“Killian blinks, slowly. His dark lashes lift—and his eyes are blue. Blue like the sea on a sunny day. Blue as the clearest summer sky.
A smile spreads across his face, and it’s like the dawn rising. Emma has no idea what the hell he’s grinning about; all she can feel right now is the cold misery climbing past her hips. The flow is now swift and certain, almost vindictive.
“You,” he says, and laughs, bright and carefree. […] Even though the water is still rising, color washes over his cheeks, chasing away the frost. He looks at her and grins, cocky and self-assured and vain as a rooster about to crow. “You, Emma. Just you.”
“
Lustrous blonde hair spills in loose, thick waves around her shoulders, firelight dances across graceful high cheekbones and a perfect nose, and long, dark lashes frame her big, mossy-green eyes. She’s slender with curves in all the right places, and though not dressed as provocatively as many barmaids he’s met, she cuts quite the figure in her tight-laced russet bodice and dark blue petticoat, with more than one man at his table regarding her (and the swell of her breasts) with interest.
She navigates her way toward them bearing her tray of drinks and sets it down on the table with a murmured greeting. “Hello. Here you are. Now, would you all like food, more drink, or both?” She listens intently as the men begin ordering, intelligence obvious in those lovely eyes. Then she turns her gaze fully upon him, her expression going solemn. “I should thank you for earlier, Captain.”
Something about her sincerity causes him to feel almost shy, but he acknowledges her thanks with a tip of his head. “Yes, well, I’ll have you know your quick thinking deprived me of a dashing rescue.”
His words cause her to smile – this time a real, gorgeous, self-satisfied smile that reaches her eyes and causes his throat to tighten. She shrugs, lashes brushing the tops of her cheeks. “Sorry. The only one who saves me is me, I guess,” she says with a slight blush.
He chuckles. “Tough lass.” He holds out his hand. “Captain Killian Jones. They call me Hook.”
Summary: After several years living in Storybrooke, Killian has adapted quite well to the modern world, becoming an expert in the use of technology. When Snow and David return from a camping weekend, Emma and Killian decide to emulate Emma’s parents and a challenge arises between them to see if they are able to spend an entire weekend without electricity. Canon compliant/future.
A/N: I still can’t believe it, but it’s here! After several months working on this story, it’s time to finally post my small contribution to Captain Swan Little Bang 2018. First of all, I’d like to express my gratitude to the mods for making this possible and for giving me the opportunity to participate. Hannah, @hookedonapirate , thank you so much for your dedication, for all your help, and for your suggestions. In short, thanks for being such an amazing beta. I’d also like to thank @giraffes-ride-swordfishes for your suggestions and for contributing with your wonderful fan art. I’m so in love with the illustration… the sky, the effect of the fire, Emma’s hair… everything is perfect.
My last thanks go to @saraswans , I will never be able to thank you enough for everything you do for me, especially with this story. You better than anyone else know how much I’ve struggled with this fic. This wouldn’t be the same without your constant support. Thanks also to @suwya , for your words of encouragement and for taking a look at the first part.
Here we go… I hope you like it 🙂
Pirate Tech
The Challenge
The first clear sign that Killian had begun to adapt to the modern world and the use of technologies came one day when Emma had arrived home from her shift at the station. She hadn’t expected to see her husband and son at home because, in the words of her own husband, the lad and I are going to practice some sword fighting, love.
The image that she found when opening the front door was surprising. In fact, Killian and Henry were practicing, but what she didn’t expect was that the sword fighting took place in their own living room, and, even less, that they were practicing through a damn video game.
Her husband was fully involved in the game, sitting on the edge of the couch, his jaw clenched, muscles tense. His hand and hook were forcefully gripping the adapted control as he stared at the screen with a steel look that held the ability to intimidate the fiercest rival.
Her son, on the other hand, didn’t offer a better image; his gaze was focused on the image on the screen while his fingers moved frantically on the control keys.
“That was a dirty move, lad. Bad form,” Killian groaned under his breath without taking his eyes off the screen.
Henry chuckled at his side. “I had a good teacher.” And just like that, her son disarmed the pirate and proclaimed himself the winner. Virtual winner, that is.
A few months later, Henry ventured off to find his own story, leaving the house sad and lonely. Her husband’s new hobby lasted but Emma could tell how heavy Henry’s absence lingered in those moments. Maybe that’s why she decided to replace Henry in those fights, to accompany Killian, who seemed lost without Henry at his side. She would never admit it out loud, but she thought maybe there could be another reason, or maybe not. Maybe she found the fact that she could finally defeat the dreaded Captain Hook in a sword fight, revitalizing.
Summary: During her weekly sessions, Emma and Archie begin to examine her relationship with Killian in the hope that she will be able to break her walls down once and for all, so they can chase their happily ever after together.
A/N: I wrote this as “deleted scenes” for Season 6A as what I wish we could have seen. So long as you watched S6 entirely, the only spoiler you risk by reading this is for Netflix’s “A Christmas Prince”.
This is the first story I have written for OUAT and it is the first piece I am putting out into the universe. It is my contribution to this year’s Captian Swan Little Bang and I wanted to thank all the moderators for creating this so I was able to get out of my comfort zone and finally put an idea down on paper.
A shout out to my beta reader @shippingtheswann who kindly returned the favour following the Big Bang last year and read my story over, making sure it all made sense and came out exactly how I wanted it (even though I changed my mind a couple of times!)
I had the pleasure of collaborating with @gingerchangeling who has drawn a fabulous piece of artwork to go with my story. Apart from actually finishing, I was most excited about getting to work with someone so creative and I LOVED what she has come up with!
Anyway, read on and I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it!
Emma knew that today was the day. She had been holding back in every session with Archie so far, never going as far as talking about her relationship with Killian. For some reason, it just never felt like the right time to, even though they had been dancing around it for the last couple of sessions. But, she knew that today was the day Archie was just going to come out and ask her.
“So Emma, how’s it all going, living with Killian? Are you two settling in? Is Henry adapting well to the changes happening around him?” Archie wasted no time, zoning in on the one thing she had been avoiding.
“Good, I think. The boys have had their ups and downs and there certainly was an adjustment period at first. They seem to be enjoying each other’s company now though. Henry has been showing Killian how to play his XBOX and Killian has been taking him on the Jolly, teaching him about sailing and getting him to help with repairs around the ship,” Emma answered honestly. She really did love talking about her boys.
“I’m glad to hear they are getting along so well and that would certainly be a weight off your shoulders,” Archie commented, with a small smile on his face.
“It was something I worried about, especially with Henry. He’s lost a lot of people he’s cared about and I didn’t want him to get too attached to someone who didn’t intend on sticking around,” Emma said. She looked over at Archie and realised her mistake too late.
“So what has made you confident in Killian’s ability to, as you put it, stick around? What helped you feel confident enough that you would ask him to move in with you both?”
Emma sighed. She thought she was being careful enough, not directly addressing her and Killian, speaking only of Killian’s growing relationship with Henry. She had wanted to avoid discussing her and Killian, at least for a little while longer. She shuffled nervously in her seat, avoiding eye contact with Archie all together.
“You haven’t been mentioning Killian in our sessions Emma. Why is that? Has something changed between the two of you?” Archie pressed on. Emma realised she wasn’t going to get out of it this time. Archie never usually took the lead in the sessions, always allowing Emma the opportunity to speak about whatever she needed. But he must have realised he wasn’t going to get anything out of her when it came to her relationship with Killian. She took a deep breath, hoping that opening up with Archie would help her start to piece some things together.
“I think Killian wants to propose.”
There was a long pause. Archie just looked at her, calmly, with an expectant gaze on his face. Of all the times for the damn cricket not to comment, he chose now as his moment.
“He talks a lot about forever. You know, “to the ends of the world and time” sort of thing. He has these dreams, of starting a family and making something of himself here. He is always so careful though, he makes sure he stops before he gives all the details. He knows those sort of things make me nervous and he knows I have a habit of running when I’m backed up against a wall. So lately, he’s been sort of quiet about those things but I do still notice that when the future is brought up, there is a twinkle in his eyes,” Emma rushed out, wanting to get it all out in the open, finally.
“So future talk scares you? It isn’t something that you are ready to face with Killian?” Archie asked, leaning forward in his chair.
“Yes. No. I don’t know. How does anyone know when they are ready to take the next step with someone? I feel like there should be some kind of feeling, a sign or something, that points you towards what you should do next.” Emma stood up abruptly and started pacing around the chair.
“Have you spoken with your parents about this? They are our towns embodiment of “true love” and never giving up on each other. They might have some untapped wisdom, maybe they know something to look for?” Archie offered. After he said it, Emma realised she had cringed a little.
“Ah, so maybe not the right path to go down for you.”
“It’s not that I don’t think they would have any advice or years of wisdom they could share with me. It’s just that their story is different from mine and Killian’s. They were fated, destined to be together. Their love, while not something that sounds like an easy journey, came easy to them. What Killian and I share is very different. He is from a completely different time, realm even. It’s only by curses and Neverland charms that we have even met and been able to fall in love. We weren’t destined to be together, we have had to work hard, overcome a lot of different things to find this, this new beginning for the both of us,” Emma lamented, “I love my parents, but in this instance, I don’t think their story will help me with my current predicament.”
Emma flopped back down on the couch, feeling guilty about what she had said about her parents but also very relieved. She had thought time and time again about asking her mom or dad about this, but it wasn’t until she let her feelings come to the surface that she realised why she didn’t want to.
Archie stood up and sat next to Emma. He grabbed her hands and gently held them in his. He smiled at her.
“Emma, you don’t need to feel guilty for what you have just said. You were honest, with me and yourself, which is something to be proud of. Your opinions are your own and if you don’t think your parents are the ideal people to talk to about this, then that is perfectly fine.”
Summary:There are a few things that Emma Swan is absolutely certain about; no morning is tolerable without at least one cup of coffee, all marriage is a sham, and if a stupidly handsome guy walks into her tiny flower shop with a massive order for flower arrangements six weeks before a wedding, he’s damn well going to have to help her. Flowershop!AU
Summary: “You live in the apartment next to mine and you’re
always blasting music while I’m trying to sleep but you’ve been silent
for the last two days, are you all right?”
Emma Swan never minded
the music. Not until she broke her ankle and her shift moved to days.
Now she just wants to sleep. But Killian Jones doesn’t seem to notice.
So when the condo next door goes silent, she’s understandably concerned.
When she finds Killian after he got the phone call about his brother he
never expected, they’ll have to figure out if everything is as it
seems.
Rated:T
Content Warnings:Alcohol poisoning, perceived character death, hospitalization, whump (it’s actually minor for my fics but I don’t think I can post a fic without a whump warning)
Art credit/link: Guys! Take a look at the aesthetic above that @katealexandra26 made for this fic! You can find it HEREon her blog. And be sure to check out the illustration that @ladyciaramiggles painted for me further down in the fic. You can find that work HEREon her blog!
Beta reader:A huge thank you to the spectacular @spartanguard who stepped in to help beta read!
A/N: This was a prompt that I found at a far too late time of night and
promptly (pun intended) dropped it in @gusenitsaa’s inbox for her to find.
She ran with it, probably while cursing me out the entire time (it
*was* three am) and came up with a ficlet which you can find on FFN (Spinning Yarns Ch 102) and on Tumblr. With her permission, I came back to it and fleshed it out into this monster.
Written as part of the 2017 Captain Swan Big Bang Challenge. You can catch up with all the other fics that are complete by
following @captainswanbigbang and/or subscribing to the Group Collection on AO3 and/or the C2 on FFN. This is a complete one-shot as a part of the Little Bang 2018 challenge. And yes, there is a happy ending after all this… just so you know.
So you
say you fell in love And
you’re gonna get married Raise
yourself a family How
simple life can be…
Emma groaned, resisting the urge to bang her head against the
headboard as the opening lyrics to another Dropkick Murphys’ song blared
through her condo.
At three thirty in the morning.
Jones, I’m going to kill you, she thought loudly at the wall, too tired to contemplate
shouting. Again. For the third time this week.
It was Wednesday.
She got it. She did. Jones was a bartender
and had the advantage of an end unit – he only had her to annoy with his late
nights. For the past two years since he’d moved in, it hadn’t been an
issue. Emma worked nearly the same hours as he did. Bail bonds
didn’t exactly conform to the normal nine-to-five hours, after all.
Hell, they’d met over an out-of-order washing machine at four in
the morning, both fresh off shifts and nowhere near ready for sleep.
Then last week happened. Emma had chased a skip
through Boston Common and ended up sprawled out at the bottom of the stairs to
the T station just after midnight, her foot facing the wrong way and the barrel
of a gun aimed between her eyes. It was only the convenient timing of a
train pulling into the station that saved her life and her reward was six weeks
to three months of sitting behind a desk answering phone calls.
Emma wasn’t sure what was going to drive her to drink first –
the endless ringing of the phone in the office or her neighbor’s incessant need
to unwind from a night behind the bar with loud punk rock.
At least she liked the punk rock. She’d been to
Jones’s bar often enough, a run-down attempt at a honky tonk in the middle of
downtown Boston. The drinks were good and the likelihood that she’d run
into one of her colleagues was small. And the Jones brothers were easy to
look at, not that she’d admit that aloud, and there was just something about
them – about Killian – that kept her going back to the little hole in the wall.
But, oh God, the country music.
Emma didn’t know how he did it every shift.
Resigned to not sleeping in her bed if she wanted to get up with
the alarm at seven, Emma grabbed her pillow and cell phone and limped down the
stairs, ignoring the mandatory crutches. She could still hear the
echoes of the album Blackout as she settled down on the lumpy couch
cushions, but at least it was more white noise than Irish punk at this
distance.
Myths, Legends, and Fairytales – Mermaid/Sailor AU
On one of their missions, Killian’s and Liam’s ship is hit by the storm. The ship sinks in the deep waters of the ocean but the brothers are saved by a certain blonde, mermaid.
Summary: Chefs Emma Swan and Killian Jones both have their reasons to compete in the Culinary Championships for a large cash prize. But when they are paired as a team, they must learn to work together or it could all go up in flames. Part of the Captain Swan Little Bang 2018!
A/N: Here is mycontribution to the @captainswanbigbang ‘s little bang! Thank you so much to all the mods for organizing it and for all your hard work.I was able to combine two of my greatest loves in this story – Captain Swan and culinary competitions. I could not have done it without the incredible feedback of my beta reader, @aloha-4-ever , who offered suggestions, kept me on track, and helped me change my idea when the first one turned the wrong direction. And of course this story is all the better with the incredible artistic work of @cocohook38 who made the incredible illustration of Emma and Killian as chefs. She took my idea of them in this story and made it reality. If you like her work, check out these great shirts. One of the designs is hers!
There was always something magical about cooking to Emma Swan. From the first time she had thrown ingredients into a pan and watched them meld into something wonderful and tasty, she had been mesmerized by the transformation that to her was pure magic. So when she aged out of the foster care system at 18, she found herself working long shifts at a diner and taking a cooking classes at a local community college.
Yet after a long day where she crafted creamy risotto that made the Italian master chefs cry at its beauty, Emma found that she was a fan of the simpler things in life. That particular night she was standing over a single frying pan with a golden brown sandwich sizzling to that perfect melted state where the butter, cheese, and bread would meld into a sinfully good grilled cheese sandwich.
“You won’t win the Culinary Championships with a sandwich,” her roommate Ruby announced, dropping her bag on the farm table they had restored during a snowy weekend when the entire city had shut down. “What? No objections that competition cooking isn’t your style?”
Emma lifted the corner of the sandwich to inspect her work. “I think we’ve already had that argument. I did my time, earned the accolades. Why would the Championships want to invite me back?”
Running a hand blindly through her dark hair, Ruby sighed. “Why wouldn’t they? You’re unbeatable. You won every freaking competition.”
It All Starts With a Dance 