was far from a normal one.

              “Mommy, stop staring at yourself! You look perfect already!” Her six year old cried out behind her. His voice was equal parts whiny, breathless, and excited. She laughed at his reflection in the mirror. He was jumping on her bed, alternately flinging his entire body down on the mattress then bouncing to his feet again. Luke was a mass of constant motion with a perpetual sheen of sweat and constantly mussed hair.

              And Luke was the reason it was ridiculous to call this a first date. Since he inherited that dark, thick mass of messy hair as well as his bright blue eyes from his father.

              “Do you think Daddy will bring you flowers? Will he take you to a ball?”

              Emma narrowed her eyes and put her hands on her hips. “A ball? Where do you think we live, the Enchanted Forest or something?” Then she reached down and tickled her son – their son – until he was squealing with laughter. Henry then came bursting in, yelling, “Me too, me too!” as he tugged on Emma’s skirt. She complied by tossing the three year old on the bed, tickling both boys anew until they were both breathlessly begging her to stop.

              Just as Emma let them go, she heard the doorbell ring. Both boys yelled, “Grandma!” and raced down the hall. Emma glanced through the peep hole to check that it was indeed Elizabeth Jones, then let Luke pull the door open. Both boys showered her with hugs and kisses. It warmed Emma’s heart to see how the entire Jones family treated Henry with the same love and affection as they did Luke.

              Elizabeth rose from greeting the boys and gave Emma a hug of her own. “Oh, Emma,” she enthused, still grasping her by both arms. You look stunning.”

              “Thank you,” Emma told her as she shook out the skirt. The top of the dress was simple; black, sleeveless, and form-fitting with a scooped neckline. But the A-line skirt had an overlay with gold embroidery. It was simple, yet elegant, and accentuated Emma’s figure without being overtly sexy. Elsa, who had gone shopping with her, had gasped that it fit her personality perfectly, and Emma had to agree. It was even comfortable, believe it or not. “Killian said he was taking me somewhere that had to do with Christmas, and gold and black works, right?”

              “Absolutely,” Elizabeth agreed with a smile, “red is so overdone at the holidays. Of course, I think Killian would love you even in a paper sack.”

              Emma brushed off the compliment, that infernal blush rising to her cheeks again, and hurried into the kitchen to show Elizabeth the leftovers for dinner. She found herself rambling on about bed time, then trailed off when she realized that Elizabeth had been taking care of Luke since he was born. But the woman just nodded and smiled. Then the doorbell rang again.

              “Daddy!” Luke screamed at the top of his lungs as he darted for the door.

              Elizabeth caught him in a bear hug from behind. “No, no, little man. Let your Mommy and Daddy say hello to each other.”

              “Why? They say hello all the time.”

              Emma shook her head and laughed at her son’s answer, then took a deep breath and pulled the door open. She blinked as she took Killian in with a heated and appreciative gaze. Would his handsome looks ever cease to take her breath away?

              “Swan,” he breathed out with an equally appreciative look on his face, “you are absolutely exquisite.”

              Emma ducked her head and blushed. Then she ran her gaze up and down his frame before giving him a crooked smile, “You don’t look so bad yourself.”

              The smile that lit his face dimpled his cheeks and crinkled his eyes. His tailored suit with a shirt of deep blue and a black tie made her relieved that she had picked a fancier dress. They just stood there for a moment staring at each other as if the clock had rewound about seven years until Luke came barreling past Emma to collide with his father’s waist.

              Killian had to greet both boys and attempt to explain for the hundredth time to Henry why all four of them couldn’t go before he and Emma managed to get out the door.

              “Maybe I should have picked you up,” Emma quipped as Killian helped her into the passenger’s side of his truck.

              “Nonsense,” Killian argued back, “no gentleman would agree to that arrangement.”

              Emma rolled her eyes at that. “So, where are you taking me?”

              “Well,” Killian told her, shifting slightly in his seat as he pulled out of Emma’s apartment complex, “we’re driving into Portland to see a production of The Nutcracker.” He scratched behind his ear as he glanced at her nervously. “Is – is that okay?”

              “Okay?” Emma replied hoarsely, tears filling her eyes. “It’s way more than okay. I haven’t been since Ingrid passed.”

              He let out a deep sigh of relief. “That’s what I thought.” He then lifted her hand to his lips and brushed a kiss there. It was so incredibly thoughtful, and so like him to remember. Emma had always dreamed of going to see the ballet when she was a little girl, so when Ingrid had adopted her, she had made a point to take her every Christmas. Even Killian had tagged along that year they were dating.

              Killian didn’t release her hand. At first. But the longer he clasped her hand, the more jittery he became. She was used to him rubbing his thumb across her knuckles, but tonight his hand seemed to be going into spasms. And either Emma was imagining it, or his hand was getting clammy. Emma finally slipped her hand free and set it in her lap. She eyed Killian curiously. Had he gotten sick but didn’t want to cancel their date?

              “Are you okay?”

              Killian gave a nervous chuckle, “Sure, I’m fine.”

              Emma narrowed her eyes at him, not completely buying it, but she said nothing further. She put on a bright smile and started telling him about Luke and Henry’s antics at the park today, but when it dragged on into a one-sided conversation, she petered out. She gnawed on her lower lip as she gazed out the window at the fresh blanket of snow on the ground. They normally had no problem talking for hours over nothing at all, but tonight, on their first official date now that they were a couple again, he was strangely silent.

              But then they arrived at the theater, and he flashed her that gorgeous smile of his. He gallantly insisted on opening her door, then took her arm like he truly was escorting her to a ball. She thought of Luke’s childish questions and couldn’t help smiling. Once inside, they were preoccupied with finding their seats, and Emma was in awe as she always was of the theater itself. The silence between them now was a comfortable thing, and as the lights dimmed, Emma slipped her arm through Killian’s and squeezed it. He smiled adoringly at her, and she rested her head on his shoulder as the lights came up on Clara, Drosselmeyer, and the enormous Christmas tree.

              As the show went on, however, Emma became concerned again. Killian pulled away from her to lean forward, resting his chin on his fist. Then his legs were bouncing. But the thing that concerned Emma most was when she pulled her eyes away from Grandmother Ginger to see him kneading his left knee. She swallowed down her concern and concentrated on the remainder of the ballet.

              Afterwards, Killian took her to a fancy Italian restaurant down the street from the theater. It was a gorgeous place, intimate, with fancy tablecloths and flickering candlelight. But Killian still didn’t seem like himself. Their conversation kept stalling, and he just couldn’t seem to stop fidgeting. Emma could only nibble at her chicken parmesan and sip at her wine because of the dry lump in her throat.

              On the drive back to Storybrooke, Killian asked her about work, and Emma gladly talked on and on about every little thing from Aurora’s new pregnancy to the new Doc McStuffins stickers that all the kids seemed to love. She actually went on a five minute tangent about how the children’s show was doing wonders to help her calm kids down when they were getting an exam. Anything to keep them from lapsing into silence again.

              “They should have made a kids show about a doctor for toys ages ago,” Emma’s chuckle sounded strained, even to her own ears. She sighed with relief when the town sign came into view.

              For the first time since Portland, Killian turned to her with a tender smile. “Want to go for a walk along the beach?”

              “Are you serious?”

              Killian’s face fell, and a look of confusion darted across his eyes. Emma hadn’t meant her words to come out so clipped and harsh, but what did he expect? It had been one of the most awkward dates in her entire life. With someone she thought she knew better than anyone in the world.

              “Why wouldn’t I be serious?”

              Emma barked out a sarcastic laugh. “You can’t be that dense, Killian. You’ve acted the entire night like you’d rather be somewhere else, and now you want to take a romantic stroll along the beach?”

              Killian blinked rapidly. “Emma, you don’t understand . . . I never meant . . . that is to say . . . “

              He had turned the deepest shade of red Emma had ever seen, and he was rubbing at that knee of his again. The way he’d been acting tonight, you would think . . . Emma gasped. When she spoke, she tempered her words carefully, “You’re not taking the pills again, are you?”

              “What!” Killian yelled. “How could you think that?”

              “Then answer the question!”

              “Of course I’m not! You have that little faith in me?” He had gotten so upset, he had pulled the car over. He shifted in his seat to face her, rubbing the back of his neck agitatedly.

              “What am I supposed to think? You’re jittery, your palms are clammy,” Emma counted off the symptoms on her fingers, “you’re unable to focus, I mean, what else could it be?”

              The color had drained from Killian’s face as she spoke, and suddenly another possibility washed over her like ice cold water.

              “Or . . . “ she swallowed, her eyes filling up with tears. She shook her head briefly, and cut the tears off. “Take me home, Killian,” she whispered.

              “Emma, no, please,” Killian protested, reaching for her. Emma shook off his hand.

              “So can you explain why you’re acting so uncomfortable tonight?” Emma sat there with her arms crossed, watching him as he stared out the windshield, his hands squeezing the steering wheel, and his jaw clenching.

              “No,” he finally whispered, defeated, “I guess I can’t.”

              Wordlessly, he put the truck back in drive and headed back to her apartment complex. The silence between them now was a painful, tangible thing. When he parked right outside her unit, Emma shifted in her seat, clutching the pendant of her necklace in her fist to give her courage.

              “Killian, remember how you told me that you wouldn’t push me for more than I was ready for in this relationship?” At his curious nod, she continued, “Well, that’s true the other way around. I don’t want you forcing this because . . . I don’t know, because you think I need you or because Luke wants it so badly. If the spark just isn’t there anymore, then –“

              “Emma,” he said, cutting her off, “check the glove compartment.”

              He said it with almost resignation, but when she glanced at him, he had a tiny, wry smile on his face. He gestured with his hand. “Go on, just humor me. Open it.”

              Emma took a deep breath as she reached for the glove compartment. She couldn’t help flashing back to Thanksgiving seven years ago when she opened Killian’s glove compartment and an almost empty bottle of pain pills fell into her palm. But this time, she saw a small velvet jewelry box. Her mouth fell open as she cut her gaze back to Killian. His grin had widened and he gave a rueful shrug. With trembling fingers, Emma pulled out the box and opened it. Inside glittered an engagement ring. A simple, round diamond with two other tiny round diamonds set on either side of it. Emma blinked, her mind reeling.

              “This,” she whispered, “is why you were so nervous tonight?”

              “Aye.” There was a long pause before he continued. “I know it sounds crazy, since this is only our first date since we got back together. But, Emma, that ring is honestly seven years overdue. When I bought you that necklace, I looked at rings first. I almost bought one. Maybe I should have.”

              Emma placed a hand gently on his arm. “No, Killian. We weren’t ready then.”

              He pulled in a deep, shuddering breath and nodded. “But I’m ready now, Emma. I’ve wanted this for years, if I’m being completely honest. And like I said, I know it might seem fast, but think about it. We’ve actually been dating for eight months anyway and were just in denial about it.”

              Emma was able to chuckle at that. “You sound like Mary Margaret.”

              Killian managed a nervous laugh himself and then shrugged. “Well, she was right.” He ran his tongue nervously along his bottom lip as he shifted closer to her and clasped both her hands in his. She could tell he was completely earnest and sincere right now, but all she wanted to do was grab him and kiss him.

              “So, Emma, will you marry me?”

              That was it. She couldn’t hold the tears back any longer. They poured down her cheeks, and he grasped her face tenderly, wiping them away as they fell. She managed to nod, and then finally to speak. “Yes, yes, of course I will.”

              He kissed her then, and her tears turned to deliriously happy smiles. He managed to slip the ring on her finger, despite the way she kept peppering his face with kisses. Then their lips met again, with passion this time, and it was all Emma could do to pull herself away. She laughed at Killian’s whimper of protest, but grasped his face and rubbed his nose with hers.

              “Sorry, but we’ve got a kid inside who is going to flip out over this news.”

              Killian wholeheartedly agreed. They hurried inside to find both Luke and Henry asleep on either side of Killian’s mother. She looked up at them sheepishly, knowing she had been caught spoiling them, but Emma cut off her apologies by holding out her hand to show off the ring. Killian’s mother leapt from the couch, pulling Emma immediately into a tight hug. When she pulled away, tears shown in her eyes, and she held both hands up to her mouth. When she finally spoke, her words shocked Emma.

              “It’s about bloody time.”

              Killian laughed and leaned down to brush a kiss to his mother’s cheek. Emma decided to refrain from reminding her how she felt about the two of them getting married seven years ago.

              “Mom, we want to go ahead and tell Luke,” Killian whispered.

              Elizabeth nodded her head in understanding, quickly gathered her things, and hurried out. Emma and Killian then knelt beside the couch and began gently shaking their son. Finally, his eyes blinked open and he frowned at the sight of the two of them.

              “Waz – goin on,” he muttered as he rubbed at his eyes.

              “Look what Daddy got Mommy,” Emma told him, showing him the ring on her finger. Luke furrowed his brow and rubbed at his hair as he stared at it.

              “That’s nice,” he finally muttered, collapsing back down on the couch, his eyes falling shut.

              Killian laughed as he shook the boy again. When Luke finally opened his eyes again, Killian explained, “We’re getting married, little lad. Mommy and Daddy are getting married.”

              Luke sat bolt upright at those words, his eyes growing as wide as saucers. “Seriously?” he asked. Emma and Killian nodded. “Yes!” Luke cheered as he leapt from the couch. “This. Is. Awesome! Are we all moving into Daddy’s apartment? Or will we get a house? Do I need to pack right now? Will Henry call you Daddy now too? Awesome, awesome, awesome!”

              Emma and Killian laughed as they watched Luke run circles around the room. Getting him back to bed proved to be impossible, so Emma and Killian both changed out of their fancy clothes and cuddled up with both boys on the couch to watch Star Wars: A New Hope. Amazingly, Henry only woke up long enough to mutter unintelligibly and then curl into a ball on Killian’s lap.

              They woke up like that the next morning, Emma in the crook of Killian’s arm with Luke’s head in her lap, and Henry splayed across Killian’s chest.

              Her engagement ring sparkled in the light of dawn.

                            **********************************************************

              Eight weeks later, Emma is standing in front of the sanctuary doors of Storybrooke Fellowship, dressed in a strapless, white lace gown. Her hair is in a low bun, a simple veil tucked into it. Luke is clutching her right arm, bounding on his heels, and her left hand clutches her simple bouquet of forget-me-nots. In some ways, it’s hard to believe they pulled this off in only eight weeks.

              In other ways, it had been the longest eight weeks of her life.

              Of course, when your fiancée, his brother, and your two cousins run a catering and event business, pulling off a last minute wedding is nothing. And Killian’s dad being a pastor meant they had no trouble reserving the church – for free. On Valentine’s Day.

              Yes, it is Valentine’s Day. If someone had told Emma even a year ago that she would be marrying Killian today, she would have laughed. She laughs now, thinking about her phone call to Killian a year ago exactly and how she mistakenly thought he was dating Ariel.

              “What’s so funny, Mommy?” Luke asks.

              Emma shakes her head, “Nothing kid, I’m just happy, that’s all.”

              Luke grins broadly, revealing the two front baby teeth he recently lost. “Me too, Mommy.”

              The first notes of the song “God Bless the Broken Road” by Rascall Flatts begins to play from inside the sanctuary. It’s their cue. With a deep breath, Emma pulls the doors open and steps inside. As she walks down the aisle, every word of the song rings true for the journey that brought them here. She is torn between locking her eyes with Killian’s at the end of the aisle to looking down at their son, who looks happier than she’s ever seen him. As for Killian, his grin threatens to split his face, and his eyes are filled with so much tender awe, that it almost makes her start crying already.

              The song ends as they reach the front, and she can’t tear her eyes from Killian’s. David, who is officiating, opens by asking, “Who gives this woman to be wed to this man?”

              “I do!” Luke shouts enthusiastically, shoving his hand up in the air. Everyone chuckles at his exuberance. Luke then turns to point to Henry. The three year old was the ring-bearer and he’s currently attempting to share Elizabeth Jones’s lap with the flower girl, Liam and Elsa’s little girl Haley. “And my brother, too. We’re both excited for Mommy and Daddy to get married.”

              The congregation laughs again, especially when Luke fist pumps his father before going to join the rest of the family on the front row. Once it has died down, David glances at the couple mischievously before beginning the homily.

              “Well, I think all of us here at Storybrooke Fellowship would agree on one thing: It’s about time!” David’s opening is greeted not only with laughter, but even a few amens. Behind Killian, Liam shoves him teasingly in the shoulder. Emma glances back to see Mary Margaret giving her a smug look.

              “I also think,” David continues, “that we all got a little tired of watching these two date while swearing they weren’t.”

              Killian rolls his eyes at David, but his smile shows that the ribbing doesn’t really bother him. As for Emma, she can’t seem to wipe the stupid smile off her face. David wraps up his short message, then tells Killian to share his vows. Emma turns and gives her bouquet to Mary Margaret and almost loses it when she sees Elsa and Anna wiping at their tears. She takes a deep breath as she turns to Killian and takes his hands in hers. She anchors herself in his bright blue eyes.

              “First, Emma,” he begins, “I have to say that I don’t deserve you –“

              “Stop,” Emma breaks him off with a hand to his lips. She blushes as she glances at David. “Sorry, I just can’t let him say that.” She looks back at her groom. “Killian Jones, you are a good man, and I am honored to become your wife.”

              Killian smiles as her fingers slip from his lips, and he quirks a brow at her. “I thought I was the one saying my vows right now.”

              Emma ducks her head, blushing slightly as the congregation laughs once more. Kilian releases one of her hands and grasps her chin gently. He tilts her face to look at him, and he says his vows while his thumb ghosts along her jaw.

              “Emma, I think we have an advantage over some newlyweds. We already know that neither of us is perfect. And we understand that we don’t have to be. We choose to see the best in each other, and I vow to keep doing that every day for the rest of my life. It always amazes me how you can’t see how big your heart is. The way you forgive. The way you never give up on people. And I vow today to make it my job to protect your heart. With my words and my deeds. Always and forever.”

              Emma can hear several people sniffling in the audience when Killian finishes, but for some reason a calm has settled over her. Killian’s gaze is like a peaceful place in the storm. She grasps the hand that still cups her cheek and kisses it before clutching both his hands firmly in hers.

              “Killian, if I’m being honest, I’ve longed for this day since I was 19 years old. Then I thought I had to put that dream aside. But look what God has done. Using our son to bring us back together.” Her voice falters for a moment, her tears threatening to spill over. Killian gives her a tiny nod of encouragement. “And so I choose today to look forward, not behind. When we were young, we were lovers. Now we’re best friends. And today my vow is to take it one step further: to be your soul mate. Your partner in all things. Always and forever.”

              Her tears are slipping down her cheeks now, but she doesn’t care. Killian reaches out and catches one with his thumb. The rest of the service goes by in a blur, from the exchanging of rings to Elsa and Anna’s duet. Then David is giving them a knowing grin.

              “I am blessed and honored, in front of all these witnesses, to now pronounce you husband and wife. What God has joined together, let no one put asunder.”

              There is a long pause, and finally they both glance curiously at David. For Killian, it’s more of a glare.

              “Oh, did I forget something?” David asks, feigning ignorance. Once he’s gotten sufficient laughter from the crowd, he smiles and says, “That’s right. I forgot. You may kiss the bride!”

              Emma surprises Killian by pouncing first, grabbing him by the lapels of his tux and hauling him in. He catches up quickly, though, kissing her back with fervor that elicits hoots from the crowd. He then dips her dramatically. He holds her close as he sets her back on her feet, and whispers for only Emma to hear.

              “What was that you said years ago about not feeling comfortable making out in church?”

              Emma leans back to see the cocky, slightly rebellious smirk of a smart-ass pastor’s kid. She then pulls in close and whispers back, “You’re my husband now, making out with you is considered holy.”

              Killian waggles his eyebrows. “As a PK, I can confirm that your opinion is scripturally and theologically sound.”

              Emma rolls her eyes and kisses him again for good measure, thrilling slightly at the teasing reprimands from the rest of the family. They’ll just have to get used to it. Because always and forever is a very long time.

#cs valentine #proposals #weddings

[canwetalkaboutcaptainswan]

280 Days

Finally finally the fic you all requested...Pregnant!Emma galore. It’s a long one folks. I hope you enjoy it!! 

@justcheckingstuffcs @dark-ones-dont-need-sleep @losttalongthewayy @leatherjacketsandrum @mrandmrsswan @naiariddle @raggedyclaraa @mayquita @thegladelf @flslp87 @onceuponiwishmytime @galadriel26 @captainswanslay @captainswan710 @allofthismatters @mxltifandoms @caaptain-swan @jennjenn615 @kmomof4 @justcheckingstuffcs @blowmiakisscolin 

Don’t forget, if I missed you in the tags, just shoot me a message and I’ll tag you from now on. And if you just got here, this piece is a companion piece to this, but you could still enjoy it if you haven’t read anything from the Nth Time Series.(But if you want to read all the parts, just go to my blog and check the cs ff tag.)

Enjoy this big fat heaping dose of CS family fluff!

~ Jenn 

*************************************************

~ Day 78

She hates it. She forgot how much actually being pregnant sucks. 280 days of pure, undiluted torture. She’s queasy in the mornings and sweaty at night and she’s only known she’s pregnant for two weeks but god, it already feels like it’s been an eternity. Today is especially bad because this morning she woke up and she wanted eggs and Killian, of course, because this is Killian, made her eggs but then the smell made her sick, which made him feel bad which made her feel bad which made her cry which made him feel even worse which made her feel even worse. And her belly is already so round and in charge, and god, she’s 11 weeks pregnant and how dare her stupid perfect husband pump her full of so many babies?!

~ Day 83

They find an obstetrician that specializes in multiples at a Children’s hospital in Boston. The drive there is a little too far for Killian’s liking (45 minutes, 40 if you speed) but Emma assures him that it’s worth it and that she’d rather make the drive than trust Frankenstein to deliver their twins. Their first visit there is a Tuesday, and they’re delightfully surprised when the friendly obstetrician offers to get out her ultrasound machine. It’s the first time Killian’s seen the babies and he’s transfixed on the screen, watching those little blobs dance with the happiest of expressions. He cries when he hears their heartbeats for the first time, and before they leave, Dr. Cameron whispers to Emma about how lucky she is to have such a supportive partner. “Oh believe me,” she agrees, offering a smile, “there’s no way I could do this with anyone but him."

~ Day 90

Today is lovely in every sense of the word. It’s a lazy day, that Saturday, a perfect day off. Emma sleeps in and misses the morning sail, waking only to the patter of little 3-year old feet and the feeling of sea salt dusted lips against her hairline. She opens her eyes just as Leia clambers up on the bed, intent on telling the babies about her morning even though they can’t hear her really, not yet. “The wind was perfect, little loves,” the three year-old explains, and Emma watches Killian quietly sigh on account of Leia’s now-perfect “L” sounds. His only consolation is that his heart is warmed by the fact that she’s mastered the sound by using her own special nickname on her brothers ("or sisters, Killian.” “No, Swan.").

~ Day 112

There’s a crisis. What a surprise. Some villain with an ample supply of magic knock-out powder is going from shop to shop in town, taking money from the tills. Granny and Gold were both found unconscious, and August had been hit with the powder at the top of a staircase, which he’d then fallen down and broken a leg and a collarbone. Enough was enough and it was time to catch the bandit. Emma scurries around the house, fetching her jacket and loading her gun before snapping it into the holster. She’d had to expand the buckle on the thing to accommodate for her expanding girth already. (Ugh, are you kidding me?) She's pissed because it's her day off and now she has this to deal with. Her and Killian had been having a much needed nap together while Leia played with Henry, and it nearly killed her to leave his arms. Killian follows her around the house as she readies herself, and one look at his face lets her know something's bothering him. She goes to the front door to put on her boots, and he trails behind, busying himself with straightening the rest of the shoes in the foyer while she ties her laces. “Hey,” she says when she's finished, reaching for him, “I won’t be long, okay? Gunna nab this asshole and then my dad can deal with him. I’ll be back in no time to finish our nap.”

Killian takes a deep breath but forces a smile. Still, Emma can see that it doesn't reach his eyes, and can tell he’s unsettled inside. Unfortunately there's no time for her to figure it out now, as she really does have to go. He leans down and kisses her forehead. “Aye. Be…just be careful, Swan, alright?”

She nods, kissing his cheek before darting out the front door and going down the porch steps, toward the bug. She reaches into her pocket to retrieve her phone, intent on calling her dad and figuring out where they should start searching for this bastard. But before she can dial, she hears the front door open behind her. She spins, expecting it to be Leia wanting to say goodbye to her, but it isn’t. Killian is standing on the front porch, a heartbreaking expression of desperation etched on his face as he gazes at her. Well actually, she realizes, he isn’t really gazing at her, but rather at the small protrusion underneath her jacket that’s currently housing his two tiny humans.

“Please don’t go, Swan,” he says then, and the words are a quiet, desperate plead.

Understanding floods Emma almost instantly, and she mentally kicks herself because how had she failed to realize before the obvious reason why he looked so terrified?

“Oh Killian, I won’t,” she says automatically, and she immediately steps toward him, releasing her hold on her phone. Killian exhales in obvious relief and rushes toward her, meeting her at the bottom of the porch and pulling her into his arms. She wraps her own arms around him tightly, carding her fingers through his hair to soothe him.  

He nuzzles against her ear. “I’m sorry, love. I know you can handle yourself, but I was just afraid that-“

“Hey, hey hey. Don’t be sorry, Killian, you’re right. I love you so much, okay? I’m not going anywhere. We’re all right here.”

He exhales again, nodding against her, and she still feels guilty for even considering endangering their unborn children. What if she’d been knocked out? Or fallen down a flight of stairs like August? She shudders in his arms at the mere thought, and does her best to throw all that out of her head. She’s safe here, he has her. “C’mon,” she smiles gently, nodding toward the house, “I’ll call my dad and we’ll resume our nap.”

~ Day 120

"Do you know how amazing you are?” he asks her one night when they’re settled intimately in their bathtub, Leia asleep, candles lit and bubbles abounding. Her back is pressed against his chest and his hand is settled under the water against her belly, her abdominal muscles quivering as he circles her navel with his pinkie finger. They’re cheek to stubbled cheek, so she’s sure he can feel the heat of her blush.

“Hmm,” she hums quietly, unsure of how to respond to his grandiose, complimentary statement.

“You’re just constantly amazing me, my love. First I got to watch you learn to be a mother to a little boy who is now our beautiful, astute young man. And then I got to watch you fiercely deliver our little screaming daughter into the world and have the pleasure of helping you raise her to be the perfect little ray of light that she is. And now here we are again, you’re blessing me with the greatest gift again, of carrying not one more but two more little creatures whom I already love so desperately that it makes me half-crazed. I’d have nothing if not for you, Emma Swan-Jones. You quite literally rooted me up from a place where I had nothing and you gave me everything. And I love you so, so much. So much.”

Emma just stares at him, tears gathering bountifully in her eyes. “...okay, well. I have absolutely no idea how to follow that speech, so I guess I’ll just kiss you now, okay?” she tries.

Killian just beams at her, the love in his gaze setting fire to her skin. “Okay,” he whispers.

~ Day 126

The paint is cold, but it feels nice. She's sprawled out on a hammock she let Leia conjure in their creepy-basement-turned-multi-purpose space, her belly jutting out proudly towards the ceiling. It's splattered with patterns of blues and pinks, Leia's paintbrush sweeping smoothly in a rhythmic motion that's halfway lulling her to sleep. Killian sits nearby in a lazy boy, yet another book about raising multiples perched on his lap. Noticing her mother’s eyes shut, Leia turns to her father. “How much longer until we can find out, Daddy?”

Killian smiles widely at his daughter’s artwork before looking at her. “Just two more weeks now, little love. I promise.”

~Day 140

No matter how hard anyone tries, the piñata just will not bust open. The backyard is all but packed to the max, literally all of Storybrooke having gathered for the grand celebration. Pink and blue decorations a la Mary Margaret are everywhere, and all that stands between everyone and the truth is a giant, pirate-ship-shaped piñata. All the kids - Leia, Robyn, Neal, Alexandra, Finley, etc - have been taking turns whacking the thing for the past half hour. Henry even took a mean swing, followed by Charming. But still, nothing. Killian is all but vibrating with excitement, swallowing curses every time somebody hits it.

“Why are you so nervous?” Emma elbows him playfully, oddly feeling calm despite the gravity of this situation. “You’ve said from day 1 you know they’re boys.”

“Aye, Swan, but it’s been a bloody eternity. I need that candy to fall so I can be certain.”

Emma clasps his shaking hand, rubbing the back of it with her thumb. “Patience, grasshopper. I’m sure one of these times—”

They’re interrupted by a thunderous crack, Neal having hit the ship particularly hard this time. The piñata swings wildly and everyone’s eyes watch it in anticipation, and then there’s a collective groan when it simply swings to a stop, virtually unharmed. “Emma there has to be a better way,” Regina whines, throwing her hands in the air. “Can’t I just blast the damn thing with a fireball?”

“No, wait!” Leia interjects, throwing the bat Neal handed her to the grass and scampering over to her parents. “Daddy. Hook please?”

Emma laughs at her little firecracker’s drastic plan, and releases Killian’s hand so he can remove the hook from its holster. His face is a mask of suspense, and his fingers shake ever so slightly. Leia of course, doesn’t miss it. “Come with me, Daddy? We can do it together!”

A smile breaks out on his face as he hands Leia the curved metal, the sun glinting off it in the afternoon light. Leia holds it carefully and Killian scoops her up, unable to resist the urge to kiss her rosy little cheek. “My smart little pirate,” he chides her, striding towards the piñata. “Are you ready?”

Everyone falls quiet. Emma’s heart rate quickens as she watches Killian and Leia go, and she brings her hand to rest against her belly. Mary Margaret fusses for the rest of the kids to back up, and Killian catches Emma’s eye for a brief moment. “Love you,” he mouths.

“I love you too,” she mouths right back.

And all at once, Leia swings her arm and plunges the hook deep into the piñata, yanking fiercely. And suddenly, finally, there’s an outpouring of candy, and Emma rolls her eyes and smiles because every piece is blue.

~ Day 148

No matter how hard she tries, she just can’t stop crying. Leia’s spending the day with Killian and his brother and Henry’s at school, so it isn’t like her loud sobs echoing around in the empty house are bothering anyone. She’s curled up on Killian’s side of their bed, and she stares in anger at the book of baby boy names she’d just chucked across the room. The tears roll hotly down her cheeks as she tries to untangle the knot of frustration coiled in her chest. There’s still time, Emma. Don’t worry, Emma. Somehow you’ll come up with names for not one but two little boys, Emma. She tries and fails to calm herself. Why the fuck had naming Leia been so easy? It had been the first of 3 names either of them suggested and they both fell in love with it. Why couldn’t this be easy, too? A fresh sob escapes her throat and she reaches for her phone, jamming her fingers irrationally hard against the buttons as she dials. Killian answers on the first ring, concern all too thick in his tone when he hears her sniffling. “Swan, what’s wrong?!” he demands in a hurry.

“C-can you pl-please come home?” she stammers, immediately hating herself for sounding like the hormonal pregnant lady that she is, “I’m hungry and I need you and your sons both need names.”

~ day 165

“Woah, Mommy!” Leia exclaims, her little hands pressed against Emma’s tummy, “Do it again!”

“I can’t make them kick, Leiabear. Try talking to them. When Daddy would talk to you, you would go crazy in there.”

“Hi, baby boys,” Leia coos at Emma’s tummy. “Are you warm and cozy in there? You talk too, Mommy. They like you.”

“Hello in there, sweet boys,” Emma coos, and Leia squeals excitedly as the kicks start up again. “We love you so much, all of us out here.”

“We DO love you,” Leia agrees, patting the spots she felt kicks. She giggles infectiously, and Emma reaches up to tuck her wild hair back behind her ears.

The front door opens then, Killian having returned from his quick run to Granny’s. Leia screams for him the minute she hears the door click, not wanting him to miss out on the fun. “Daddy, come quick!”

Emma rolls her eyes and laughs as she hears Killian’s thunderous, rushed footsteps carrying him up the stairs to where his girls (and boys) are. “What’s wrong? What’s happening?!” he demands, his face frantic.

“Did you seriously leave my onion rings at the front door?!” Emma scolds him.

“The babies are kicking us!” Leia explains excitedly.

Killian gasps and rushes over to the bed, and Leia jumps to the side so he has room. “And I missed it?!” The horror and sadness in his tone makes Emma laugh while simultaneously making Leia visibly upset.

“It’s okay, Daddy. It’s okay. They’ll do it again, I promise. They kick really hard when Mommy talks. Talk, Mommy!”

Emma, feeling the slightest bit like some riveting zoo exhibit, heeds her daughter’s request. “Little babies,” she begins, and Killian hovers his hands over her belly, letting Leia show him where to place his palms. “Your Daddy’s home now, little loves. He rushed up here so fast he forgot our food downstairs. Say, ‘we’re hungry, Dad!’’

The furious kicking starts then, and Killian gasps and chuckles in delight. “My lads!” he exclaims, rubbing gently where he can feel the tiny pushes. “Do you love your Mummy’s voice oh so very much? Dare I say she’s your very first love?”

“Oh, you bet I am,” Emma teases him, and Killian winks at her.

“That’s alright,” he teases back, “They’re they only two men I’ll ever surrender you to.”

~ Day 175

Building cribs is more difficult than it looks. Killian had refused help from Emma’s father, determined to accomplish the task all on his own. He’s literally sweating, even after cracking open the boys’ nursery window and taking off his coat and shirt. Despite the difficulty, he’s almost done…assembling one of the two, at least. Just a few more screws to tighten in and it would be on to the second one. He daydreams to pass the time, thinking about how one day soon Emma will bring their boys into the world. He physically aches with the need to meet them, to see their sweet little faces, to hold them and love them and never let them go. At the same time, though, he doesn’t want to meet them quite yet, for he knows how important it is for them to stay inside Emma for as long as there’s room. Emma’s doing a wonderful job carrying them, he thinks to himself. Despite the fact that her back aches and she pees every half hour, to Killian she’s an utter vision, his love, the grandest beauty there ever was. He’s so lost in thought that he fails to notice that the object of his affections is leaning against the doorframe, grilled cheese for him balanced against the top of her bump.

Emma too, is lost in thought, gazing down at her sweaty, chiseled, half-naked pirate. He’s a mess of furrowed brow and rippling muscle, and she swears that if he tries to build the second crib before taking her to bed she’ll kill him.

~ Day 197

At one of their ultrasound appointments, their regular ultrasound technician Amy asks Emma if it would be alright if a student joined her and helped. Emma smiles at the student (who looks nervous and terrified) and assures her that she’s fine with it. Normally Killian sits right by Emma to watch, but seeing as there are two technicians instead of one, he instead sits in a chair in the corner of the room so as not to be in the way. Emma makes small talk with the women, honestly doing her best to calm the student down. Her hands shake as she applies the gel, and apologizes for the temperature with a speech she’d definitely memorized. “It’s okay,” Emma tries to comfort her. “You’re doing great.” The student offers her a smile, and Amy tells her to find baby A’s heartbeat. She moves the probe and does so with ease, the fast rhythmic thudding music to Killian’s ears, as always.

Once it’s recorded, Amy tells the student she can do baby B now. The student nods and moves the probe, stopping the noise. She slides the thing upward, and presses it down. No thudding comes, and Emma smiles at the girl again when she notices her start to panic. “Try sliding it posteriorly a bit,” Amy instructs. The probe moves again, and still no sound. The student now looks like she wants to crawl into a hole and die, and Emma feels terrible. She turns away to share a pitied look with Killian, but is startled profusely when her gaze lands on her husband’s face. Killian looks white as a ghost. His face is contorted and his eyes are bulging wide, and he honestly looks like he might faint or throw up. Quickly reading his mind, Emma jerks suddenly, looking at the women again.

“Uhh, I’m sorry. Me and my husband were having a…huge fight in the car on the way here and I uhh..don’t feel settled because we didn’t resolve it. Could you give us like, 3 minutes alone? I’m so sorry. You’re honestly doing a great job,” she assures the young girl, patting her arm and feeling bad for lying.

“Sure Emma,” Amy agrees, motioning for the student to follow her out of the room. I’ll just let Alana look at your charts if that’s okay with you.”

“Of course,” Emma says, trying to get them out of the room as fast as possible. The minute they walk out of the room Emma moves faster than she’s moved in months, jumping out of the chair and going to Killian’s corner. “Killian, look at me. Killian,” she says firmly, his gaze lost far away still, but her voice snaps him out of it and he looks in her eyes, the terror in his face nearly blinding her. “Listen to me. That baby is fine. Absolutely, one hundred percent fine. That girl is a student, Killian. She’s just learning. The heartbeat is there, do you hear me? She’s just a kid. She’s just learning and she doesn’t know exactly where to put the thingie. But the actual baby is fine. It’s okay. I promise you.”

Killian starts to cry and she yanks him into her arms, the gel on her belly most likely smearing onto some of his leather. “Are you sure?” he croaks against her, and her heart almost shatters.

“Yes, babe. Yes. I promise you, he’s fine. They’re both fine. I’m so sorry you got so scared. Here, come here.”

She drags him over to her chair and grabs the probe, which is thankfully still on. Emma places it on her own belly, and within a few seconds she finds the right spot. Thudding once again fills the room and Killian presses his forehead to hers, basically collapsing with relief. She rubs his cheek with her free hand, kissing all over his face. “See? It’s okay. Your babies are fine. They’re both fine, I promise. I’m so sorry, Killian. You don’t have to be scared. Everything’s okay.”

Killian slowly collects himself, breathing deeply and rubbing at his eyes. Emma threads their fingers together, squeezing his hand. “She’s just learning, Killian. And she’s so nervous. Amy is probably her teacher and she’s afraid she’s gunna screw up. Are you okay now?”

Killian takes another deep breath. “Aye, Swan. I’m sorry.”

“You have nothing to be sorry for, Killian. You were just scared and that’s okay, okay? Here, pull that chair over here. Sit right by me, okay?”

Killian pulls the chair over, and kisses Emma's forehead. “Shall I go tell the ladies we’ve resolved our fake fight?”

Emma chuckles, squeezing his hand again. “Yes, please."

~ Day 212

She isn’t allowed out of bed anymore. Last week she’d been dizzy, and because she didn’t want to worry Killian she didn’t tell him. And then today, she’d fainted. Thankfully she was standing next to Killian when it happened, thankfully he caught her, and thankfully Leia didn’t see. She’d come to only minutes later, wearing no clothes and covered in cold towels, Killian crying and on the phone with the OB. For a split second she felt like laughing at the image of him freaking out and literally ripping her clothes off her (they were in a pile of shreds next to her) but then she felt like an ass because the whole thing had scared him tremendously and probably shaved years off his life. The doctor told him on the phone that it was probably her blood pressure dipping and that she should be on bedrest from now until the babies come. But nevertheless, he insists on driving her to Boston for a checkup. Thankfully everything is normal, aside from the fact that her blood pressure is dipping, and then the doctor repeats again, that she isn’t to get out of bed anymore.

~ Day 222

10 days in bed and she feels like she might die of boredom. Emma Swan does not lay in bed and do nothing - not her style. So it’s tremendously hard to let Killian do everything for her, even though he does it with zero complaints. Thankfully she has an entertaining 3 year old to help her pass the time. Today Leia’s activity of choice is to practice magic, and she does so by laying next to Emma and flicking her wrists to change the colour of the walls. And as she watches her tiny daughter wield her power, Emma errantly wonders whether the twins will have magic. Then she gets too wigged out by the idea of two identical male toddlers with magical fists, and promptly sends Leia to tell Daddy to make Mommy an ice cream sundae.

~ Day 230

“Mom. This is a little out of hand, you have to admit.”

“Oh, I fully admit to that, Emma. But just think. We won’t get to dress them ourselves forever. We have to take advantage.” Mary Margaret had went shopping in Boston, and Emma was fairly certain there isn’t a stitch of infant boy clothing left in any stores in the whole city, on account of they are all splayed out in front of her. Overalls and moccasins and sleepers and cable knit sweaters and onesies galore (2 of each, of course).

Emma smiles at her mother, who is so obviously proud of herself. “Thanks, Mom. I’m sure they’ll love all of it. So much so that I’m sure they’ll spit up or poop to prove their gratitude to you.”

~ Day 240

She wakes up in the middle of the night, and Killian isn’t in bed with her. At first, she just assumes he’d crawled in with Leia like always, but then something inside her makes her want to check to make sure he’s okay. She hauls her larger-than-life body out of bed (which secretly is a blessing because these days she never gets to use her legs. Killian has even taken to insisting she be carried to the bathroom) and walks down the hallway.

Sure enough, he isn’t in the giant Jolly Roger bed. Instead, she finds him across the hall, in the twins’ nursery. He’s sitting on the floor between the cribs, his legs curled up and his chin resting on his hands. He’s so lost in thought that it takes a few seconds for him to notice his whale of a wife in the doorframe. But he does, eventually.

“You shouldn’t be out of bed, love,” he scolds her lightly, and she just rolls her eyes at him, coming into the room. It takes great effort, (and a little of his help) but eventually she sits down on the floor next to him. She offers him her hand and he takes it, linking their fingers.

It’s silent for a moment as she waits for him to speak.

“It’ll be soon, aye?”

Emma blows out a puff of air. “I think so. I hope so. I’m tired of being pregnant. I hate it, you know.”

Killian chuckles quietly. “Never would’ve guessed,” he jokes.

“Don’t get me wrong, I love having babies with you. I just don’t enjoy the carting-them-around-on-top-of-my-organs-for-hundreds-of-days part.”

“I understand. I’m sorry. I wish I could do more.”

“Hey, you. You know you give me everything I need and more. Now, talk to me. What’s bothering you?”

“I’m worried about them, Emma.”

Emma crinkles up her nose. “What? Worried about what part?”

He sighs. “There’s two of them and there’s one of me. What if they both need protecting and I can’t-“

“Hey, now,” Emma interrupts, raising a hand to cup his face. “First of all, I have complete confidence that if for any reason one or several of our children were threatened, you would find a way to protect them. And second of all, you’re right. There is only one of you. But there’s also one of me. So there’s two of them, and two of us. You’ve told me from day one that we can handle this, so now it’s my turn to tell you. We can do this, Killian. Together, just like we’ve always done everything. It’s gunna be a hell of a crazy ride, but we’re going to love every second. I know it.”

He smiles then, putting his arm around her. She leans into him, and promptly yawns. “Best back to bed for you, my love,” he whispers, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

“Fine,” she agrees, wiggling in an attempt to stand, “but you’re gunna let me walk there myself.”

~ Day 246

He wakes up in the middle of the night to the sound of her sniffling. He reaches for her instinctively, but soon realizes she’s sitting on the edge of the bed and out of reach. He jolts upright, jostling the bed. “Are the babies coming?!” he asks her frantically, shaking his head to wake himself up.

“No,” she sniffles, and her answer comes out in somewhat of an angry snarl. He crawls to her, reaching with his good hand to massage her shoulder, but she shrugs his touch away, leaving him confused. “What’s troubling you, darling?” he asks gently, trying to get her to meet his gaze.

“I’m so big,” she cries, frustration in her tone. “I’m tired of it.”

“Hey now,” he clucks at her, and he climbs to sit next to her so he can pull her against his side, but she again resists his touch.

Then she starts yelling. “I’m tired of your “hey nows!” And I’m tired of your side hugs! And I’m tired of being the little spoon and then waking up with you having rolled away from me. I miss when you could hold me all night long with my face against your neck and your chest chair against my nipples. When you hold me like that I feel safe. And I’m just sad cause I can’t remember the last time I actually fit in my favourite spot and I woke up and had to pee of course and when I came back to bed there was no foreseeable way for me to get myself close to-”

She’s rambling now, and working herself up to cry harder, so he deems it an appropriate time to interrupt her. “Oh, my love. I’m so sorry, sweetheart. Come right here, darling. We’ll fix it. You’ll fit right here, right where you belong. Emma, my love. Let me hold you, sweet.”

She tries to argue but he just pulls her with him to the middle of the bed, her towering belly peeking out from under her tank top. He pulls off said tank top before laying on his back, beckoning her to follow suit. She refuses and it’s difficult, but he is determined to please her. He continues pulling at her and it’s awkward at first, but he situates them so that she’s on her side facing him and her ginormous belly is resting on top of his flat one. She fusses about crushing him and he just hushes her, yanking pillows to tuck behind her so she’s comfortable and maneuvering his arm so she can use it to rest her head on and ensuring that his chest hair is fulfilling its rightful duty. After many wiggles and huffs, she finds she can miraculously cuddle against his collarbone with ease, and his arms are tight around her, his good hand trailing lines up her arm.

“Would you magic the blankets over us, love?” He asks, and she sniffles a final time, summoning the sheet and duvet to drape over them the way she likes. One of her legs is tucked between his, and she realizes she can feel the warmth of his skin in a way she’s missed desperately for what seems like forever.

“Better?” Killian whispers, and she kisses his jaw, letting the scent of him calm her further.

“Yeah,” she sighs, and though he feels like her belly might indeed suffocate him, he does admit to himself that he missed holding her like this, close, where he knows she’s safe, where he can see her lovely face and watch her fall asleep. He can feel the babies kicking then, and he pauses rubbing her arm to rub the side of her belly.

“See? You fit. No matter what, you’ll always fit right here, Swan.”

She wiggles a bit, sighing contentedly, and he tightens his hold on her. They lay in silence for a few minutes, just holding each other, and Emma closes her eyes.

Killian’s lips play at her forehead and he whispers his love to her, his voice a soft cadence that he’s used many a time to get her to sleep. Just when he thinks sleep is about to pull her under though, her eyes snap open and she practically growls.

“Fuck my LIFE, KILLIAN. I HAVE TO PEE. TELL YOUR SONS THEY NEED TO GET OUT.”

~ Day 249

It’s movie night. Henry insists they watch Star Wars again, and everyone struggles to get settled on the couch as the opening monologue of episode IV slides across the screen. (Thankfully, everyone in the house has it memorized. Even Leia.) Leia ends up on Killian’s lap, and Emma sits between them and Henry. Her belly makes for a perfect table for the popcorn, until a baby kicks so hard that the bowl tips over and pieces fly everywhere. Emma screams and Henry startles and Leia tries to clean it up quick with her magic, but she accidentally makes the whole couch disappear. The four of them land on the ground with a thud, and they all laugh so hard tears streak down their faces. Once the couch is conjured back they focus on the film, Leia zonking out midway through, as always. Emma dozes too, her head on Killian’s shoulder, but Henry swats her periodically and tells her to pay attention. She does her best to comply, for she knows the days are numbered, and that it’s only a matter of time before a duo of tiny jedis take over their home.

~ Day 251

In the early hours of the morning on the 251st day, she wakes to the feeling of a gush of liquid rushing down her thighs to soak their bed. Shit. Shit. She realizes in that moment that her days are up, that she’ll never make it to day 280, that these boys are coming and they are coming now. She turns over to the sleeping man next to her, to the man who has been her rock and her strength for the past 251 days and well, eons before that too, of course. His hair is tousled and his face is peaceful and all she wants in life is for their sons to look like him. “Killian,” she whispers, voice cutting through the silence, “Killian, hey. You’ve gotta wake up.”

#captain swan #cs ff #cs fluff #cs crew #daddy!Killian #canwetalkaboutcaptainswan #cs + L #+ twinsies

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Dating Quotes

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• A lot of people wouldn’t feel miserable in this environment. A lot of people aren’t dating my girlfriend. – Dov Davidoff • About age 30 most women think about having children, most men think about dating them. – Judy Carter • After a number of years dating, we decided we were good partners. – Melinda Gates • Are you kidding? I’m a terrible cook, but John is a really great one. Literally, I never cook. The whole time we were dating, I prepared two officially romantic meals. Both of them were such disasters that he begs me never to go into the kitchen again. – Rebecca Romijn • At the time that I knew them, they were not living together. They began dating again after their divorce, so I didn’t really see fighting. – Kato Kaelin

jQuery(document).ready(function($) var data = action: 'polyxgo_products_search', type: 'Product', keywords: 'Dating', orderby: 'rand', order: 'DESC', template: '1', limit: '68', columns: '4', viewall:'Shop All', ; jQuery.post(spyr_params.ajaxurl,data, function(response) var obj = jQuery.parseJSON(response); jQuery('#thelovesof_dating').html(obj); jQuery('#thelovesof_dating img.swiper-lazy:not(.swiper-lazy-loaded)' ).each(function () var img = jQuery(this); img.attr("src",img.data('src')); img.addClass( 'swiper-lazy-loaded' ); img.removeAttr('data-src'); ); ); ); • Bill Clinton is a man who thinks international affairs means dating a girl from out of town. – Tom Clancy • Busy’ is another word for ‘asshole’. ‘Asshole’ is another word for the guy you’re dating. – Greg Behrendt • Celebrities say they date other celebrities because they have the same job. But I think they just like dating famous people. Celebrities attract each other, like cattle. – Jason Lee • Computer dating is fine, if you’re a computer. – Rita Mae Brown • Dating a new man is like holding a strawberry milkshake; first the taste, then the pleasure. – Marilyn Monroe • Dating is a give and take. If you only see it as “Taking,” you are not getting it. – Henry Cloud • Dating is a place to practice how to relate to other people. – Henry Cloud • Dating is about finding out who you are and who others are. If you show up in a masquerade outfit, neither is going to happen. – Henry Cloud • Dating is just awkward moments and one person wants more than the other. It’s just that constant strangeness. I think it’s a very real thing. – Jason Schwartzman • Dating is like pushing your tray along in a cafeteria. Nothing looks good, but you know you have to pick something by the time you reach the cashier. – Caprice Crane • Dating is pressure and tension. What is a date, really, but a job interview that lasts all night? – Jerry Seinfeld • Dating is primarily a numbers game…. People usually go through a lot of people to find good relationships. That’s just the way it is. – Henry Cloud • Dating is probably the most important aspect of a single person’s life. – Linda Sunshine • Dating is really all about sex. In the conventional context, this means that the man invites the woman to go through a social encounter, the ultimate purpose of which is sexual engagement. – Alexander McCall Smith • Dating now is a lot like going shopping when you don’t have any money. Even if you find the right thing, you can’t do anything about it. – Joshua Harris • Dating should be a part of your life, not your life a part of dating. There is more to life than finding a date. – Henry Cloud • Dodi got a lot of criticism when he began dating Princess Diana. No one seemed to think he was good enough for her. – Lorna Luft • Encourage your children to come to you for counsel with their problems and questions by listening to them every day. Discuss with them such important matters as dating, sex, and other matters affecting their growth and development, and do it early enough so they will not obtain information from questionable sources. – Ezra Taft Benson • Envy is what makes you, when an acquaintance is lustily telling you that she’s dating a Greek god of a guy, ask, ‘Which one, Hades?’ – Gina Barreca • Everyone was like, “Why do you need to meet someone on Match.com?” My response was, “I certainly don’t need to meet more of the same broke, acting class guys that I’d been dating my whole life.” I needed to change that whole paradigm. So, I decided to meet some corporate guys and see how that worked. So, I went on Match, but I didn’t put a picture up, because I’m on television, and I didn’t want anybody contacting me for the wrong reasons. So, I had to do the hunting, as it were. I didn’t anticipate meeting my husband online, but there he was. And it all worked out! – Essence Atkins • Gay men should not adopt the sophomoric model of heterosexual dating; gay men should always have sex first. – John Rechy • Good-looking individuals are treated better than homely ones in virtually every social situation, from dating to trial by jury. – Martha Beck • Here’s the funny thing about the response I’ve been aware of to my dating famous people: It’s been very negative. I’m either not good-looking enough, not a good enough actor or not successful enough for these people. – Dax Shepard • Honeymoon: A short period of doting between dating and debting. – Mike Binder • How many of you have ever started dating because you were too lazy to commit a suicide? – Judy Tenuta • I also find it interesting that a lot of people in their 30s are not married and don’t have kids. There are a lot of people in this age bracket that are out there dating and trying to find love. And I never thought that at my age I would be. – John Stamos • I came to the realization that I started dating my now-wife junior year of college, before you actually went on a date. You didn’t take girls from college out to dinner. I’ve never been on a date. I’ve never been on a date where I didn’t know the end game. I’ve never casually dated someone. I’ve only been out to dinner with the woman who would eventually be my wife. – Jon Gabrus • I can’t imagine dating a boy, meeting him only outside the home. What’s a home and family for if it’s not the center of one’s life? – Loretta Young • I can’t wait for my little sisters to start dating, because it will really be fun to pick on their boyfriends. – David Gallagher • I could be a party girl, dating whoever I want and being reckless, but I like being in a relationship. When you have somebody who grounds you and keeps you sane, it helps. – Eva Longoria • I do like dating cynics – they tend to be incredibly funny. – Chris Pine • I don’t have the best dating track record. – Lauren Conrad • I don’t know the first real thing about the dating game. I don’t know how to talk to a specific person and connect. I just think you have to go to person by person and do the best you can with people in general. – Jason Schwartzman • I don’t really comment on my personal life because I feel like any comment at all is opening up a whole can of worms. I’d just rather not talk about who I’m dating. – Josh Hartnett • I don’t think courting and dating is a liability. I actually think it can be a blessing. – Rebecca St. James • I don’t understand the whole dating thing. I know right off the bat if I’m interested in someone, and I don’t want them to waste their money on me and take me out to eat if I know I’m not interested in that person. – Britney Spears • I feel like I’ve always had gay fans, I don’t think my dating a woman has changed my demographic, but it certainly changed the way I feel about politics. – Sia Furler • I got that experience through dating dozens of men for six years after college, getting an entry level magazine job at 21, working in the fiction department at Good Housekeeping and then working as a fashion editor there as well as writing many articles for the magazine. – Judith Krantz • I grew up between the two world wars and received a rather solid general education, the kind middle class children enjoyed in a country whose educational system had its roots dating back to the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. – George Andrew Olah • I grew up in the world of bad television, on my dad’s sets and then as a young schmuck on dating shows and so on. – George Clooney • I have been dating someone that treats my heart like it’s monkey meat. I feel like a delusional, invisible person half the time so I need to learn what it’s like to be treated well before it’s too late for me. – Hannah • I just can’t fathom tweeting, and I’d rather spend my time writing a book than a blog, but I rather grudgingly agreed to a Facebook page. I had a brief, intense romance with Facebook. It’s weirdly addictive, but anything that time-sucking is a danger for a writer who writes as slowly as I do. Now I post only occasionally and nothing very confessional. I think I’m carbon dating myself as I speak. – Debra Dean • I just don’t like when there’s a rumor that says I’m dating someone who is below my standards. But when I got divorced, my ex-wife said I was spending all my time with Lindsay Lohan and Angelina Jolie. I was like, ‘Thank you for the big ups!’ – Marilyn Manson • I knew dating the son of Satan would turn out badly – Darynda Jones • I like the idea of dating, but I’m not dating anyone exclusively, particularly right now. It’s hard to be in a relationship unless you’re ready to go public with it. So it’s a lot easier for me to not be in a relationship. I really don’t want that part of my life to be tabloid fodder. – Cory Monteith • I love being a single mom. But it’s definitely different when you’re dating. – Brooke Burns • I prefer ordinary girls – you know, college students, waitresses, that sort of thing. Most of the girls I go out with are just good friends. Just because I go out to the cinema with a girl, it doesn’t mean we are dating. – Leonardo DiCaprio • I started dating older men, and I would fall in love with them. I thought they could teach me about life. – Daphne Zuniga • I stopped dating for six months a year ago. Dating requires a lot of energy and focus. – Daphne Zuniga • I think a man’s dream woman changes as he goes through different stages in his life. I’m fortunate to be dating my dream woman now. – Wissam Al Mana • I think I should date a normal girl. I am tired of dating heroines. While I believe in marriage as an institution, I am also petrified of it. – Shahid Kapoor • I think I’m definitely more open. You know the thing is I wouldn’t have said I was closed before, but like, it’s the kind of thing that you don’t even think of other options. I’ve been dating black men for really, for like, I don’t know, 10 years. You know, I haven’t really dated outside of that. Now I think I’m probably am more open to the idea. – Sanaa Lathan • I think more dating stuff is scheduling. It’s needing people who understand your work schedule. – Jennifer Love Hewitt • I tried to tell them about the dating process because I’m single now and how horrible it is and how many foolish experiences I had had dating. So I was really selling him hard, but the whole time he really wanted me! – Andie MacDowell • I want my audience to know me for my work, not because of who I’m dating or what drugs I’m on or what club I went to. – Shia LaBeouf • I want to start dating the man that I’m gonna marry. I want to start having some fun with someone that I know I’m gonna be with. I don’t play any games. I’m too old for that. I’ve been there, I’ve been around the block. – LisaRaye McCoy-Misick • I was dating a guy that was a huge wrestling fan and I’m embarrassed to say it now but I used to make fun of him for watching it. – Torrie Wilson • I was dating this guy and we would spend all day text messaging each other. And he thought that he could tell that he liked me more because he actually spelt the word ‘YOU’ and I just put the letter ‘U’. – Kelly Osbourne • I was thrown into the fashion world, dating models – and you’d read about me dating a new starlet every month. That’s just where my life was. But I’ve grown up a lot. – Stephen Dorff • If you want me to be straight, gay, into monkeys, dating Kylie, whatever, I’m happy for people to project whatever onto me! – Darren Hayes • I’m a bad dater – I’m just not good at it. It’s so weird dating in this town. It’s like high school. I get a lot of people who have their publicist call my agent to ask, ‘Is she dating anyone? – Jules Asner • I’m dating a girl who’s pretty levelheaded. She’s a nurse. She’s a real, normal girl. Which is what I need because my life isn’t normal. – Kenny Chesney • I’m dating a homeless woman. It was easier talking her into staying over. – Garry Shandling • I’m dating a woman now who, evidently, is unaware of it. – Garry Shandling • I’m friends with a lot of my exes, but it took time. We didn’t just get into it. I don’t think you can be friends until you’re cool with them dating someone else. That’s when you know. – Rashida Jones • I’m much more interested in what an actor has to say about something substantial and important than who they’re dating or what clothes they’re wearing or some other asinine, insignificant aspect of their life. – Ben Affleck • I’m not cynical about marriage or romance. I enjoyed being married. And although being single was fun for a while, there was always the risk of dating someone who’d owned a lunch box with my picture on it. – Shaun Cassidy • I’m not great at dating, but I need to do it to relax. – Lena Dunham • I’m not interested in serial dating; I’d honestly rather be single. – Tamsin Egerton • I’m not very experienced with boys or the whole dating thingy. – Vanessa Hudgens • I’m not with anybody, I don’t have time for dating. Not to get too personal, but it’s weirdly harder to meet new people now. But for the first time in my life since I was a little kid, I’m not so concerned about it. – Justin Vernon • I’m of the belief that dating “potential” is almost always an exercise in frustration. – Mallory Ortberg • I’m so an all-or-nothing person in dating, always. I’m big on not wasting time. And so, yeah, if something’s not working, it’s time to not hold people back. – Ginnifer Goodwin • In its purest form, dating is auditioning for mating (and auditioning means we may or may not get the part). – Joy Browne • Is it a bad sign when someone asks you about the person your dating and a tear falls from your eye as you leap into oncoming traffic? – Dov Davidoff • Is it a bad sign when you see the person you’re dating and get the same feeling as if you just saw police lights in you’re rear view mirror? – Dov Davidoff • It was funny actually because that was still during the time we were dating. He would get all these calls because supposedly before we broke up, we had already broken up in the trades, in the rags or whatever. – Rosario Dawson • It was really shocking to me that when I was dating a dude I could get married and my taxes were 8 grand less, blah blah blah. – Sia Furler • It was V-day and I was stuck at home while the guy I was dating was at an Anti-Valentine’s Day party. How wrong was that? It was one thing to be totally alone on V-day, but another to want to be with someone who would rather spend the evening protesting love instead of making it. – Kate Madison • It’s always been my personal feeling that unless you are married, there is something that is not very dignified about talking about who you are dating. – Luke Wilson • It’s amazing how much time and money can be saved in the world of dating by close attention to detail. A white sock here, a pair of red braces there, a gray slip-on shoe, a swastika, are as often as not all one needs to tell you there’s no point in writing down phone numbers and forking out for expensive lunches because it’s never going to be a runner. – Helen Fielding • It’s so easy to misuse social media as a dating tool. I think it can be useful but it’s scary when you think about who can access this information and what they’re doing with it. – Justin Long • I’ve been dating since I was fifteen. I’m exhausted. Where is he? – Kristin Davis • I’ve been dating younger men since my 20s, When I was 29, I dated someone 21… younger men are just more fun. I like their energy. I’ve always been kind of young for my age. – Dana Delany • I’ve been in plenty of situations where someone I’m dating had more time for a console than me. – Josie Maran • I’ve done a number of studies with speed dating and Match.com and what’s interesting is that you know we still walk into a speed dating event, you know, thinking about what it is we’re looking for in a mate and so you ask people, like women will say “I’m looking for somebody who is really kind and sincere and smart and funny.” – Sheena Iyengar • I’ve had a little bad, bad media luck the new year. Well, apparently I’m dating Bill Clinton, which makes me nervous. I didn’t know, though. – Julie Bowen • I’ve learned that I don’t want to be as open or public about relationships anymore. In my first relationship, I thought I could hold on to the normalcy of just being like “Yeah, we’re dating,” just like if it were high school and I was telling my friends. But in high school, there aren’t articles written everywhere when you break up and you don’t have everyone in the school coming up to you and asking what happened or sharing their opinion with you. It didn’t feel like ours anymore, it felt like everybody else’s. – Camila Cabello • Just because times change and alot of people think that dating multiple people is the thing these days, it just isn’t a solid foundation at all in matters of the heart. I still believe in marriages that have a physically powerful foundation. – Angela Merkel • Like the guy I was dating. White, liberal, educated. I went to meet his family and I think that they probably didn’t know they had a problem with it until he walked in with me. And they definitely had issues. Mom had issues with it. Could not, didn’t want to see her son. And I don’t think she had anything against me. But it was about her son bringing me home. And I felt that for the first time. I was like, ‘Wow, that’s deep.’ It’s really simple: I don’t fit their picture. – Sanaa Lathan • My husband is the only guy I’ve ever dated where I’ve never been drunk around him. I couldn’t handle dating without drinking in the past. – Alison Rosen • My mom always complains about my lack of a boyfriend. Well, next time she asks, I’m going to tell her I’m dating two different guys-Mr Duracell and Mr Energizer. – Michelle Landry • My mom is going to kill me for talking about sleeping with people. But I don’t want to put myself in the position where I’m in a monogamous relationship right now. I’m not dating just one person. ‘Sex and the City’ changed everything for me because those girls would sleep with so many people. – Lindsay Lohan • My original inspiration was my mom: a few years after the death of my dad, she started dating one my teachers! – Meg Cabot • My philosophy of dating is to just fart right away. – Jenny McCarthy • My wife and I have been together since 1986. I graduated in ’86 and she graduated in ’88. We began dating when she was 17. Actually she turned 18 when we started kissing and stuff. – Cuba Gooding, Jr. • No one knew me until I met my wife Lulu. Lulu’s mother used to ask, Which one is Maurice? For six months she thought Lulu was dating Barry. – Maurice Gibb • Nothing defines humans better than their willingness to do irrational things in the pursuit of phenomenally unlikely payoffs. This is the principle behind lotteries, dating, and religion. – Scott Adams • Of course, a lot of courtship and dating is about sexual attraction. If you’re an attractive person, you have that sort of interest from people, whether you cater to it or not, but when you get older, that’s not really the leading thing anymore. – Patricia Arquette • Oh, my dating skills are the worst. No, I pick the wrong men; it’s amazing. I am awful, the worst dater. – Paget Brewster • On girls night in we talk about dating; the ups and downs of the previous week. Our collective laughter is uncontrollable and tearful, even the most disappointing dates become meritorious on girls night in. – Cilla Black • On the Hugh Grant romance rumours: We’re not dating and I’m not pregnant. We have not kissed or touched. We have not fought and broken up. – Sandra Bullock • One of my best friends is dating my other best friend, Lena! – Taylor Swift • Pamela Anderson Lee released a statement confirming that she has had her breast implants removed. Doctors say that Pamela is doing fine and that her old implants are now dating Charlie Sheen. – Conan O’Brien • Rumors about me? Calista Flockhart, Pam Anderson, and Matt Damon. That’s who I’m dating. – Ben Affleck • So if I was dating somebody now and the relationship didn’t work out, I’d take that as failing – Gavin DeGraw • Some burns,” Clary said. “Nothing that matters” “Everything that happens to you matters to me.” “Well that certainly explains why you haven’t called me back once. And the last time I saw you, you ran away without telling me why. It’s like dating a ghost.” Jace’s mouth quirked up slightly at the side. “Not exactly. Isabelle actually dated a ghost. She could tell you–” “No,” Clary said. “It was a metaphor. And you know exactly what I mean. – Cassandra Clare • Tess realized one of the great modern dating sadnesses: everyone is so used to the comforting glow of the computer screen that no one can go so far as to say “good morning” in public without being liquored up. – Amelia Gray • That’s the advice I would give to women: Don’t look at the bankbook or the title. Look at the heart. Look at the soul. Look at how the guy treats his mother and what he says about women. How he acts with children he doesn’t know. And, more important, how does he treat you? When you’re dating a man, you should always feel good. You should never feel less than. You should never doubt yourself. – Michelle Obama • The global economy is becoming a place where women are more successful than men, and these economic changes are starting to rapidly affect our culture – what our romantic comedies look like, what our marriages look like, what our dating lives look like, and our new set of superheroes. – Hanna Rosin • The Google algorithm was a significant development. I’ve had thank-you emails from people whose lives have been saved by information on a medical website or who have found the love of their life on a dating website. – Tim Berners-Lee • The inspiration for this movie [Something New] was this Newsweek article that came out a couple of years ago that talks about 42.4 percent of black women in America aren’t married. Black women are shooting up the corporate ladder way faster than our black male counterparts. And (black men) are either dating outside their race, in jail or dying. And so if you want to have a family, you want to be married, you have to look at other options. – Sanaa Lathan • The learned are not agreed as to the time when the Gospel of John was written; some dating it as early as the year 68, others as late as the year 98; but it is generally conceded to have been written after all the others. – Simon Greenleaf • The love is so powerful that both people have to surrender. I think that’s the funny thing about dating somebody for the first time, it’s kind of a question of who wears the pants, or who’s gonna text you first, how much am I supposed to put myself out there, and it makes you feel a little bit crazy. But at the end of the day, it’s not about that. And if it’s the right person you don’t have to worry about that. – Zella Day • The most difficult part of dating is the initial invitation. – Janell Carroll • The number of people who have either gotten married or had kids or started dating or just made great friends over Instagram is countless. I think we’re the only platform that continues to be successful in bringing people together in real life for these real relationships. – Kevin Systrom • The United States is now relearning an ancient lesson, dating back to the Roman Empire. Brutalizing an enemy only serves to brutalize the army ordered to do it. Torture corrodes the mind of the torturer. – James Risen • The whole dating ritual was different when I was a kid. Girls got pinned, not nailed. – Bill Maher • The woman I am currently crazy about was a vegetarian for a year until I started dating her. As is the case with most vegetarians, she had never eaten properly prepared meat, only commercially packaged or otherwise abused flesh. – Steve Albini • There are three possible parts to a date, of which at least two must be offered: entertainment, food, and affection. It is customary to begin a series of dates with a great deal of entertainment, a moderate amount of food, and the merest suggestion of affection. As the amount of affection increases, the entertainment can be reduced proportionately. When the affection IS the entertainment, we no longer call it dating. Under no circumstances can the food be omitted. – Judith Martin • There is no golden rule of dating, except to make sure that it engages both of you; too many people go to a cinema for a first date and of course don’t say a word, that’s a bad thing! – Steven Hill • There’s an interesting story around that [“Heaven Without a Gun”], because the girl I was dating at the time got into a bike accident and couldn’t make it into the studio, and the gentleman Dave Hamlin who worked on this record along with Ohad sort of took it, rearranged it. Dave went and sonically changed it and changed the keys so that Andy could sing it better. All these pieces came together that suddenly displayed that the song was meant for Andy [Kim] to sing. And he always said, “I’ll never understand it, but I’ll sing it with all my heart.” – Kevin Drew • There’s no way to get around it; online dating is work. And some people are more skilled at this kind of communication than others. – Rachel Martin • We had two rules growing up in my house: If you’re going to take a shower, do it with whomever you’re dating so you don’t waste water; and if you buy one for yourself, buy six, because everybody’s going to want one. – Moon Unit Zappa • Well, dating has become a sport and not about finding the person you love. – Rashida Jones • Whats nice about my dating life is that I dont have to leave my house. All I have to do is read the paper: Im marrying Richard Gere, dating Daniel Day-Lewis, parading around with John F. Kennedy, Jr., and even Robert De Niro was in there for a day. – Julia Roberts • When I had been dating my husband for a while, the president Obama said to me, “When is he going to put a ring on it?” And I was like, “Oh, come on. We are so busy. We don’t need to think about that.” He said, “He needs to put a ring on it because you’re worth it.” And the thing is, I’m not even kidding you, it was about a week or two later that we got engaged. – Alyssa Mastromonaco • When I met Nathan, I told my tour manager he was too good-looking for me. I don’t have a history of dating good-looking men. I’ve always complained that girls don’t get male groupies, and now I’ve married the first groupie I’ve ever had. – Nina Persson • When I saw music as a means to an end – more fame, more money, dating celebrities – that’s when things have gone terribly wrong. Now my life is focused on just trying to keep making music. Because when it’s really good, it’s just the most remarkable feeling on the planet. – Moby • When someone is good, but it doesn’t seem like their world will collapse if they don’t get the part, it’s more appealing. It’s like dating someone: You don’t want someone who’s too into you. – Steve Carell • While she could hardly fathom what had just happened to her that night, she reached some conclusions before she fell asleep, certain things now made perfect sense; Moon River didn’t sound so syrupy, mistletoe wasn’t such a bad idea, and perhaps dating was not such a frivolous waste of time after all. – E. A. Bucchianeri • With my husband it was never like “omg, should I text him?” or “he didn’t call me for two days.” So, I think I knew it was right because it just happened so naturally. That’s one piece of advice that I would give to women who are struggling in this crazy world of dating. – Lindsay Ellingson • Workshops and seminars are basically financial speed dating for clueless people. – Douglas Coupland • Would a dating service for people on the net be “frowned upon” by DCA? I hope not. But even if it is, don’t let that stop you from notifying me via net mail if you start one. – Richard Stallman • You know, I had my mother and my father convincing me that he would be going back to Hollywood and he’d be back with the actresses and dating them and that he wasn’t serious about me at all. So I had him saying one thing to me and my parents telling me something else. – Priscilla Presley • You shouldn’t be in a relationship with somebody who doesn’t make you completely happy and make you feel whole. And if you’re in that relationship and you’re dating, then my advice is, don’t get married. – Michelle Obama • You’re talking to someone who has been married to various people for the last 40 years of her life. Dating is not really something familiar. I’ve never really been a dater. – Stockard Channing

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Dating Quotes

Official Website: Dating Quotes

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• A lot of people wouldn’t feel miserable in this environment. A lot of people aren’t dating my girlfriend. – Dov Davidoff • About age 30 most women think about having children, most men think about dating them. – Judy Carter • After a number of years dating, we decided we were good partners. – Melinda Gates • Are you kidding? I’m a terrible cook, but John is a really great one. Literally, I never cook. The whole time we were dating, I prepared two officially romantic meals. Both of them were such disasters that he begs me never to go into the kitchen again. – Rebecca Romijn • At the time that I knew them, they were not living together. They began dating again after their divorce, so I didn’t really see fighting. – Kato Kaelin

jQuery(document).ready(function($) var data = action: 'polyxgo_products_search', type: 'Product', keywords: 'Dating', orderby: 'rand', order: 'DESC', template: '1', limit: '68', columns: '4', viewall:'Shop All', ; jQuery.post(spyr_params.ajaxurl,data, function(response) var obj = jQuery.parseJSON(response); jQuery('#thelovesof_dating').html(obj); jQuery('#thelovesof_dating img.swiper-lazy:not(.swiper-lazy-loaded)' ).each(function () var img = jQuery(this); img.attr("src",img.data('src')); img.addClass( 'swiper-lazy-loaded' ); img.removeAttr('data-src'); ); ); ); • Bill Clinton is a man who thinks international affairs means dating a girl from out of town. – Tom Clancy • Busy’ is another word for ‘asshole’. ‘Asshole’ is another word for the guy you’re dating. – Greg Behrendt • Celebrities say they date other celebrities because they have the same job. But I think they just like dating famous people. Celebrities attract each other, like cattle. – Jason Lee • Computer dating is fine, if you’re a computer. – Rita Mae Brown • Dating a new man is like holding a strawberry milkshake; first the taste, then the pleasure. – Marilyn Monroe • Dating is a give and take. If you only see it as “Taking,” you are not getting it. – Henry Cloud • Dating is a place to practice how to relate to other people. – Henry Cloud • Dating is about finding out who you are and who others are. If you show up in a masquerade outfit, neither is going to happen. – Henry Cloud • Dating is just awkward moments and one person wants more than the other. It’s just that constant strangeness. I think it’s a very real thing. – Jason Schwartzman • Dating is like pushing your tray along in a cafeteria. Nothing looks good, but you know you have to pick something by the time you reach the cashier. – Caprice Crane • Dating is pressure and tension. What is a date, really, but a job interview that lasts all night? – Jerry Seinfeld • Dating is primarily a numbers game…. People usually go through a lot of people to find good relationships. That’s just the way it is. – Henry Cloud • Dating is probably the most important aspect of a single person’s life. – Linda Sunshine • Dating is really all about sex. In the conventional context, this means that the man invites the woman to go through a social encounter, the ultimate purpose of which is sexual engagement. – Alexander McCall Smith • Dating now is a lot like going shopping when you don’t have any money. Even if you find the right thing, you can’t do anything about it. – Joshua Harris • Dating should be a part of your life, not your life a part of dating. There is more to life than finding a date. – Henry Cloud • Dodi got a lot of criticism when he began dating Princess Diana. No one seemed to think he was good enough for her. – Lorna Luft • Encourage your children to come to you for counsel with their problems and questions by listening to them every day. Discuss with them such important matters as dating, sex, and other matters affecting their growth and development, and do it early enough so they will not obtain information from questionable sources. – Ezra Taft Benson • Envy is what makes you, when an acquaintance is lustily telling you that she’s dating a Greek god of a guy, ask, ‘Which one, Hades?’ – Gina Barreca • Everyone was like, “Why do you need to meet someone on Match.com?” My response was, “I certainly don’t need to meet more of the same broke, acting class guys that I’d been dating my whole life.” I needed to change that whole paradigm. So, I decided to meet some corporate guys and see how that worked. So, I went on Match, but I didn’t put a picture up, because I’m on television, and I didn’t want anybody contacting me for the wrong reasons. So, I had to do the hunting, as it were. I didn’t anticipate meeting my husband online, but there he was. And it all worked out! – Essence Atkins • Gay men should not adopt the sophomoric model of heterosexual dating; gay men should always have sex first. – John Rechy • Good-looking individuals are treated better than homely ones in virtually every social situation, from dating to trial by jury. – Martha Beck • Here’s the funny thing about the response I’ve been aware of to my dating famous people: It’s been very negative. I’m either not good-looking enough, not a good enough actor or not successful enough for these people. – Dax Shepard • Honeymoon: A short period of doting between dating and debting. – Mike Binder • How many of you have ever started dating because you were too lazy to commit a suicide? – Judy Tenuta • I also find it interesting that a lot of people in their 30s are not married and don’t have kids. There are a lot of people in this age bracket that are out there dating and trying to find love. And I never thought that at my age I would be. – John Stamos • I came to the realization that I started dating my now-wife junior year of college, before you actually went on a date. You didn’t take girls from college out to dinner. I’ve never been on a date. I’ve never been on a date where I didn’t know the end game. I’ve never casually dated someone. I’ve only been out to dinner with the woman who would eventually be my wife. – Jon Gabrus • I can’t imagine dating a boy, meeting him only outside the home. What’s a home and family for if it’s not the center of one’s life? – Loretta Young • I can’t wait for my little sisters to start dating, because it will really be fun to pick on their boyfriends. – David Gallagher • I could be a party girl, dating whoever I want and being reckless, but I like being in a relationship. When you have somebody who grounds you and keeps you sane, it helps. – Eva Longoria • I do like dating cynics – they tend to be incredibly funny. – Chris Pine • I don’t have the best dating track record. – Lauren Conrad • I don’t know the first real thing about the dating game. I don’t know how to talk to a specific person and connect. I just think you have to go to person by person and do the best you can with people in general. – Jason Schwartzman • I don’t really comment on my personal life because I feel like any comment at all is opening up a whole can of worms. I’d just rather not talk about who I’m dating. – Josh Hartnett • I don’t think courting and dating is a liability. I actually think it can be a blessing. – Rebecca St. James • I don’t understand the whole dating thing. I know right off the bat if I’m interested in someone, and I don’t want them to waste their money on me and take me out to eat if I know I’m not interested in that person. – Britney Spears • I feel like I’ve always had gay fans, I don’t think my dating a woman has changed my demographic, but it certainly changed the way I feel about politics. – Sia Furler • I got that experience through dating dozens of men for six years after college, getting an entry level magazine job at 21, working in the fiction department at Good Housekeeping and then working as a fashion editor there as well as writing many articles for the magazine. – Judith Krantz • I grew up between the two world wars and received a rather solid general education, the kind middle class children enjoyed in a country whose educational system had its roots dating back to the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. – George Andrew Olah • I grew up in the world of bad television, on my dad’s sets and then as a young schmuck on dating shows and so on. – George Clooney • I have been dating someone that treats my heart like it’s monkey meat. I feel like a delusional, invisible person half the time so I need to learn what it’s like to be treated well before it’s too late for me. – Hannah • I just can’t fathom tweeting, and I’d rather spend my time writing a book than a blog, but I rather grudgingly agreed to a Facebook page. I had a brief, intense romance with Facebook. It’s weirdly addictive, but anything that time-sucking is a danger for a writer who writes as slowly as I do. Now I post only occasionally and nothing very confessional. I think I’m carbon dating myself as I speak. – Debra Dean • I just don’t like when there’s a rumor that says I’m dating someone who is below my standards. But when I got divorced, my ex-wife said I was spending all my time with Lindsay Lohan and Angelina Jolie. I was like, ‘Thank you for the big ups!’ – Marilyn Manson • I knew dating the son of Satan would turn out badly – Darynda Jones • I like the idea of dating, but I’m not dating anyone exclusively, particularly right now. It’s hard to be in a relationship unless you’re ready to go public with it. So it’s a lot easier for me to not be in a relationship. I really don’t want that part of my life to be tabloid fodder. – Cory Monteith • I love being a single mom. But it’s definitely different when you’re dating. – Brooke Burns • I prefer ordinary girls – you know, college students, waitresses, that sort of thing. Most of the girls I go out with are just good friends. Just because I go out to the cinema with a girl, it doesn’t mean we are dating. – Leonardo DiCaprio • I started dating older men, and I would fall in love with them. I thought they could teach me about life. – Daphne Zuniga • I stopped dating for six months a year ago. Dating requires a lot of energy and focus. – Daphne Zuniga • I think a man’s dream woman changes as he goes through different stages in his life. I’m fortunate to be dating my dream woman now. – Wissam Al Mana • I think I should date a normal girl. I am tired of dating heroines. While I believe in marriage as an institution, I am also petrified of it. – Shahid Kapoor • I think I’m definitely more open. You know the thing is I wouldn’t have said I was closed before, but like, it’s the kind of thing that you don’t even think of other options. I’ve been dating black men for really, for like, I don’t know, 10 years. You know, I haven’t really dated outside of that. Now I think I’m probably am more open to the idea. – Sanaa Lathan • I think more dating stuff is scheduling. It’s needing people who understand your work schedule. – Jennifer Love Hewitt • I tried to tell them about the dating process because I’m single now and how horrible it is and how many foolish experiences I had had dating. So I was really selling him hard, but the whole time he really wanted me! – Andie MacDowell • I want my audience to know me for my work, not because of who I’m dating or what drugs I’m on or what club I went to. – Shia LaBeouf • I want to start dating the man that I’m gonna marry. I want to start having some fun with someone that I know I’m gonna be with. I don’t play any games. I’m too old for that. I’ve been there, I’ve been around the block. – LisaRaye McCoy-Misick • I was dating a guy that was a huge wrestling fan and I’m embarrassed to say it now but I used to make fun of him for watching it. – Torrie Wilson • I was dating this guy and we would spend all day text messaging each other. And he thought that he could tell that he liked me more because he actually spelt the word ‘YOU’ and I just put the letter ‘U’. – Kelly Osbourne • I was thrown into the fashion world, dating models – and you’d read about me dating a new starlet every month. That’s just where my life was. But I’ve grown up a lot. – Stephen Dorff • If you want me to be straight, gay, into monkeys, dating Kylie, whatever, I’m happy for people to project whatever onto me! – Darren Hayes • I’m a bad dater – I’m just not good at it. It’s so weird dating in this town. It’s like high school. I get a lot of people who have their publicist call my agent to ask, ‘Is she dating anyone? – Jules Asner • I’m dating a girl who’s pretty levelheaded. She’s a nurse. She’s a real, normal girl. Which is what I need because my life isn’t normal. – Kenny Chesney • I’m dating a homeless woman. It was easier talking her into staying over. – Garry Shandling • I’m dating a woman now who, evidently, is unaware of it. – Garry Shandling • I’m friends with a lot of my exes, but it took time. We didn’t just get into it. I don’t think you can be friends until you’re cool with them dating someone else. That’s when you know. – Rashida Jones • I’m much more interested in what an actor has to say about something substantial and important than who they’re dating or what clothes they’re wearing or some other asinine, insignificant aspect of their life. – Ben Affleck • I’m not cynical about marriage or romance. I enjoyed being married. And although being single was fun for a while, there was always the risk of dating someone who’d owned a lunch box with my picture on it. – Shaun Cassidy • I’m not great at dating, but I need to do it to relax. – Lena Dunham • I’m not interested in serial dating; I’d honestly rather be single. – Tamsin Egerton • I’m not very experienced with boys or the whole dating thingy. – Vanessa Hudgens • I’m not with anybody, I don’t have time for dating. Not to get too personal, but it’s weirdly harder to meet new people now. But for the first time in my life since I was a little kid, I’m not so concerned about it. – Justin Vernon • I’m of the belief that dating “potential” is almost always an exercise in frustration. – Mallory Ortberg • I’m so an all-or-nothing person in dating, always. I’m big on not wasting time. And so, yeah, if something’s not working, it’s time to not hold people back. – Ginnifer Goodwin • In its purest form, dating is auditioning for mating (and auditioning means we may or may not get the part). – Joy Browne • Is it a bad sign when someone asks you about the person your dating and a tear falls from your eye as you leap into oncoming traffic? – Dov Davidoff • Is it a bad sign when you see the person you’re dating and get the same feeling as if you just saw police lights in you’re rear view mirror? – Dov Davidoff • It was funny actually because that was still during the time we were dating. He would get all these calls because supposedly before we broke up, we had already broken up in the trades, in the rags or whatever. – Rosario Dawson • It was really shocking to me that when I was dating a dude I could get married and my taxes were 8 grand less, blah blah blah. – Sia Furler • It was V-day and I was stuck at home while the guy I was dating was at an Anti-Valentine’s Day party. How wrong was that? It was one thing to be totally alone on V-day, but another to want to be with someone who would rather spend the evening protesting love instead of making it. – Kate Madison • It’s always been my personal feeling that unless you are married, there is something that is not very dignified about talking about who you are dating. – Luke Wilson • It’s amazing how much time and money can be saved in the world of dating by close attention to detail. A white sock here, a pair of red braces there, a gray slip-on shoe, a swastika, are as often as not all one needs to tell you there’s no point in writing down phone numbers and forking out for expensive lunches because it’s never going to be a runner. – Helen Fielding • It’s so easy to misuse social media as a dating tool. I think it can be useful but it’s scary when you think about who can access this information and what they’re doing with it. – Justin Long • I’ve been dating since I was fifteen. I’m exhausted. Where is he? – Kristin Davis • I’ve been dating younger men since my 20s, When I was 29, I dated someone 21… younger men are just more fun. I like their energy. I’ve always been kind of young for my age. – Dana Delany • I’ve been in plenty of situations where someone I’m dating had more time for a console than me. – Josie Maran • I’ve done a number of studies with speed dating and Match.com and what’s interesting is that you know we still walk into a speed dating event, you know, thinking about what it is we’re looking for in a mate and so you ask people, like women will say “I’m looking for somebody who is really kind and sincere and smart and funny.” – Sheena Iyengar • I’ve had a little bad, bad media luck the new year. Well, apparently I’m dating Bill Clinton, which makes me nervous. I didn’t know, though. – Julie Bowen • I’ve learned that I don’t want to be as open or public about relationships anymore. In my first relationship, I thought I could hold on to the normalcy of just being like “Yeah, we’re dating,” just like if it were high school and I was telling my friends. But in high school, there aren’t articles written everywhere when you break up and you don’t have everyone in the school coming up to you and asking what happened or sharing their opinion with you. It didn’t feel like ours anymore, it felt like everybody else’s. – Camila Cabello • Just because times change and alot of people think that dating multiple people is the thing these days, it just isn’t a solid foundation at all in matters of the heart. I still believe in marriages that have a physically powerful foundation. – Angela Merkel • Like the guy I was dating. White, liberal, educated. I went to meet his family and I think that they probably didn’t know they had a problem with it until he walked in with me. And they definitely had issues. Mom had issues with it. Could not, didn’t want to see her son. And I don’t think she had anything against me. But it was about her son bringing me home. And I felt that for the first time. I was like, ‘Wow, that’s deep.’ It’s really simple: I don’t fit their picture. – Sanaa Lathan • My husband is the only guy I’ve ever dated where I’ve never been drunk around him. I couldn’t handle dating without drinking in the past. – Alison Rosen • My mom always complains about my lack of a boyfriend. Well, next time she asks, I’m going to tell her I’m dating two different guys-Mr Duracell and Mr Energizer. – Michelle Landry • My mom is going to kill me for talking about sleeping with people. But I don’t want to put myself in the position where I’m in a monogamous relationship right now. I’m not dating just one person. ‘Sex and the City’ changed everything for me because those girls would sleep with so many people. – Lindsay Lohan • My original inspiration was my mom: a few years after the death of my dad, she started dating one my teachers! – Meg Cabot • My philosophy of dating is to just fart right away. – Jenny McCarthy • My wife and I have been together since 1986. I graduated in ’86 and she graduated in ’88. We began dating when she was 17. Actually she turned 18 when we started kissing and stuff. – Cuba Gooding, Jr. • No one knew me until I met my wife Lulu. Lulu’s mother used to ask, Which one is Maurice? For six months she thought Lulu was dating Barry. – Maurice Gibb • Nothing defines humans better than their willingness to do irrational things in the pursuit of phenomenally unlikely payoffs. This is the principle behind lotteries, dating, and religion. – Scott Adams • Of course, a lot of courtship and dating is about sexual attraction. If you’re an attractive person, you have that sort of interest from people, whether you cater to it or not, but when you get older, that’s not really the leading thing anymore. – Patricia Arquette • Oh, my dating skills are the worst. No, I pick the wrong men; it’s amazing. I am awful, the worst dater. – Paget Brewster • On girls night in we talk about dating; the ups and downs of the previous week. Our collective laughter is uncontrollable and tearful, even the most disappointing dates become meritorious on girls night in. – Cilla Black • On the Hugh Grant romance rumours: We’re not dating and I’m not pregnant. We have not kissed or touched. We have not fought and broken up. – Sandra Bullock • One of my best friends is dating my other best friend, Lena! – Taylor Swift • Pamela Anderson Lee released a statement confirming that she has had her breast implants removed. Doctors say that Pamela is doing fine and that her old implants are now dating Charlie Sheen. – Conan O’Brien • Rumors about me? Calista Flockhart, Pam Anderson, and Matt Damon. That’s who I’m dating. – Ben Affleck • So if I was dating somebody now and the relationship didn’t work out, I’d take that as failing – Gavin DeGraw • Some burns,” Clary said. “Nothing that matters” “Everything that happens to you matters to me.” “Well that certainly explains why you haven’t called me back once. And the last time I saw you, you ran away without telling me why. It’s like dating a ghost.” Jace’s mouth quirked up slightly at the side. “Not exactly. Isabelle actually dated a ghost. She could tell you–” “No,” Clary said. “It was a metaphor. And you know exactly what I mean. – Cassandra Clare • Tess realized one of the great modern dating sadnesses: everyone is so used to the comforting glow of the computer screen that no one can go so far as to say “good morning” in public without being liquored up. – Amelia Gray • That’s the advice I would give to women: Don’t look at the bankbook or the title. Look at the heart. Look at the soul. Look at how the guy treats his mother and what he says about women. How he acts with children he doesn’t know. And, more important, how does he treat you? When you’re dating a man, you should always feel good. You should never feel less than. You should never doubt yourself. – Michelle Obama • The global economy is becoming a place where women are more successful than men, and these economic changes are starting to rapidly affect our culture – what our romantic comedies look like, what our marriages look like, what our dating lives look like, and our new set of superheroes. – Hanna Rosin • The Google algorithm was a significant development. I’ve had thank-you emails from people whose lives have been saved by information on a medical website or who have found the love of their life on a dating website. – Tim Berners-Lee • The inspiration for this movie [Something New] was this Newsweek article that came out a couple of years ago that talks about 42.4 percent of black women in America aren’t married. Black women are shooting up the corporate ladder way faster than our black male counterparts. And (black men) are either dating outside their race, in jail or dying. And so if you want to have a family, you want to be married, you have to look at other options. – Sanaa Lathan • The learned are not agreed as to the time when the Gospel of John was written; some dating it as early as the year 68, others as late as the year 98; but it is generally conceded to have been written after all the others. – Simon Greenleaf • The love is so powerful that both people have to surrender. I think that’s the funny thing about dating somebody for the first time, it’s kind of a question of who wears the pants, or who’s gonna text you first, how much am I supposed to put myself out there, and it makes you feel a little bit crazy. But at the end of the day, it’s not about that. And if it’s the right person you don’t have to worry about that. – Zella Day • The most difficult part of dating is the initial invitation. – Janell Carroll • The number of people who have either gotten married or had kids or started dating or just made great friends over Instagram is countless. I think we’re the only platform that continues to be successful in bringing people together in real life for these real relationships. – Kevin Systrom • The United States is now relearning an ancient lesson, dating back to the Roman Empire. Brutalizing an enemy only serves to brutalize the army ordered to do it. Torture corrodes the mind of the torturer. – James Risen • The whole dating ritual was different when I was a kid. Girls got pinned, not nailed. – Bill Maher • The woman I am currently crazy about was a vegetarian for a year until I started dating her. As is the case with most vegetarians, she had never eaten properly prepared meat, only commercially packaged or otherwise abused flesh. – Steve Albini • There are three possible parts to a date, of which at least two must be offered: entertainment, food, and affection. It is customary to begin a series of dates with a great deal of entertainment, a moderate amount of food, and the merest suggestion of affection. As the amount of affection increases, the entertainment can be reduced proportionately. When the affection IS the entertainment, we no longer call it dating. Under no circumstances can the food be omitted. – Judith Martin • There is no golden rule of dating, except to make sure that it engages both of you; too many people go to a cinema for a first date and of course don’t say a word, that’s a bad thing! – Steven Hill • There’s an interesting story around that [“Heaven Without a Gun”], because the girl I was dating at the time got into a bike accident and couldn’t make it into the studio, and the gentleman Dave Hamlin who worked on this record along with Ohad sort of took it, rearranged it. Dave went and sonically changed it and changed the keys so that Andy could sing it better. All these pieces came together that suddenly displayed that the song was meant for Andy [Kim] to sing. And he always said, “I’ll never understand it, but I’ll sing it with all my heart.” – Kevin Drew • There’s no way to get around it; online dating is work. And some people are more skilled at this kind of communication than others. – Rachel Martin • We had two rules growing up in my house: If you’re going to take a shower, do it with whomever you’re dating so you don’t waste water; and if you buy one for yourself, buy six, because everybody’s going to want one. – Moon Unit Zappa • Well, dating has become a sport and not about finding the person you love. – Rashida Jones • Whats nice about my dating life is that I dont have to leave my house. All I have to do is read the paper: Im marrying Richard Gere, dating Daniel Day-Lewis, parading around with John F. Kennedy, Jr., and even Robert De Niro was in there for a day. – Julia Roberts • When I had been dating my husband for a while, the president Obama said to me, “When is he going to put a ring on it?” And I was like, “Oh, come on. We are so busy. We don’t need to think about that.” He said, “He needs to put a ring on it because you’re worth it.” And the thing is, I’m not even kidding you, it was about a week or two later that we got engaged. – Alyssa Mastromonaco • When I met Nathan, I told my tour manager he was too good-looking for me. I don’t have a history of dating good-looking men. I’ve always complained that girls don’t get male groupies, and now I’ve married the first groupie I’ve ever had. – Nina Persson • When I saw music as a means to an end – more fame, more money, dating celebrities – that’s when things have gone terribly wrong. Now my life is focused on just trying to keep making music. Because when it’s really good, it’s just the most remarkable feeling on the planet. – Moby • When someone is good, but it doesn’t seem like their world will collapse if they don’t get the part, it’s more appealing. It’s like dating someone: You don’t want someone who’s too into you. – Steve Carell • While she could hardly fathom what had just happened to her that night, she reached some conclusions before she fell asleep, certain things now made perfect sense; Moon River didn’t sound so syrupy, mistletoe wasn’t such a bad idea, and perhaps dating was not such a frivolous waste of time after all. – E. A. Bucchianeri • With my husband it was never like “omg, should I text him?” or “he didn’t call me for two days.” So, I think I knew it was right because it just happened so naturally. That’s one piece of advice that I would give to women who are struggling in this crazy world of dating. – Lindsay Ellingson • Workshops and seminars are basically financial speed dating for clueless people. – Douglas Coupland • Would a dating service for people on the net be “frowned upon” by DCA? I hope not. But even if it is, don’t let that stop you from notifying me via net mail if you start one. – Richard Stallman • You know, I had my mother and my father convincing me that he would be going back to Hollywood and he’d be back with the actresses and dating them and that he wasn’t serious about me at all. So I had him saying one thing to me and my parents telling me something else. – Priscilla Presley • You shouldn’t be in a relationship with somebody who doesn’t make you completely happy and make you feel whole. And if you’re in that relationship and you’re dating, then my advice is, don’t get married. – Michelle Obama • You’re talking to someone who has been married to various people for the last 40 years of her life. Dating is not really something familiar. I’ve never really been a dater. – Stockard Channing

[clickbank-storefront-bestselling]

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jQuery(document).ready(function($) var data = action: 'polyxgo_products_search', type: 'Product', keywords: 'e', orderby: 'rand', order: 'DESC', template: '1', limit: '4', columns: '4', viewall:'Shop All', ; jQuery.post(spyr_params.ajaxurl,data, function(response) var obj = jQuery.parseJSON(response); jQuery('#thelovesof_e').html(obj); jQuery('#thelovesof_e img.swiper-lazy:not(.swiper-lazy-loaded)' ).each(function () var img = jQuery(this); img.attr("src",img.data('src')); img.addClass( 'swiper-lazy-loaded' ); img.removeAttr('data-src'); ); ); );

jQuery(document).ready(function($) var data = action: 'polyxgo_products_search', type: 'Product', keywords: 'i', orderby: 'rand', order: 'DESC', template: '1', limit: '4', columns: '4', viewall:'Shop All', ; jQuery.post(spyr_params.ajaxurl,data, function(response) var obj = jQuery.parseJSON(response); jQuery('#thelovesof_i').html(obj); jQuery('#thelovesof_i img.swiper-lazy:not(.swiper-lazy-loaded)' ).each(function () var img = jQuery(this); img.attr("src",img.data('src')); img.addClass( 'swiper-lazy-loaded' ); img.removeAttr('data-src'); ); ); );

jQuery(document).ready(function($) var data = action: 'polyxgo_products_search', type: 'Product', keywords: 'o', orderby: 'rand', order: 'DESC', template: '1', limit: '4', columns: '4', viewall:'Shop All', ; jQuery.post(spyr_params.ajaxurl,data, function(response) var obj = jQuery.parseJSON(response); jQuery('#thelovesof_o').html(obj); jQuery('#thelovesof_o img.swiper-lazy:not(.swiper-lazy-loaded)' ).each(function () var img = jQuery(this); img.attr("src",img.data('src')); img.addClass( 'swiper-lazy-loaded' ); img.removeAttr('data-src'); ); ); );

jQuery(document).ready(function($) var data = action: 'polyxgo_products_search', type: 'Product', keywords: 'u', orderby: 'rand', order: 'DESC', template: '1', limit: '4', columns: '4', viewall:'Shop All', ; jQuery.post(spyr_params.ajaxurl,data, function(response) var obj = jQuery.parseJSON(response); jQuery('#thelovesof_u').html(obj); jQuery('#thelovesof_u img.swiper-lazy:not(.swiper-lazy-loaded)' ).each(function () var img = jQuery(this); img.attr("src",img.data('src')); img.addClass( 'swiper-lazy-loaded' ); img.removeAttr('data-src'); ); ); );

jQuery(document).ready(function($) var data = action: 'polyxgo_products_search', type: 'Product', keywords: 'y', orderby: 'rand', order: 'DESC', template: '1', limit: '4', columns: '4', viewall:'Shop All', ; jQuery.post(spyr_params.ajaxurl,data, function(response) var obj = jQuery.parseJSON(response); jQuery('#thelovesof_y').html(obj); jQuery('#thelovesof_y img.swiper-lazy:not(.swiper-lazy-loaded)' ).each(function () var img = jQuery(this); img.attr("src",img.data('src')); img.addClass( 'swiper-lazy-loaded' ); img.removeAttr('data-src'); ); ); );

[let-it-raines]

Rising From The Ashes (Ch. 4)

Summary: When her husband died, Emma wasn’t sure that she could ever move on. He left her with a broken heart and a baby who was only three-months old. It’s enough to take most people down, to make them not want to keep going, but Emma Swan isn’t most people. She’s stronger than she has any right to be. And after years of heartache, she’s found ways to move on…one of those being in Neal’s best friend, Killian Jones. As she’s always known, however, things are more complicated than they ever seem to be. 

Rating: Mature

A/N: I honestly love writing this story because of things I’m having to weave together, but I’m not going to lie, I love how you guys react :D

Double “-/-” around flashback!

AO3: Beginning | Current

Tumblr: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 

Tag list: @resident-of-storybrooke  @captainsjedi @captswanis4vr @teamhook @ekr032-blog-blog @mayquita @bmbbcs4evr @wellhellotragic @kmomof4 @jennjenn615 @onceuponaprincessworld @shady-swan-jones @snowbellewells @snow-into-ash @andiirivera @mariakov81 @thejollyroger-writer @shireness-says @kristi555 @facesiousbutton82 @superchocovian

“So I’m really into trains right now,” Henry tells Neal, showing off the set he’d gotten for his eighth birthday last month while they all sit in the living room and attempt to have a normal conversation that’s not full of awkward silences and pauses after someone finishes talking.

Neal is sitting in their living room talking to his son. It’s beautiful. It’s wonderful, really. Neal deserves to get to know Henry, and Henry sure as hell deserves to get to know Neal. Killian just thought this would never happen. Neal was dead. He was never coming back, and yet he did. He came back.

He’s here.

It’s a miracle if Killian has ever seen it. His mate is back from the dead, and he’s getting to spend time with his son.

His mate is back, and he gets to spend time with all of them. With Emma. With him. It’s a reunion in every sense of the word, and as happy as he is, as happy as he can be, he still feels a little sense of dread every time he looks at Neal. That’s not something he’s ever really felt before, even when Neal was suggesting idiotic plans on a night out.

Killian’s starting to think that he may never come up with a solution that’s not going to hurt someone when it comes to their new family situation. And as much as he doesn’t want to be the person who takes the pain, who is the one who gets hurt the most, he’d suffer so Emma can be happy. It might be the worst decision of his life, but all he wants is Emma’s happiness.

Even if it kills him.

He wants Neal’s happiness too. Neal is getting a second chance at life, and he should get to be happy. After what he’s been through, he deserves the world.

But right now Killian and Emma are still together. Things might not be normal, but neither of them have made any sort of move to end things. Bloody hell does he not want to end things. He knows that when their lives calm down, when they get Neal back into a regular schedule and life, he and Emma will have time to actually talk about things, more than just yesterday at the kitchen table for five minutes while Henry was distracted with TV and Ada was eating. Right now, though, their focus is on their children and on Neal. Not on them.

As important as his relationship is to him, it’s not a pressing matter right now.

Which is exactly why Neal is set up in their guest bedroom as of this morning and is currently spending time with Henry. In a move that he absolutely did not like, they had to tell Henry that he couldn’t talk about Ada, not yet. His boy is a brilliant lad, so he’d gotten the most incredulous look on his face, and Killian had lied to him about the reasoning, stating something about it being a surprise for later. It felt as if lead had dropped in his stomach.

They’re doing what they have to do, though. They’re getting through this. They’ll let Henry spend time with Neal while Mary Margaret discreetly watches Ada in the kitchen where Neal hasn’t been, and after Henry and Neal have had some time together, Killian and Emma will take the plunge and tell him how life has changed since he’s been gone.

They’re not going to hide their child, not permanently, but they have to if just for a little while to do what’s best for Neal.

If he’s been alive this entire time, he has to have known that things would change, that life wouldn’t stand still. That’s not how things work. Even when you don’t want the earth to keep rotating and revolving, it does.

There’s no stopping it.

Ripping off the band-aid, he’d said yesterday when talking to Emma at the kitchen table and again before they’d gone to bed. It’s easier than living a lie, living in secret, and it’s what they have to do. For all of the confusion, the one thing he knows that he and Emma agree on completely is the fact that their children come before anything else.

Without a doubt.

They are the only part of this that are not complicated, even if it doesn’t seem that way now. Hell, they’ve got their son lying and Mary Margaret hiding their daughter in the other room. She’s been fussy lately, so Emma didn’t want her out of the house, especially since they usually all spend their mornings together playing with her before he goes to work. And they wanted Mary Margaret around to help with Henry while they talk to Neal since they’re not exactly expecting the smoothest of sailings. Nothing bad, really. They just know it’ll be shocking for him.

So maybe the kids are a bit complicated for today, but it’ll get better. It’ll get better, and they’ll all adjust. Things take time.

“I liked boats before that,” Henry continues, moving his train across the coffee table, “but then my friend Avery rode on a train that went under the ocean, and I thought that was super cool. Plus, Mary Margaret had us read about them during reading time.”

“He’s always getting into new things,” Emma helpfully supplies, and her hand reaches for his, their fingers touching before she suddenly pulls back, like she’s remembering where they are. “I’m sure by the new year it’ll be airplanes or something.”

“So you’re creative, buddy?” Neal questions, reaching over to ruffle Henry’s hair, and Killian internally cringes, knowing that Henry hates that. But Neal doesn’t know. He has no idea. He’s obviously trying, and they’ll work with him. They have to work with him. That’s the only way this will work. Besides, Neal deserves to know all of the little things his son loves and hates. He deserves to get to be a dad after missing so much.

Killian cannot imagine how it must feel to have missed so much of his child’s life. He doesn’t think he could cope had he missed all of his firsts with Ada, all of the moments, actually. He doesn’t know how he’d cope if he’d missed them with Henry too. Having to go to work is hard enough when Emma sends him videos of Ada completely rolling over or laughing. God, he loves her laugh. It’s like pure joy.

He’d been around when Henry was an infant, but not as much as he wishes he could have been now that he’s been there for nearly everything the past seven or so years. He’d missed all the firsts like the laughs and the smiles, rolling over and crawling and such. He and Emma had been close but not close like they grew to be. So in a way he did miss several big moments in Henry’s life too, and he does deeply wish that he’d been around on the day that Emma heard Henry giggle for the first time. The first time he heard Ada…he can’t even describe it, and if he could change some things, he’d have been around for absolutely everything for Henry too.

“Yeah,” Henry answers, patting down his hair until it lays in weird patterns on his head, “I like a bunch of different stuff. Daddy bought me a new storybook for my birthday, too, and I can write my own stories in it. I wrote one the other day about a train that can fly. But it’s different than an airplane.”

He feels Emma’s entire body tense next to his, and when he dares look over at her, he can see tears already streaming down her face while her hand messes with the pendant on her necklace. He wants to wipe them from her cheeks, but he can’t. Instead he quickly squeezes her knee before looking over at Neal who looks confused, his brows knitted together and his lips pursed even if Killian swears that he saw a flash of anger at first glance.

He's not sure of anything, though, not with the way his heart is absolutely pounding in his chest. Maybe they should have asked for a doctor to be here as well.

For when he inevitably has some kind of heart attack.

“What are you talking about Henry? How could I have bought you a book?”

“You didn’t. My daddy did.”

“Henry, I’m your daddy.”

“No,” Henry laughs, and Killian would step in if his voice was working right now, if he could focus on something besides the pounding in his head and in his heart. They should have realized this would happen. How did they not? They thought about him talking about Ada, but they never thought about him calling Killian daddy in front of Neal. Shit. He thought they’d thought of everything, thought they’d worked out how to do this in the short time that they had to work through things, but Henry’s obviously decided to speed things along. The damn psychiatrist and all of those specialists have not helped this transition at all. “You’re my dad. He,” Henry says as he points to Killian, “is my daddy.”

“Henry,” Emma croaks, her voice breaking, “why don’t you go in the other room and ask Mary Margaret for something to eat, okay?”

“Okay. Do you think I can have some chicken nuggets even though it’s the morning?”

“Yeah, kid, sure. Whatever you want.”

Henry walks out of the room without a care in the world, waving at Neal with this giant smile on his face before leaving. To be so young and innocent. It’s a wonderful blessing.

“Emma,” Neal grits, his jaw ticking while his fist continuously clenches and unclenches. It’s a sign of anger management that Killian saw time and time again when he was going through therapy after his first deployment. “Why did he just say that Killian is his father?”

Emma looks to him, her eyes bright with both shed and unshed tears, and he simply nods, trying to force the tight smile on his face into a comforting one. His heartbeat is irregular, his face heating up, and he’s sure that the entire neighborhood can hear it. It’s as loud as a drum beating in his ears.

“Neal,” Emma hesitantly begins, a gulp visibly moving through her throat while her hand shakes, “I…we have something to tell you, and I don’t know how you’re going to take it.”

“What is it, Ems? Because if it’s just that Henry thinks Killian is like a father figure, that’s great. He’s his godfather anyways. I just think it’s a little weird that he calls him daddy. I feel like that’s something that has to be taught and encouraged.”

-/-

-/-

“Daddy,” Henry yells, running toward him and wrapping his arms around his legs, the force nearly knocking Killian back as he walks in the front door. “Momma has a surprise for you.”

“A surprise?” he laughs, picking Henry up and absolutely ignoring the way he just called him daddy. That has never happened before, but if he didn’t have a lanky five year old on his hip, he’d probably cry from the affection and confusion of it all. “What could Mummy possibly have to surprise me?”

“It’s a secret, so I can’t tell you.”

“Ah,” he sighs, nodding his head as he walks them back into the house and to the kitchen where he can hear Emma moving around. What the bloody hell is she doing in the kitchen? They’re supposed to go out to dinner tonight. “So I’ll just have to wait to find out then.”

“Happy birthday,” Emma greets when he and Henry walk into the room. She steps away from where she’s icing a cake and moves toward him, wrapping her arms around his neck before she slants her lips over his. She tastes of sugar, and he absolutely cannot wait to explore that a little more later. Once Henry is in bed. The lad needs to go to sleep early tonight. He won’t, but a man can wish. It is his birthday after all.

“Hmm, thank you, my love,” he tells her, kissing her one more time until he pulls back and looks at Henry who’s got the most mischievous smile on his face. “Young Master Henry tells me that you have a surprise for me.” “I do,” she smiles, her eyes lighting up while she falls back on flat feet, her height drastically changing as she moves back over to their counter. “Because you, my sweet man, are now thirty-five, I’ve made you a cake. And it’s edible too. I know because I had David help me.”

“So I should thank David for this creation?”

“Probably. But that’s not the only surprise.” He raises an eyebrow. What has she been planning? When has she even had time to plan? The end of the school year is a busy time for her. She’s been running herself into the ground trying to get all of those seniors to graduate.

“Really now?”

“Mhm,” she hums. “Henry, baby, why don’t you go get it?”

Henry squirms in his arms until Killian puts him down, his long legs running into the other room. God, he’s really gotten big. He’s got to stop growing up. He’ll be six this year, and no part of Killian is okay with it. He wants time to stop ticking by him because he’s more upset about Henry turning six than he is upset about him officially being in his mid-thirties as of this morning.

“Darling, you really didn’t need to go through all of this fuss.”

“Nonsense. You always do it for us. Why shouldn’t we do it for you?”

“Because you don’t have to.” He walks over to her and wraps his arm around her waist, dipping his head and kissing her again. “I love you, Swan.”

“I love you too, babe.”

“Shhh, shhh,” he hears Henry say, and for a brief moment he wonders if Emma really went out and bought a dog for them, but then he sees familiar blue eyes and curly hair that definitely don’t belong to a dog.

Liam.

Bloody hell. Liam is here.

“Happy birthday, little brother,” Liam wishes, a bright smile on his face. He can’t believe this. He can’t believe Emma flew his brother here from London just for his birthday.

“Younger, you ponce,” Killian laughs, stepping away from Emma and walking over to Liam, wrapping him up in a hug, feeling immediate warmth when Liam’s arms wrap around his shoulders. “What the bloody hell are you doing here?”

Liam pats him on the back a few times before pulling back and clapping him on the shoulder. “Your lovely lady called me a few weeks ago and asked if I could manage to fly across the pond to see you. And how could I pass up seeing you as well as my favorite little man?”

“That’s me, right?” Henry asks, standing on his toes and scrambling so he can be closer to eyelevel with he and Liam.

“Of course that’s you,” Liam promises, squatting down to Henry’s level. “You did such a good job helping me.”

“Thank you.”

Killian lets Liam and Henry talk before walking back over to Emma and wrapping his arms around her waist again, burying his face in her hair and kissing along her jaw, only increasing his efforts when she squeals. “I bloody love you,” he growls into her ear, biting down on the lobe the slightest bit, “and I absolutely cannot wait to get you alone tonight so that we can celebrate my birthday in private.” “Yeah?” Emma giggles, twisting in his arms.

“Most definitely. You have plans for me, and I, darling, have plans for you.”

“I’m amazed that you guys are able to live with a child,” Liam laughs, walking over to them with his hands over Henry’s ears, “because you are not subtle at all.”

“Don’t be jealous, Liam,” Emma teases, pulling back from him and swiping her finger through the icing on the cake. “I’m sure we will spend plenty of time with you too. Though I do suggest you run to the Walgreens around the corner and gets some earplugs. Your room shares a wall with ours.”

Later, after they’ve gone out to dinner with everyone – David, Mary Margaret, and Leo joining them at the restaurant – and he’s spent some time with Liam, catching up on everything, he and Emma are lounging in bed. He’s exhausted but sated. Though, if Emma keeps running her foot up and down his calf like she’s doing, he’ll be ready and willing for another round soon enough.

Who says he’s an old man? He has stamina.

“Have you had a good day?” she asks, her finger curling his chest hair until she releases it and moves onto another patch.

“Aye, wonderful,” he promises, patting her back before sliding his hand down and lightly tapping her ass, squeezing the firm skin in a way that makes Emma giggle. “You are wonderful. You know that?”

“I do, but I like to be reminded in ways other than my son giving me gifts he made in school that say that.”

Emma kisses his chest, just above his heart, and his breath hitches. He’s got to talk to her about what happened when he got home. “Darling, I need to talk to you about something.”

All of her movements stop and she pulls back, sitting up in bed and pulling the blanket around her shoulders, closing herself into a ball. “What?”

“When I got home today, uh,” he reaches up to scratch behind his ear, “Henry called me daddy.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah, and, like, I’m fine with it. I have no qualms. I’ve always thought of Henry like he was my son, I love him like that, but I don’t want you to be uncomfortable with it. This is all totally up to you of how we want to go about this.”

“Babe, you’re Henry’s parent too. You know that, right? It might not be legal or biological or whatever, but that doesn’t matter. You love him. He loves you. It’s…you’ve been a dad to him for almost his entire life, and if he wants to call you daddy, he should be able to. I know that you’re in this for the long haul, that you’re not going to leave us.”

“But what about – ”

“Neal.”

“Yeah.”

“Of course I wish that Neal were here to be Henry’s dad, but he’s not. And he’s not coming back. And honestly, if there was anyone in the world who Neal would want to help take care of Henry, it’d be you.”

“So you don’t think we should ask him not to call me that?”

“No,” Emma sighs, leaning forward and cupping his cheeks with her palms, “we shouldn’t. When he’s older and can understand a little better, we’ll explain things to him. But, Killian, you are his daddy. You are.”

“Daddy,” he repeats, trying to weigh the words on his tongue. He’s obviously feeling bold tonight because he asks something he’s been hoarding away for months now. “Love…do you ever…would you…”

“Yes.”

“You don’t even know what I’m going to ask.”

“You’re going to ask if I ever think about having another baby. With you preferably.” He chuckles, all of the happiness of today settling comfortably in his stomach. “Yeah, the with me part is pretty big. So do you?”

“Yeah,” she smiles, and he’s continuously blown away with how beautiful she is, with how much he loves her, “I do. I want to, actually. I feel like…I feel like it’s right for us, you know? We should have kids. Henry should have a sibling. I don’t know. It’s hard to explain. I just…I want it. With you. More than I can even describe.”

He tugs Emma back down on top of them, letting her chest land on his and their legs tangle together while he caresses her cheek, looking into her eyes and hoping that she can see just how much he loves her. “Emma Swan, I would love to make a baby with you one day.”

“Do you want to practice a little more because I have to get my implant – ”

He doesn’t let her finish, bringing her lips down to his and sliding them over hers in a kiss that is a hell of a lot sweeter than the icing that was on his birthday cake.

Thirty-five might be his favorite birthday.

-/-

-/-

It’s not really something that has to be taught, but Killian’s not dumb enough to say that out loud. Kids are pretty intuitive, and they can figure out a lot of things on his own. Killian’s still not sure what prompted Henry to call him “daddy” for the first time. He’s not sure if someone at his school accidentally mistook Killian for Henry’s father, not knowing the situation, or if maybe the kids in his kindergarten class asked about it. Honestly, it could have been a million little things, but at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter. He is Henry’s dad just as much as Neal is.

He wants to say more than, but that’s not fair to Neal. Not at all. It’s not his fault that he hasn’t been around.

“No, um,” Emma stutters, biting her bottom lip, “that’s not it.”

“Fuck, Ems,” Neal groans while his fists still move, fingers fidgeting. “Just tell me.”

They shouldn’t have done this yet. They should have given Neal more time. He’s only been home from…wherever he was, the details still unclear even to him, for a month. And he’s only been in their house for a day. For less than a day. Only for a few hours. They were at least going to give him this morning, give him a moment to breathe, but plans never stick.

They weren’t going to have Henry just blurt out the news.

“Henry calls Killian daddy because to him, Killian is his daddy,” Emma explains, fidgeting her fingers on her knees. “He’s known about you for awhile, since we felt like he was old enough to understand, and he knows that Killian isn’t his biological father, that you are. But he just kind of started calling Killian that when he was five, and Killian and I agreed that it was okay. And, um,” she gulps, and at this point he can’t not touch her, so he reaches over and twines their fingers together, squeezing her hand and letting her know that it’s all okay, letting her know that she can stop fidgeting, that she can do this. As soon as their fingers interlock, however, Killian sees a flash of confusion flicker across Neal’s eyes before his jaw ticks and his teeth obviously grind, his knuckles going white.

“My  kid calls Killian daddy because you’re together,” Neal finishes for Emma, and he feels the lead in his stomach grow heavier. Can he really be this weighed down by his own guilt? Should he even really be this guilty?

“We, um,” Killian begins, trying to take some of the weight off of Emma since he knows she must be drowning in it, somehow more than him, “we also have a daughter together. Her name is Ada, and she’ll be five months old tomorrow.”

“So what?” Neal darkly chuckles, his hand reaching up to rub at the hairs on his chin, “you knocked her up and then tried to be together? Just because you guys fucked up doesn’t mean you have to try to be in a relationship. Also, what the hell man? You slept with my wife? You better have been drunk or something because damn, that’s messed up. I never would have slept with Milah, and she was smoking hot, which was probably why she so easily cheated on you in the first place.”

Anger pulses through his entire body, and while he knew that this would be hard, that there would be no way Neal was immediately accepting of this, he didn’t expect such vile remarks thrown at them. First, that he implied that he and Emma had to be intoxicated to sleep together. Yes, they first kissed while drunk, but they also put a stop to it. They’re together because they love each other, and he didn’t knock Emma up. It was a planned choice. Neal speaks like he owns Emma, and he doesn’t. No one owns Emma, and she can make her own damn choices. The Milah thing stings, Neal throwing his past scars in his face, but he’s in no way pissed about that. Neal has just insulted his character, his love, and his child. He will not stand for it no matter what Neal has been through.

“Neal,” Killian grits, his teeth practically grinding to dust and his hand holding onto Emma’s so tightly that he hears her whine in pain before he releases her, “I understand that you’ve been through a lot, more than we can understand, but you can’t talk to us that way. It’s a difficult situation, but it’s not going to help if we’re throwing insults at each other.”

“You fucked my wife, dude. How am I supposed to respond to that? A fucking gift basket.”

“First of all,” Emma sneers, her voice clipped and concise as her hands tremble, “there are children in the other room, children who do not need to hear all of this, especially the language you’re practically screaming. Secondly, Neal, none of this is ideal. Not a bit of it, but things happened. I lived a life that made me happy. We thought you were dead, and somehow you’re alive. Shouldn’t that be our main focus?”

“It’s kind of hard to focus on that right now. I spent years dreaming of coming home to you and Henry, Ems. And I finally get to, and that fantasy is destroyed. I wanted to be a family. Can’t we be a family again?”

Neal’s voice breaks, tears beginning to stream down his face, and Emma looks at Killian, sorrow and anger mixed in a storm in her eyes, before patting his hand and going to squat next to Neal, rubbing her hand up and down his back in soothing circles as she whispers quietly in his ear, Neal nodding his head up and down before he twists and sobs into Emma’s shoulder, his eyes flickering up to Killian for a brief moment.

But not brief enough that Killian doesn’t notice a flash of…something there.  

He could punch a wall, break his hand, and not at all be sorry about it right now for the storm that’s raging inside of him, one that he knows is much darker than the one he saw in Emma’s eyes.

This is going to be hell.

#rising from the ashes #cs ff #cs fic