Archive of Our Own

"God damn Neal Cassidy!" Emma groaned angrily. She was on her tippy toes on her freaking dining room chair, trying in vain to clean her cupboards, cupboards filled with her damn ex's junk.

The junk the waste of space had forgotten when he took off in the middle of the night and never looked back. She should burn it. Emma really wanted to burn it.

Emma was used to being alone, since she was a baby, she was alone. Her parents had abandoned her on the side of the road hours after her birth, after that, Emma spent her childhood bouncing from house to house in the system. It gave her a lot of practice in figuring out who wasn't worth her time or her trust, because that was what all the homes Emma's ever been in had in common. They were never home.

Then 18 year old Emma Swan meets God damn Neal Cassidy. It's the classic bad boy meets lost girl situation. It's so clique looking back that Emma wants to slap herself for getting involved with such a smug prick. But she did get involved with him, she let him worm beneath her walls with his damaged little act and understanding smile. He liked lost girls apparently, liked giving them a home, their dream home in Tallahassee, making them promises about forever and then running away when things got serious. All it had taken was for her to buy a pregnancy test to send him running.

He hadn't even waited around for the negative result.

Now 25 year old Emma Swan knows better. She knows there is no such thing as soul mates or happy endings or magic of love. Just like Neal's stupid stuff, it's all a load of crap.

And that jerk had the nerve to call her. He wanted to know if he could come by and pick up his things. She told him exactly what she'd done with his things, thrown them out her window.

That's what she'd done with most of it at least. It took his call to discover that he had hidden some stuff in the in the upper kitchen cabinet, the one that she could never reach and so never used.

It's what led her to her precarious position reaching into her highest shelves where Emma could easily fall and break her neck, (It would be just her luck) because she wanted to get Neal's junk out of her house and him out of her life.

Her hand grabbed the edge of something, a wooden box of some kind. She pulled it closer, able to see it a bit if she twisted her neck up slightly. She grabbed it with one hand and placed it on the counter before she lowered herself down.

Emma got a closer look at the box. It looked old and hand carved in deep brown wood. It was even engraved with words and a strangely navel pattern with the embossed waves. It looked like whoever made it (or ordered it) must have spent a lot of time customizing it.

For my beloved Milah.

Emma recognized that name; it was Neal's mother's name.

His dead mother's name.

The bastard had run off and left his mother's last possessions behind. She can't even burn it now; Emma didn't have the heart to burn such a beautiful box, given to a dead woman. It suddenly made sense why Neal wanted his stuff.

He must have grown a sentimental bone or something, Emma knew he'd certainly hadn't had it when they were together.

Maybe she could just mail it to Neal; she really doesn't want a face to face meet.

Emma stared at the box only a moment longer before flipping over the lid. She might as well see what else was inside.

She shuffled through papers, old-ish looking papers- no letters, they were letters, and a lot of them.

My beloved pirate,

How I miss the days lazing on deck, watching the sun rise and-

They were love letters, Emma realized, stopping reading immediately; actually dropping them as if they'd burned her.

Was it creepy to read your ex's mother's love letters? She thinks it's creepy.

But there was something else in the box. A dusty bottle of rum, glass by the looks of it and Emma could barely make out a design on the side. She rubbed it slowly with her hands to try to reveal the pattern.

The bottle vibrated in her hand. Emma, startled, practically threw it back in the box. The box filled with red smoke and then her kitchen filled with the same smoke. Emma had barely taken 2 steps away from Neal's possessed box when the smoke cleared.

Apparently possessed was the perfect word for it, because when the smoke cleared, she saw it, or should she say him.

Her first thought was that the man was hot.

He was leather clad with dark hair looking perfectly messy and the bluest eyes in her kitchen leaning against the counter, he started off with a smirking, but then his expression morphed into confusion, then he recovered and plastered anther smirk on his face.

"Hello love." The man said, raising his brow. "You're new." He observed reaching into his pocket for something. "I guess I owe you the flashy introducti-"

Emma has only one reaction to a stranger appearing in her kitchen. She punches him square in the face before they have a chance to come at her. It was self-defense 101.

"Bloody Hell!" He shouts, stumbling away, clutching his jaw as Emma readied herself to deliver another blow "That's one hell of a left hook!" He says, looking at her more carefully this time. "So I can just tell you how this works the old fashioned way then." He explained with a rather thick accent that Emma couldn't place; Irish was the closest she could guess, as he righted himself. "Can you please not punch me this time?" He asked.

"I don't want an explanation; I want you out of my house!" Emma replied angrily. "How the hell did you get in here?" She demanded. Emma always locked her doors and windows, so she was pretty sure this was just an elaborate dream.

"Why from that little bottle in the box." He said, gesturing at it. "You see, I'm Killian Jones, a genie." He explained like it was obvious.

"A genie?" She repeated. "Like in Aladdin?" She asked.

"Who the bloody hell is Aladdin?"

Then she shook her head because it was ridiculous. "Hell no. Did Neal put you up to this? Did he leave hidden cameras and is doing this to me because I wanted to get rid of his junk?" She spat, because it's just something he'd do.

But how he'd know Emma would do it today was a mystery. Neal wouldn't have someone waiting for this inevitable day. That was too much work for such a lazy waist of space.

"No love, I'm a genie, the real deal." He insisted, looking rather annoyed at her disbelief. "A rather handsome one if I do say so myself." Killian said, smoothing out the leather duster on his shoulders wagging his eyebrows sinfully. "Let's make this quick love, you get three wishes, but I should warn you, all magic comes at a price, and then I can go back into the bottle"

Emma sharpens her glare. "I'm going to let you in on a little secret." She said leaning back on her dining room table. "I'm pretty good at knowing when someone is lying to me." She said in a low, even voice. She didn't waver, and neither did he.

"I'm telling you the truth." He said, and for once there wasn't a smirk, there wasn't the swagger that seemed to ooze from his leather jacket, there was just brutal honesty in his gaze.

It unsettled her slightly, it unsettles her because she sees something; she sees loneliness.

This Killian character was telling her the truth.

Or at least, he believed he was. He could be crazy.

How a crazy genie believing leather clad man pulled this off however, Emma wasn't too sure. But there just had to be a rational explanation right?

Emma rolls her eyes. "Genies don't exist." She says matter-of-factly. "Wishes don't come true." It's been a long time since Emma believed in magic. "This is some dream, or hallucinogen, or a coma, I probably fell and hit my head and fell into a comma." She rationalizes.

"Then it wouldn't hurt to make a wish and find out?" The man dares. "You don't seem like a lass who scares easily. Come on love, tell me, what does your heart desire? Money? Fame? Love?" He teases, the sincerity in his expression is replaced by cocky over confidence. "It won't matter if I'm not real after all." The way the man speaks is plain mocking, the way he moves his eyebrows is plain challenging.

He's daring her to do something.

Emma could just feel her blood boiling in response, desperately wanting to prove the mad man wrong, but also not wanting to be lured into this insanity.

"Hell no buddy." She replies, arms crossed. "I'm going to-" Her phone goes off suddenly, interrupting her completely. She picks it up, looking at it angrily for interrupting her. She would have ignored it if she wasn't waiting for…

Dinner at 8? That new bar around the corner? The Silver Slipper?

That. Emma smirks at her phone. It was about time the fish took her bait. Emma Swan didn't get lured. She's the one who does the luring or whatever fishermen did.

Perfect. She types out with a smirk.

The genie-man, because Emma refuses to believe that she found a genie in her ex's stuff—looks at her quizzically.

"What's that love?" He asks gesturing to the phone in her hand.

"You mean my cell phone?" She asked.

"Aye." He replied, looking at it. "How'd it make that sound?" He asked.

Emma face palmed. "You mean vibrated. Come on, you can't expect me to believe you don't know what this is." She insisted. "I mean the model is a bit outdated but-" She shook her head. "Look, get out, go home." She insisted, pointing to her door.

"But love, you summoned me for my wishes, it's not like I can go back on my ship, I believe she's long gone." He insisted. "Probably sunk about 3 centuries ago."

Ship…rum…his freaking leather clad duster and weird jewelry.

"You're a pirate." She realized. He grinned.

"Aye. I was, a long time ago." He said proudly, "That is until I stole from the wrong man, sorcerer actually, and he trapped me in there." He said, pointing to the bottle. "But I used to be the real scourge of the seven seas."

The coma theory was looking better and better.

The man's smirk got wider. He said with a cocky attitude, hands going to his belt in a display of macho confidence.

"So I found what, a genie pirate?" She asks, glaring at the flask. "Let me guess, that was a bottle for rum?"

Killian shrugs. "I prefer pirate genie, but it's all the same to me love." He said.

"First of all, I'm not your love." She snapped. "And secondly, I don't have time to deal with this." She said waving at him. "I have to get ready." She says, turning towards her bedroom.

"Ready for what love?" He asks with curiosity.

"None of your business." She snaps. "And quit calling me love!" She slams her door and pressed her back to it.

"I'd call you by your name if you bothered to introduce yourself before hitting me." He replied right back, appearing on her bed. A hallucination then. That's the only way he could have gotten past her.

"It's none of your business." She snapped, throwing the door open. "Out!"

"Fine love." He says, still mocking her. She snaps.

"It's Emma!" She shouts, stomping after him, grabbing him by the leather coated sleeve and dragging him back to her kitchen. "Emma Swan." He smirks at her.

"Swan." He says slowly, as if tasting her name. It makes her face heat up slightly. "So Swan, where are you going? Perhaps you'd like to wish yourself there so you don't exhaust those pretty legs of yours." He says looking her over like a typical man does.

"Shut it." She snaps, grabbing her handcuffs from the drawer and closing one on his hand before he has a chance to fight.

"Bloody-" He looks at her strangely when she lamps the other onto her oven. "Come on Swan, this isn't necessary." She steps away from him.

"Swan, have I told you a lie?" He says. They both know he hasn't, but Emma can't take that chance, he's trouble, guaranteed. "You can't just leave me like this." He pleads, pulling at the metal restraint. His eyes look sad.

"Watch me."

-/-

Despite the interruption by the insufferable pirate hallucination, she gets to the restaurant right on time in her skin tight red dress and killer heels, her hair is curled perfectly and Emma knows that she's going to knock her perp dead.

"Emma?" Her date asks.

"Ryan? You look relieved" She says, knowing it's him, but playing the part of the nervous little girl. Guys like this loved the nervous little girl act.

"Well it is the internet…Pictures can be…" Oh she knows the dangers of the internet. She could be on a date with a criminal right now. The horror.

"So tell me about yourself." He says. She smiles sweetly; they always like it when she smiles; they like asking questions, thinking it'll get them an easy path right to dessert. "Where are you from?" He asks. "You don't strike me as a Floridian native."

She smiles brighter. "I moved around a lot." She says dismissively.

"Army brat?" He asked.

Parents moved around a lot for work. She wants to say. She wants to lie. It makes things easier when she lies.

But then she imagines a pair of lonely blue eyes. They were telling her the truth.

"Orphan." She replies instead. It just slips out.

"Well Emma," He says. "You are by far the most beautiful orphan I know." He takes a sip of his wine in victory. He thinks his momentary caring about her past is going to get him the win for the night.

Now it's her turn. She smiles sweetly when she tells Ryan exactly who she is, and exactly why she's here, to haul his ass to jail for missing his court date.

And then he runs. They always run when she's wearing her killer heels.

Too bad there's a boot on his car.

It's always the same thing.

He turns and looks at her, and practically snarls at her. "What do you know about family?"

It's always the same thing, but that doesn't mean it ever hurts any less. This is why she decided to start lying to perps.

"Nothing at all." She replies. Emma gets great satisfaction from slamming his head into the steering wheel, effectively shutting him up.

-/-

"You're back!" Killian says when she returns. He's sitting in her kitchen with a jar of peanut butter and a spoon. She smells smoke. She rushes to look at the kitchen and sees burned bits of something in a pan. Her handcuffs hanging off the oven like decoration.

"What the hell are you doing?" Emma snapped, rushing to put the pan in the sink. "And how did you get loose?" She demands.

"Those metal contraptions are evil." He says in explanation pointing to the stove. "And who do you think you're messing with darling?" He teased with a waggle of his eyebrows.

"A genie?" She says with a disbelieving glance.

"Well, I was referring to the pirate part actually. I've freed myself from far harsher shackles with far less." He explains proudly. She was not in the mood for this. Not in the mood for this genie crap, not in the mood to have him burn down her place and eat all her freaking peanut butter, she wants that freaking peanut butter! She grabbed the jar away.

"Stop touching things!" Emma snaps.

"It was all that you had." He replied. "Perhaps you should wish for some actual edible food." He teased.

Emma was not in the mood for teasing. She was not in the mood for a pirate genie to mock her food habits. And Emma was certainly not in the mood for wishes.

"I've had enough of this. I'm tired, my feet hurt, and I want to sleep, or drink, or both. I do not have the mental capacity to deal with you tonight." She snapped. He raised his brow in surprise. "You want a wish? I'll give you a wish. I wish I could find my family, the family that gave me up when I was weeks old. I want to know why, how could they do that? I want to know why I don't know anything about having a family." She knew she was yelling, she might be crying but Emma didn't care. She turned on her heel and headed into her bedroom, slamming the door.

-/-

Emma woke up at 7 am that next morning to a phone call.

There was only one person who ever dared to wake her up that early. Chloe Fox.

Chloe Fox turned her life around when they met, she convinced her to stop chasing the past, to focus on the future. She helped her build her walls, it made Emma closed off, but it protected her. Chloe was the closest thing to a maternal figure Emma has.

(Even though the idea of being maternal practically made Chloe skin crawl)

She was her mentor, turned boss turned partner when Emma finally got the cash to become a partner in their little Bails bond business. It worked, Emma wasn't exactly happy, but she was ok. She was surviving.

It was more than she ever expected.

"Emma?" Chloe said on the other end.

She moaned in response.

"Sorry to wake you, but there's someone here to see you." She said warily, which was odd because there was not much that made Chloe act uncertainly. She heard her suck in a breath, as if mentally gaining the courage to say something.

That wasn't good. It woke Emma up immediately.

"Chloe, what's wrong?" She asked. "Spit it out."

Exhale. "Emma, these people…they say they're your parents."

-/-

Her eyes are red when she gets back to her apartment.

Chloe had given her the week off, promising her that she would take care of everything as Emma obviously needed some time to think through everything. Her baby blanket was tightly clenched in her fists.

Killian was sitting on the couch patiently, watching her, but didn't move to press her. He hadn't said a word when she hastily got dresses and bolted out of her apartment. He didn't say a word now as she returned with her eyes red and her face blotchy.

"I'm an orphan." She said suddenly, looking at him, he didn't look surprised. "And you know that." He nodded.

"You have the look of a lost one." He explained in a soft voice. "Pain made when we are young tends to linger." She swallowed, pacing to sit in a chair across from him, but decided against it, there was too much energy bottled up, too many thought racing through her head.

"My parents found me. They saw my name in the phone book, looked into me, and realized I was their lost daughter. They knew about my blanket, no one knew about my blanket." She rambled. She was thinking about all the people who claimed she was theirs when Emma was actively searching for where she came from.

Even though she knew it made no sense to him, she had to say it. She had to say it until it made sense. She'd been found with her blanket, a fact that was left out of all police records and paper trails, she knew that since she'd read them all. No one ever knew about the blanket.

They couldn't have known about the blanket unless they were telling the truth.

"They've never stopped looking for me. I was sent away to protect me against powerful people, it was only supposed to be a few days, but they lost me. They never stopped looking for me." Tears fell from her eyes again.

She never thought this day would come, she remembered the look in the woman, her mother's eyes, felt her gently hold her, wiping the tears from her eyes.

She saw her father, saw her blonde hair and green eyes in him; saw him look at her like she was the most beautiful person he'd ever seen.

Emma didn't need the DNA test Chloe had insisted upon. Emma knew they were her parents; she could feel it. She stared at the yellow yarn; remember them telling her in a rush of emotions that their best friend's grandmother had knitted that when they learned they were having a little girl. It was old fashioned, but her mother, Mary Margret Blanchard Nolan loved it.

"I-I wished." She realized, finally sitting, looking back at Killian, seeing his gentle smile. "Last night, I wished I found them, that I'd get the chance to know why I've been alone for so long." It wasn't possible.

"And today you found them love." Killian supplied.

"How? I've been looking for them my entire life." She insisted. "How is it that they walked into my place of business today?" She asked. "It's almost like…"

"Say it love, it'll make the next two wishes go much faster and much easier." He prompted. "Really get into it." He teased.

"Magic." She breathed. "You're real. You're really a genie."

Killian nodded.

He was a real genie, a pirate genie. She had found a pirate genie in her cabinet.

"You made a wish, and it came true, but I warn you love, my magic comes at a steep price, so you bloody better be-"

Emma shook her head, trying with everything she had to not break down into tears when she recalled how she'd seen her little brother's picture. He looked like their mother, but had her green eyes. She didn't care about the price. She didn't care one bit.

She had answers to questions she'd spent her whole life asking. She'd pay whatever price there was for that.

"Thank you." She said softly. "Thank you for being in my cabinet." He smirked.

"Any time, now about those other two wishes-"

Emma shook her head. She couldn't think about that right now. Magic, being reunited with her parents, it was too much so fast. She didn't need him trying to force her two remaining wishes down her throat. It was almost like-

"Why do you want me to make my wishes so badly?" She asked suddenly, wiping her eyes, finally regaining some sort of composure. Lies she knew, someone wanting her to do something, she understood. It was easier to deal with than magic.

No response. Emma felt like she'd struck a nerve.

"Come on, my apartment isn't that bad." She insisted. "I'll even give you some of my peanut butter." She teased lightly. It got a small smirk. "But seriously, you've been trying to rush me, dare me, anything to get your three wishes and be done."

Killian scratched his neck nervously. It looked like she struck more than a nerve.

"I'd like to go back to sleep if you don't mind." He admits. "As much as a pleasant surprise you are, and trust me love, you are, I'd prefer to get this over and done with as soon as possible."

"So that's what it's like in there for you?" She asked. "Being asleep."

He shrugged. "Something like that." He said vaguely.

He hesitates. She can practically see walls shoot up. She knew about walls better than anyone.

Emma sighs warily, getting up slowly. "Hungry? Do magical creatures get hungry?" She'd have to navigate carefully from here, last night she'd cast a wish in anger. She could have wished for something a lot worse.

He smirks. "Pirates do." He confirmed. Killian just looked content that the topic of questioning had been dropped.

In minutes, Emma had two of the only thing she could make properly in front of them.

Grilled cheese.

Killian stared at it for a moment, looking at it curiously.

"Have you never had a grilled cheese before?" She asked. He shook his head. "You'll like it." She confirmed. She watched his face light up as he bit into the sandwich. "Told you." She said, eating her own.

They sat in silence as they ate until Killian finished his first half.

"How did you get the bottle?" He asked suddenly, not looking at her.

"I was cleaning out my ex's stuff." She explained. "Your bottle was inside."

That reminded her, how exactly had Neal's mom had a genie? Neal must not have known about it, otherwise he would have definitely used it when they were living in the bug, struggling to stay warm in the winter, eating Cheetos and Oreos for food.

"Who's Milah?" She said suddenly. "I found you in a box addressed to Milah." It caught him by complete surprise. A series of emotions crossed his face.

Emotions Emma could recognize easily. Milah meant something to him. Just her name affected him deeply.

"She was someone from…long ago." He said quietly. "She must be gone by now…"

Right genie equals immortal.

"There were letters in the box." She said simply.

He didn't respond at first.

"Have you read them?" He asks eventually, meeting her eyes carefully.

"No more than one line." She admits. "The second I saw that they were love letters, I stopped."

Killian nodded, looking relieved. "Swan, may I ask you a favor?" He stole a glance up at her. It was tentative.

"Of course." She replied.

"Don't read them, just, destroy them. Actually, when you do get around to casting your wishes, will you please hide my bottle as well?" He asked. She wasn't expecting that. "Dump it in the ocean, or bury it in a chest." He listed. "Whatever you need to do to make sure it never sees the light of day again."

"Very original Mr. Pirate." She teased. "Why?" It got a smirk from him.

"Those letters were private; I don't think she'd like to have them read by others." He admits. "And I prefer not to use my power to serve greedy people." He explained.

"How do you know I'm not greedy?" She asked in challenge.

"Well love, I believe we understand each other, you and I." He explained. There was that sincere look back in his gaze. The one that unsettled Emma in a way she didn't quite understand. "For example, like how you knew I'd love this…what did you call it?" He asked, gesturing to the grilled cheese.

"Grilled Cheese." She explained. "And if you like that, wait until I introduce you to pizza."

-/-

He likes Pizza.

He grins at it, a big childlike smirk, especially when he gets a string of cheese. She can't help but watch as Killian struggles to try and not drop it. It's like watching a little kid eat pizza.

"Quit mocking me Swan." He wines.

"Can't. It's funny." She replies. "What's it like in there?" She asks, gesturing to the bottle.

"I told you love, it's kinda like sleeping." He replied.

"Ok, what's it like being a genie?" He shrugs.

"Nothing interesting, you come out, you explain yourself; hopefully not get punched in the face."

"Sorry."

"And you wave your hand when they cast their wish." He explains. "Then go back inside." She narrowed her eyes, grabbing another slice.

"Liar." She replied. "What else?"

"Sometimes I get to watch things go badly." He said softly. "All magic comes with a price." He explained. He'd said that several times. "Be careful love." Killian warns. "When you cast your wishes. Just be careful I'd hate to see you…end up like them." She feels the mood taking a dark tone as there's a shadow on his face.

"Hey Killian, have you ever watched Princess Bride?"

He shakes his head.

"Are you sure there isn't anything you want to wish for Swan?" He asks as Emma starts getting the movie on. Emma shakes her head.

"Let me think on it?" She says. "If I only get 3, I need to make sure I make good use of it if it's going to cost me." Especially if it's going to cost me. Emma thinks.

"What do you think you'll wish for?" He asks. "Fame? Money? Power? Love?" He guesses "Those are the basics." Emma shrugs.

"I hate photos, so fame's out. Money is too cliché. Power is too 'ultimate villain' sounding and love…" She trails off. "Isn't worth it."

Killian raises a brow. "Tell me Swan, have you ever been in love?"

She looks up at her ceiling in her crappy apartment in Tallahassee.

"Maybe I have. Once."

-/-

"Neal was the only one who ever loved me." She tells him after the movie, "The only one who ever saw me, who ever thought I was special, that I was something to come back for." She didn't look at him, refused to. "And then he left. So no, I'm not going to wish for love."

He doesn't speak, doesn't move until she looks at him.

"I see you Swan. All those who didn't were blind."

She snickered. "Please, you barely know me."

"Aye, yet I can see what a wonderful person you are, I've met a lot of terrible people in my occupation." He reminded her. "You are one of a kind."

Emma felt her face flush in embarrassment at the look in his eyes. "From your time as a pirate?" She guessed.

"Genie." He corrects. "Magic corrupts." Was his only explanation.

Emma looked at the clock, saw how late it was getting.

"I should get to bed, I have a big day of-" She got the week off. "Processing to do."

Killian nodded respectfully, rising from the couch. She watched him strangely. "I'll go back in the bottle then." He said sadly.

"A-ok." She replied. "I was going to let you sleep on the couch but-" His eyes brightened in a flash. "It's not very comfortable, the couch is lumpy, and I only have a sheet to give you, if you'd be more comfortable-" She stammers in embarrassment.

"I'd love to sleep on your lumpy couch." He says quickly, scratching behind his ear nervously. "I mean- if that doesn't put you out or"

"Whatever's comfortable for you." She says. She's blushing, Emma can feel her cheeks turning pink. "Whatever helps you get the most beauty sleep."

Killian's smirk returns. "Concerned about my looks love? I assure you, no couch is powerful enough to ruin that." He even looks into the Tv's reflection to prove the fact.

Emma rolls her eyes, she gets up and hands Killian the blanket and pillow.

"You've never met my couch."

-/-

Emma spends the night doing something she really shouldn't have been doing.

She reads through Milah's letters. They are all addressed to Killian, but served more as a journal than actual notes.

She realized a few things. Milah, Neal's mother was married to a vindictive man. She described his possessive and controlling tendencies. Neal had described as much when they were together. Emma didn't know exactly when Milah had crossed paths with Killian's bottle, judging by the date, Neal must have been 4 or 5.

They fell in love. It was the fast desperate kind. It sounded like it was filled with secrets and sneaking around, Milah described it as exciting, a real adventure.

Then the letters change in tone, she sounds sad and distant, depressed, slowly morphing to anger, at Neal at her husband, even at Killian.

The last letter is a goodbye. It's stained by tears shed long ago.

-/-

Killian is still sleeping when Emma leaves, a quickly scrolled note on the table for him. She's getting breakfast with her parents.

They ask her if she has anyone special in her life.

Emma blushes and assures them that she's not dating anyone.

Her mother says that Emma must be thinking of someone with the way she blushed.

Emma refused to admit a thing, not even how she can't stop thinking about the look in Killian's eyes when he called her one of a kind.

She brings Killian back a bottle of rum rom the liquor store and a proper breakfast, an Egg McMuffin.

He stared at it for a period before he started firing rapid fire questions.

"Where did it come from? Why is there paper around it? What was the brown thing, why was it shaped like that-"

"Just eat it Killian." Was Emma's response.

Killian liked it.

"I also picked this up for later." She said softly. "You should have seen the odd look I got when I bought it so early in the morning." Emma said, handing Killian the bottle. His eyes widened as he touched the glass bottle. "I figured it would be just ironic enough. Unless I just pulled a Doby and freed you…"

He grinned, paying her rambles no mind. The pirate didn't waste a minute, opening it and taking a swig.

"Killian it's not even 10 am!" Emma chastised. "I don't know how it was 300 years ago, but here, it's kinda frowned upon to day drink."

Killian just stared at the bottle. "I don't bloody know what a Doby is, but I haven't had a drink since I became this." He said with a hint of self-hatred. "My apologies for any disrespect." He says with a nervous rub of his neck. "It's just as good as I remember it to be."

She shakes her head. Of course that was it. Emma was always saying the wrong thing around him. It was so weird because she actually cared what he thought, and Killian probably thought she was a rambling mess. "No, I think I have some glasses in my room." She says casually, inviting him in. She got some from a cop who was trying to get in her pants.

Killian stops abruptly in her doorway. His frame tenses. She looks back at him confused.

"Killian?"

His eyes are locked on something on the floor. She curses internally.

The box is flipped open, Milah's box to be more precise.

"You read them." He says with barely contained anger. "After I asked you not to? After I asked you to destroy them?" He hisses.

She flinches. She has no words, no idea how to defend herself. There was no defense.

"I'm sorry." She says eventually.

"Did you get what you want?" He asks her with a sneer. His fists are clenched and he's practically shaking.

"What I want? I was just curious and you-"

He cuts her off. "I thought you were different, I thought you'd respect my voice, and my opinion and not treat me like an object."

She shakes her head.

"No, that's not what I was doing!" She insists. "Milah was Neal's mother and I just needed to know- I wanted to know her." She wanted to know him.

But Killian's not listening.

"Perhaps I should just start calling you master now rather than wait for you to throw Milah back in my face. That's why you wanted to read them right? That's all my feelings are worth right?"

"Stop, just-"

"Is that an order, master?" He taunts.

"No Killian, you're not listening!" She shouted back.

"I'll listen when I hear the magic word." He sneers, waving his hand. He disappears into red smoke, back in the bottle he goes.

She's left standing there in complete awe at how angry he got, processing the things he said because it made no sense.

Just let him cool off. Emma concludes, collapsing onto her bed. He'll listen and then he won't be so mad.

At least, that's what Emma hopes.

-/-

It must be 2 am when she hears it. Rummaging. Someone is rummaging through her things in the kitchen. Emma suddenly feels 16 again, stealing her first car as she creeps into her kitchen, revolver tucked into the pocket of her robe.

"Killian I swear to god if that's you-" She threatens.

It's not Killian. Not even close.

She feels someone push her to the ground before she can even move. Hands are suddenly at her throat. Emma tries to reach for her gun, but the figure is crushing her and she can't get it.

Her throat is literally being crushed. She can't breathe, no matter how much she struggles, she can't get free. Kicking doesn't work, she can't aim properly.

Stars dance in her vision.

I wish someone else was here…. She thinks. I don't want to die.

"As you wish." Says a familiar voice. The pressure over her disappears in a puff of red smoke. She gasps and coughs, forcing air into her screaming lungs quickly and desperately.

"Easy love." Killian says softly, helping her sit up. "Slow deep breathes." He advises, a glass of water appearing in his grasp. "Drink." He says.

"Wher…" She says in a strained voice. "Where did he go?" Her voice sounds scratchy, but she takes the water anyway.

"It doesn't matter." He says. "Are you alright?" He asks. Emma nods. She blinks and sees the figure who had tried to strangle her in a pile on the floor. He lets out a groan.

She recognizes that groan.

"What the hell Neal?" she curses rising to her feet, flicking on light.

"Emma!" He says in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

She's going to kill him. "I live here remember?" She snapped. "We moved in here after we sold the watches." She is literally going to kill him.

"You're still here?" He asked. "I thought you would have ran out of money by now."

If Emma was mad before, she was furious.

"I got a job, bails bond person." She told him. "I thought I told you never to call me again, not show up here and try to kill me.

"Sorry about that." Neal said sheepishly, as if murder was no big deal.

"I was looking for my stuff." He explained.

"And you didn't think you should just knock on my door at a decent hour because?" She exclaimed. "You tried to kill me!"

"I said I was sorry." He reminded her.

"And that makes everything better!" She shouted. "Get out of here." She snapped.

"Emma, I said I was looking for my stuff." Neal said.

"I burned it." She replied.

"Not him." He said pointing to where Kilian was standing protectively to her right, watching Neal like a leather clad hawk. "I know what he is Emma. He shouldn't be here. He's dangerous"

She crossed her arms. "Who I choose to spend my time with is none of your business." She snaps.

"Not when he's my family's genie." Neal replied. "I thought my father was kidding, but I saw him Emma, he appeared by magic."

Emma didn't respond. "Look, let me get my stuff, get him away from you and you never have to think about me ever again." He negotiates.

"Are you serious? What happened to you Neal, you weren't like this before?" She asks.

He shrugged. "Life's been hard." Emma just rolled her eyes.

"But you don't understand Em." He said. "His magic, its dark, really dark." Killian didn't say a word, he just glared at Neal. "It ruined my entire family, my father was kind and generous before and now he's a complete monster. My mother left because of it. Everything good went away because of it." He insisted.

"I didn't." Emma reminded him bitterly. "You left me." She said. "And why are you here if you hate his magic so much?" She asked.

"To destroy it. To destroy all magic." He answered.

Now that got Killian to react. "You can't." He insisted. "Magic is bigger than just me lad, it's-"

Neal glares at him angrily. "But I can start with you." He snaps, grabbing the bottle from the counter and smashing it into the counter. It doesn't break, it just makes a sound.

She thinks nothing of it until Killian reacts, squeezing his eyes shut in obvious pain. "Killain?" She says in a whisper.

It hurt him. Harming the bottle physically hurt him.

"Stop!" She shouts when he does it a second time and Killian gasps, clutching his chest.

He does it again. This time Killian screams, dropping to his knees. Emma's had enough. She pulls her gun from its hiding spot, pointing it right at Neal.

"Do it again Neal, I dare you." She hisses. "I won't miss." He stops. Emma can hear Killian's geavy breathing.

"Ems, think about this, you don't know anything about that." He said pointing to Killian, calling him a that.

"You're hurting him, you tried to kill me, so put the bottle down before I shoot you dead in my apartment." Emma snapped. She has quite a few detectives in her corner after all her skip chases; she'd get away with it.

"Don't you mean our-" She removed the safety, showing Neal just how dead serious she was. He put down the bottle. The moment that he did, Killian dissolves into red smoke and enters the bottle probably to recover from whatever the hell had happened to him.

Emma really hates magic.

"I'm leaving now, but you'll see, soon enough." Neal warns. "His magic is dark and dangerous. Call me when you change your mind about it all. I'll come get the bottle and you'll never have to see either of us again." He promised, backing towards the front door.

She watches as the door closes, holding tightly to the gun in her hand, acknowledging the fact that if Neal had pushed her, Emma wasn't too sure if she could pull the trigger.

But Neal didn't know that, thankfully. She put down the gun and picked up Killian's bottle, looking it over carefully for any blemishes.

There was a crack, deep and long around the bottle's neck. She rubbed the blemish, as if to soothe it somehow. Then she looks down at it, unsure how this thing works. She wasn't sure if calling Killian out would help or hurt him.

"Killian?" She whispers. "Can you-can you get out or do I have to-" She doesn't. The room suddenly fills with smoke and Killian appears, but he doesn't look good.

He stumbles when he lands, hands reaching out for something to ground him as his knees buckle.

"No!" She shouts grabbing him by the shoulder, steadying him before he falls flat on his face. "Killian? Are you alright?" He nods slowly. "Can you stand?" He straightens, but she feels his body trembling in her grip.

"mm fine Swan." He slurred badly. She sees it, on his neck a cut. Long and deep against his skin.

It's just like the crack, the crack on the bottle, it's hurt him. She feels him pull away from her grasp, seemingly getting his balance back, giving her a smile. It doesn't make her feel any better.

"See love? Takes more than that to take down this pirate." He insists, touching the wound with his hand.

"Thank you." Emma says when Killian looks steady. "For saving me from Neal." She says. He ducks his head sheepishly.

"You made a wish that someone would save you." He admitted. "But perhaps gratitude is in order…" He teases. He taps his lips.

She rolls her eyes at him. He's just flirting and she knows that, but the way he says it, the way his eyes wander to her own mouth…

"That was what the thank you was for." She insists, taking a step closer. She's watching him, watching the walls come down.

"Is that all your life is worth to you?" He says in a breathy whisper.

"Please, you couldn't handle it."

"Perhaps you're the one who couldn't handle it." He replies in a challenge.

Emma could just feel her blood boiling in response, but this time, for an entirely different reason. She grabs the lapels of his jacket and pulls him towards her in a searing kiss. Then it changes, morphs into a battle, both fighting to be in control.

Killian Jones has most certainly ruined all other kisses for Emma Swan.

"I can't." He insists, pulling away.

"Killian-"

"Milah. You know about her." He asked, suddenly looked as old as he's claimed. Emma nodded. "What you don't know is that I used to belong to her husband." She could hear the way his voice hitched over belong. The hatred was palpable "And his father before that, and his father before that." He practically hissed. "I was nothing to them but a source of power, a slave to their wishes. It ruined every single one of them, Milah included." He insisted, sounding border on frantic. She wanted him to stop, to rest.

"She was beautiful and kind and strong when I first appeared to her, by the time she was done, she was unrecognizable." He insisted. "She left her son, everything because she wished for love, and I was it. I loved her and then one day, she was gone. And then you-" His voice broke, his hand covered his face.

"What your ex said was right, my magic taints everyone who comes into contact with it. Normally I don't care, I don't care what their own greed does to their lives, but you- I, I don't want to ruin you too." He whispered, looking up, as if daring to catch her gaze.

"You did nothing." She insisted. "I'm not Milah, I didn't wish for love- I- I don't know, I don't know anything about any of this."

He moved quickly, gripping her hands, "Then do the easiest thing, cast your wishes, something simple and painless, then smash the bottle." He said frantically. Her jaw dropped.

"You're out of your mind!" She snapped. "That crack hurt you, if I smash the bottle- you'll die."

"I'll be free." He insisted.

"There has to be a better way." She replied. "What if I pull an Aladdin and wish you free?" Emma asked. She'd do it. Emma knows the feeling of being trapped and she wouldn't wish that on anyone, especially not Killian.

"All magic has a price Swan, you'd be the replacement genie and I- I wouldn't wish this fate on anyone, especially not you." He explained. "Why do you care what happens to me anyway?"

Emma doesn't know herself, she just does. She cares with ever fiber of her being.

"I've taken your time for long enough." He says sheepishly, getting up from the bed, he stumbled, body still trembling.

"My couch is lumpy." She said. He looked at her in confusion as she stood up, pulling him back into bed. "Come on, you need a good night sleep." She insisted. "It's late."

"Swan…" He murmured weakly. "I-" She kissed him again, slowly this time, gently, coaxing him into bed with her. He pulled the cover over himself, head moving to her shoulder.

"It's just sleep." She reminded him, hand threading through his hair. It was just as soft as she thought it was. "I just want you to feel better."

Killian chuckled. "Don't you know Emma?"

"Know what?" She asked. But it was too late, Killian's breathing drifted off just like that.

And at that moment, Emma knows what she is going to use the last wish for.

-/-

"Nothing?" Killian repeats the next morning, watching her as she cooks pancakes and tells him her plans for the last wish.

Pancakes. Emma is cooking pancakes for the pirate genie. The same one she woke up snuggling.

"Is there a time limit on this stuff?" She asks.

"No, but-

"I know I can't wish for your freedom, but I think this is the closest I can get to that, if I never use your wish, it means no one else can make a wish either right?"

"Swan-"

"What if we just hide the bottle or something, and get you some new clothes and a place and-" She was rambling. It was a stupid idea. Killian turned her around, looking at her.

"You're truly remarkable, Emma Swan." He stated plainly. "But I can't ask you to do that." He insisted.

"I want to. I want you to be…" She trailed of blushing. "Free." She said softly. "Or as close to it as possible." She said handing him a plate.

"Go, sit, then we can talk logistics." She says.

Killian likes pancakes. Consumes them with way too much syrup, making a bit of a sticky mess. Some even gets on his pirate coat.

"Ok, step one of integrating you into this word is your clothes." She declares.

"What's wrong with my clothes?" He asks in slight outrage, clutching his jacket close.

"You look like you're in a Revolutionary War reenactment." She replies. "Pirate edition."

"I know when you're referencing something." He mutters in a huff.

"And I know you never know what it is." He rolls his eyes. "Come on, we can go get you some new clothes." She insists. "How long have you been in the same ones?" She asks. "2 centuries?"

"3." He says quietly.

"Killian. You are overdue for a shopping trip." She stated. "I promise, we can find something fiy for the dashing rapscallion you are."

It brings a smirk to his face. "You think I'm dashing?" He teased.

Emma throws a pancake at his face.

-/-

Despite having come back very successful from their trip to the mall, things were strained.

She doesn't see why he's getting so upset, all she's doing is pointing out the fact that the pretty blonde he keeps staring at has been flirting with him.

The sales person, a young blonde named Alexandra, just kept giggling and the whole "Those jeans look fabulous on you sir." And "that blue shirt looks so great with your eyes.

Of course the shirt went with his eyes. It was what Emma was going for. She got him a leather jacket that was less pirate than his coat, but still very Killian.

But the man was too busy staring at her to notice.

"It's fine if you like her Killian." She insisted. "I'm sure you had a lot of conquests in your pirate days." She reminded him. "I don't own you."

He nods in agreement. "Will you stop?" He demanded. "I don't like her."

Emma rolled her eyes. "Fine. Forget I said anything. I'm calling my contacts to get you an identity, then you can restart your life, you won't have to rely on me." She explained. "You can find someone you actually fancy." She insisted with a touch of bitterness.

"Don't you know? Do you really not see what's bloody right in front of you?" He asks her with his honest blue eyes almost angrily. "I don't care about that girl; she just looks just like her mother, someone who one of my wishes hurt deeply." He admits. "I'd never get involved with anyone but-" He cuts off, staring at her. "Does the thought that I would bother you?"

Emma's been reading people since before she could talk, but right now, she doesn't have a clue what Killian's getting at. "Bother me?" She exclaimed. "It doesn't bother me." She snapped.

"Open book Swan." Killian reminded her.

Or maybe she does. She knows what she wants to see in his eyes, or hear in his voice or read in the way he takes a step closer. Emma doesn't understand, it's been days, she's only known him for days, but it just-

It feels so real.

"I can't." She says sharply, pulling away from him. "I can't do this right now."

She can't admit it to him, can't admit it to herself.

"I need to go" she says suddenly. The feeling of panic takes root in her chest. It makes Emma want to run.

"Emma, don't run, just talk to me-" Killian begs. No one has ever begged her to stay.

"I can't." She repeats and runs out the front door. She just needs some space.

She needs to process everything.

-/-

Emma decompresses at a diner drinking way too much hot chocolate.

She knows what she wants; she has known for a long time what she wants. A family.

Emma just needs to figure out how to come to terms with the thought of Killian not in it.

She's know the guy for less than a week and she's fallen hard for his honest eyes and pirate swagger and haunted past.

That's when she realizes that the reason it's so hard is that Emma wants Killian in her life.

In her future, in her family.

Emma gears herself up to tell him so.

She goes home.

Only to find her front door broken open and the bottle and Killian nowhere to be found.

"I should have shot him." She says in annoyance, knowing exactly who was to blame for this.

Neal.

-/-

It's only because of Milah's letters that she finds Neal. Apparently Milah's husband, Neal's father owned a pawn shop way back in the day.

Even more than 2 decades off, the woman's description is on point. It's creepy and dark and pretty gloomy. No wonder the business had failed. Emma wouldn't step in here even in her worse moments.

However, it was the perfect place for a deadbeat to hide with an abducted pirate genie.

Emma picks the lock in the back of the shop, following the sound of voices into the depth of the creepy shop.

"Cast my wish." Neal orders.

"Sorry, try again later." Killian spits back. She hears him gasp out in pain.

They were hurting him. She had to stop them. She felt for her gun as she edged forward.

"I wish magic was destroyed." Neal stated. "You're a genie. Do your job!" He snapped.

"It doesn't work like that." Killian growled, being held by a man Emma recognized from her pile of papers on her desk. He was a muscle for hire up north.

Then she saw Killian. She nearly gasped.

His skin was red with blood. She could see the abrasions on his skin and the tarnishes in his new jacket and clothes. His eye was swollen shut. Neal had gone too far.

Emma considered a sneak attack, but a part of her knew it wouldn't work. Neal had the bottle. He had the upper hand. Even if she shot him, he'd drop it and the bottle could shatter.

So Emma settled with the traditional approach.

Or as she usually called it, the stupid approach.

"It won't work for you." Emma announces, coming in with her gun pointed. "I still have one more wish." She reminds him. She hears a click behind her. A woman was pointing a gun at her head.

"I'm sorry it had to come to this Emma." Neal admits. "Drop it." He's lying. He doesn't care.

Killian's eyes go wide from where the other guy was holding him down.

"Swan, what are you doing here?" He says, "Get out of here!"

She looks at him and smiles. "I'm not leaving without you." She declares, putting down her weapon.

The woman, another muscle for hire, hands her gun to Neal. He levels the gun in his hand towards her. "Turnabout is fair play Ems." Neal says with a smirk. "Make a wish and then leave." He orders. Emma can't help but smirk, not bothering to look at him.

"I don't take orders Neal." She reminds him.

She hears the safety click off. Emma returns her gaze to him calmly.

"Emma, please, do as they say." Killian shouts, struggling to fight free. "This isn't your fight." He tries to remind her.

"Don't you know Killian?" She says teasing. "Your fight is my fight." She says calmly. "Plus, Neal can't kill me." She says. "I don't make the wish; your magic is never used again." She says.

Or at least, that's how Emma hopes this all works.

She hates magic.

"But I can still shoot you' hit you in the shoulder or the leg." Neal says.

"Do it." Emma replies deadly serious. "I don't care."

Neal grumbles in annoyance, pulling the gun back. It looks like she actually meant something to the guy once upon a time. He places the bottle on the ground and points the gun at it. "Make a wish or I obliterate the genie." He threatens.

Now that scares Emma.

"Please Emma. I'll be ok, I promise. Just please go, live your life, be happy. You have your whole future ahead of you." Killian insists.

"I can't lose you." She admits. "I can't lose another person I love." Killian blinks in surprise.

"Swan…" He says softly.

"Emma, stop, you can't love him. He's bad news, he's tainted with all his dark magic and-" Emma doesn't pay him any attention.

All Emma cares about is these last few minutes with Killian, seeing his expression brighten even as his eyes remain sad. "Emma." He says eventually.

"Even if you don't feel the same, if I am going to lose you, it's going to be on my terms." She declares. "I'm going to go through with my promise to you." Killian's eyes go wide because he knows her.

He knows what she's thinking, what she's going to do.

"Emma! Don't do it!" He shouts, and fights more desperately. "You don't want this life!"

"Make a wish Emma." Neal orders. "Or I will shoot. If I can't destroy all magic, I will settle for his."

Neal of course has no idea what Emma has planned.

She nods, turning back to Neal, leveling a glare at him. "Fine." She spits out.

Emma takes a breath and smiles.

"I wish Killian Jones would finally get his happy ending."

The gun fires.

Emma screams.

The lying prick!

But as she looks back at Neal, time seems to stop.

And not in the cliché everything slows down in her head because insert trauma here, no. Like in time literally stops, or at least seems to slow down at least.

"Swan." Killian says, easily escaping the man's grasp. The pirate is glowing. Emma watches with awe as his wounds are healing in front of her, bloody face clean, two blue eyes open, rumpled shirt suddenly perfect. He starts with a limp but in seconds he's walking perfectly towards her.

"Emma." He says, hand moving to her face, cupping it, "You're bloody brilliant." He says.

"Killian, I don't understand, what's happening?" She says. He's glowing brighter now. "I don't think your happy ending is becoming a walking night light." Emma says.

Killian chuckles. "Don't you know Emma?"

"Know what?" She asks. "Because I obviously don't." Emma says.

"You really are dense." He chuckles, looking at her, tears in his eyes. His fingers wipe away her own. Emma hadn't even realized she was crying "It's you. It's always been you." his form is slowly fading. "I love you Emma Swan. You're my happy ending. You've been my happy ending since you decked me in your kitchen" He admits with a joyous laugh.

She can't help but gasp and kiss him, it's not searing, or gentle like the last too. It's final.

"Killian…" She pleads. "I don't do tearful goodbyes." She says. "Please don't leave."

"I have to go now." He says softly, turning dim, fading away. "I wish things could be different, but this was the hand we were dealt."

"Killian!" She shouts. "I love you." She says again. She'd say it a thousand times if it meant he didn't have to go.

"And I you." There's a flash. She blinks away due to the intensity of it all.

She's in her apartment. His bottle in her hand, it feels strangely cold.

"Killian?" She whispers, rubbing the glass surface.

Nothing happens.

He's gone.

Tears stream down her face.

He's free.

-/-

Emma ends up by the docks a few days later. She looks back at where her parents are waiting in David's beat up truck.

She'd told them everything, as crazy as it was. Emma hd to explain why she kept crying, why she was pushing them away. Why she was pushing everyone away all over again.

And they believed her.

This was their suggestion.

"Hi Killian." She says by the docks, a place she thinks Killian would like, she feels close to him here. "I brought you your bottle. I filled it with rum…I thought you'd like it more than roses." She admits.

Emma wonders if he liked roses or if they even existed in his time… She wondered if he was the type of guy to bring her flowers…

"I- I found out what happened to Milah, I thought you'd like to know…if you're listening." She mumbled. Emma had known it was one of the mysteries that Killian regretted not knowing. She thought finding out for him would be better, it would help her sooth her grief just a bit.

"She ran away from Gold, restarted her life. She traveled around the world as a ship captain. The Jolly Roger as she called it." Emma said. "She sent her life taking in run-aways and lost kids onto her ship, giving them a chance at life before letting them set off on their own when they were ready." She explains. "She died happy, a heart attack, but happy. Her oldest charge took over her ship, a boy called Liam. It proves that your magic didn't ruin her, it helped her. She changed her life because of you. Just like you did with me." She admits.

"Before you appeared, I was alone. I thought that was all I ever was going to be, but because of you…I have my parents, I put down my armor a bit, just a bit, but I think I can lower it more every day." She says. "That's my promise to you. I'm not going to let this heartbreak put up my walls again. I'm not alone anymore." She declares as tears streak her face.

"So I hope…I hope you're in a better place." She says, voice breaking, her head falls and she can feel the barely contained sobs behind her eyes. "I know that I should be happy that you're free…you wanted to be free so badly…But I just feel like you're really gone. And there's nothing left to do…" She let out a wailing sob. "I just miss you."

She drops the bottle into the sea, watching it sink.

I wish he was here…with me. Emma thought to herself. But she was out of wishes.

There's a flash of white light that hits her in a wave, like a powerful gust of wind.

"Swan." Says a voice.

Killian's voice.

Emma spins around.

He's looking at her in disbelief and it takes a minute for Emma herself to process it. The moment she does she runs to him and kisses him. He's surprised at first, but welcomes her into his arms quickly; she grabs ahold of his collar, not letting him go. She's never ever letting go.

"How, how is this possible?" She says in a breathless whisper. He smells of salt and rum, his breathing is heavy from their kiss. She looks at him and he looked like he didn't want to let her go either.

He looked at her and smiled his big smirking grin.

"Magic." He said in a breathless voice, laughing as she kissed him again all over his face. "I'm free Swan, I have no more magic, but I'm here with you." He insisted.

"I couldn't wish for anything better."