Welcome to another FanFic Friday! “You Had Me At Malfeasance” is a series of one-shot fics set in and around the episodes of Once Upon A Time.

In this scene, Emma Swan is holding Killian’s heart in her hands, quite literally, and needs to put it back where it belongs. The episode begins the scene here and ends it not long after, so I decided to expand it a little. Enjoy!

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“Killian!” She threw her arms around him, holding him tight, nearly knocking him down the stairs she’d just rushed up so quickly. She drew back, holding his face in her hands. “You okay?”

He nodded, still panting from the exertion, the remembered pain. “I am now,” he said.

She looked down at the glowing, pulsing thing in his hand. “He had your heart?” she asked, shaking her head in disbelief. “All this time – he’s had your heart.”

“Well, part of it, anyway,” he cracked a smile, raising his brows.

“I’m going to go and get the car,” Snow called out from down below. “Something tells me Belle’s going to need a shoulder. I’ll give her a ride from the town line.”

Emma gave her a nod, but didn’t take her eyes off Killian’s face. Her hands slid down to his chest, rubbing gently before she leaned in, putting her head on his shoulder.

“I am so relieved,” she said, muffled against him.

“So am I,” he said. “I thought I had seconds at most.”

She shook her head, still leaving it on his shoulder. “No…I thought you were distancing yourself. That you were…I don’t know.”

He brought his arm around her, holding her tighter against him. “You thought I was losing interest.”

“Something like that,” she mumbled.

He pulled back, nudging her cheek with his chin until she looked up at him. “Not a chance.”

He kissed her forehead, leaving his lips against it and taking in a deep, calming breath. He could feel his heart beating in his hand, the reassuring warmth of it, and of the woman in his arms.

In a lifetime of second chances, he’d never questioned a one of them. He’d always chalked it up to his survival skills, his cleverness, the luck of being a pirate, and a bloody good one, at that. But this time…it was more than luck and he knew it. This time, the second chance meant more than anything he’d ever been handed in his life.

“We should get back,” Emma said, but she couldn’t pull away. He wasn’t letting go. “Killian?” She looked up at him with concern, but he pulled her in tighter, kissing her head, the side of her face, burying his face in her hair and breathing her in.

“Just a minute, love. Give me just a minute.”

She slid her arms around him, holding him just as tightly. “Take your time,” she said. After a long moment, he finally, reluctantly pushed away.

“Here,” he said, extending his hand. The heart pulsed strongly, glowing bright in the darkness of the tower.

She stared at the heart, wide-eyed. “You want me to hold it?”

You already do, he thought. He gave her a smile. “I want to hold your hand.”

“Oh,” she said. “Okay…” she reached out, closing her fingers around it. “What if I drop it?” she asked, raising her brows in a worried fashion.

“I trust you.” I trust you with my heart. He never thought he’d say that to anyone, ever again. And here she was, his heart in her hands, and he felt nothing but content. He realized he’d been looking at her entirely too long.

“Come on,” she said, twining her fingers with his and pulling the other hand protectively to her own chest. “Let’s get you both out of the cold.”

They walked the few blocks to Granny’s, their hands swinging gently between them.

“Do you think she’ll really do it? Send him away?” Emma asked.

“I think she certainly looked angry enough to,” he answered. “And if she was strong enough to love a man like him in the first place, she’s strong enough to tell him goodbye.”

“But will he stay gone?”

“She holds the dagger – the true dagger. He’ll have no choice,” Killian pointed out. “But I wouldn’t be fool enough to count him out just yet.”

“Me, either.” She sighed, squeezing his hand. “I’m just glad it’s over – for now. I’m glad you’re back to normal.” She glanced down at the heart in her hand. “Well, almost.”

He held the door for her, allowing her to precede him into the hallway before stopping in front of his door.

“I guess we just do this and get it over with,” she suggested.

He gave her a nod, and she stood, cradling the heart in her hands uncertainly.

“Just be gen – ooh!” he called out as she slammed it back into his chest.

“Sorry,” she apologized. “I just thought if I did it quickly, it’d be like ripping off a – ”

He cut her off, bringing his mouth down on hers as the feeling, the pure, pulsing feeling returned, saturating him, overflowing until he was sure he’d burst with it. He pushed her back into the wall, kissing her with everything he’d been bottling up inside these last weeks, wanting her to feel every ounce of it, and she gave over, kissing him back and leaning into him. He felt like he could kiss her for an eternity and never grow tired of it, but he needed to remind her.

“I told you, Swan,” he murmured. “I’m a survivor.”

She smiled, and he kissed her again, long and lingering as his body breathed and moved with hers. She pulled back, but he rested his forehead against hers, just reveling in the feel of her – the feel of everything, all of it.

“When was the last time you slept?” she asked, pushing her fingers through his hair. He closed his eyes, sinking into the gentle pull of her fingers.

“The Dark One has kept me busy on the overnights,” he said. “He had a rather long list of menial tasks that he enjoyed giving me to do.”

Emma’s eyes narrowed, then she forced herself to calm down. She leaned in, kissing his cheek gently.

“Get some rest, Killian. I’ll be here when you wake up.”

He nodded reluctantly, swaying a little because he truly was dead on his feet – or very nearly had been. She reached behind her, opening the door for him.

“Tuck me in?” he asked, flashing her a slightly exhausted, but devilish grin.

“Next time. I really need to go talk to Regina.”

“Goodnight, then.”

“Goodnight.” She slid her arms around his neck, tilting her face up for his kiss – and he was only too happy to oblige. She pulled back, licking her lips self-consciously before twirling him around and pushing him toward the bed.

“Go,” she said.

He made his legs walk forward, then pulled back the covers.

“Killian?’

He glanced back over his shoulder, and she was holding the door, watching him.

“Next time,” she said. “I promise.”

“I’ll hold you to that, love.”

The look in her eyes played across his mind as he sank into the bed, and slumber finally claimed him.

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“You Had Me At Malfeasance” can be found on FanFiction.net.