372 Days

Chapter One - Familiar

It took Killian Jones 372 days to find her and he would spend however long it took to make Emma Swan remember who she was. Who she is.

But what was a year and one week in the scheme of it all? He was more than three centuries old and, other than Milah, Emma Swan was the only woman who had ever made him feel. He would go to the ends of the earth to find her (or in his case, cross realms) and there was no way he was about to let some pesky memory loss get in the way of true love.

He'd lost it once and this time he wouldn't let it go. After their parting words three-hundred-and-seventy-two long days ago (and he'd counted every one of them), he was utterly convinced that the memory loss was indeed the only thing keeping them apart now.

Night after night, he'd hear her voice in his dreams, see her beautiful face and hear her whisper that one word that had made his heart stop. Good. Good.

Before they even knew about the side effects of this new curse, she'd given him permission to keep her in his heart, had encouraged him not to give up on her even though they were being separated indefinitely. She had accepted his feelings for her and in doing so, had given herself permission to want that.

He hadn't known what to expect when he'd told her, with a bold expression of pure honesty and vulnerability on his face, that he would think of her every day. He certainly hadn't dared to hope for anything more than her brushing him off. So when a single, soft word, "good", fell from her lips, the unadulterated joy that had beamed from his face had even made her smile a little.

That word, and that smile, had kept him going for more than a year. In a world he knew very little about, the wonders of which never ceased to fascinate, startle and surprise him, Killian Jones had found her.

All the plans he'd carefully crafted, all the advice from Snow and Charming (and even Regina), and all the carefully rehearsed scenes he'd played through in his head had all gone straight out of the window when the door of apartment 311 had opened and she'd been stood before him once again. None of his dreams had even come close to the way it felt, the relief of it all, to be stood right in front of Emma again.

In that moment it didn't even matter that she had no idea who he was. Just a devilishly handsome man dressed head-to-toe in pirate leathers, saying her name like it was the only thing keeping him alive. And in the time they'd been apart, she pretty much had been the only thing keeping him alive.

"Swan..."

He didn't know if he was being overly optimistic or naively hopeful, but he was certain he saw a flash of something cross her face as their eyes met. Recognition? Familiarity? Maybe just confusion. His attire wasn't exactly screaming 'native New Yorker', after all...but his small spark of hope remained.

He stepped across the threshold to her apartment and the euphoria of having her stood in front of him once again was dizzying. Her hand shot up to hold him back, momentary fear and further confusion etched into her pretty face and her stance becoming defensive. Her maternal instincts had kicked in and no matter how familiar he was, her son's safety was the only thing she could care about.

His eyes bore into hers, willing her to know him.

"Do I know you?"

Her whole body buzzed with adrenaline and she couldn't shake that...feeling. She couldn't name it or understand it, nor did she feel able to trust her own instincts that were telling her that this man in front of her was good.

She'd hear him out.

"Look, I need your help," she raised her eyebrows in surprise and he continued, his eye contact never wavering, "Something's happened. Something terrible. Your family is in trouble."

She consciously schooled her expression into a hard glare, words as cold and unimpressed as her eyes.

"My family is right here. Who are you?"

He didn't even miss a beat, returning her gaze unwaveringly, but his eyes were soft and pleading. Remember me. See that I'm telling the truth. That gaze made her stomach flip. He couldn't possibly know about her 'super power'. He couldn't possibly know she was practically a human lie detector...could he?

"An old friend."

And there wasn't an ounce of a lie in his words.

"Look," he shifted nervously, edging slightly closer to her, "I know you can't remember me, but...I can make you."

And before she even had chance to realize what was happening, his lips were descending on hers. Instinctively, she lifted her lips to meet his, her body responding to him without her permission. As though her body knew something her mind didn't. His lips felt like adventure and memories and hope. His hand cradling her head, fingers tangled in her hair...why did he feel so familiar?

As he moved forward and claimed her lips, Killian felt his heart beat again. He felt the breath enter his lungs and his heart slam against his chest, feelings he'd been missing for a year.

In a split second, her mind took back the control her body had momentarily snatched away, and she brought her knee up, delivering a sharp blow to a certain precious area of his anatomy. He reeled back and she pushed him back out of her doorway, pain evident on his far-too-handsome features. Too bad he was clearly insane, because he was really damn hot. And leather wasn't even her thing.

"What the hell are you doing?"

She demanded, wondering what on earth had possessed him to try such a move...and wondering why it had felt so right to have his lips on hers again. Wait, again? What? Blinking to clear the fog suddenly clouding her mind, she looked down at him, doubled over in pain.

"A long shot. I had to try."

Her heart was racing and she was shaking a little, from the kiss or the shock of it all, she wasn't quite sure. Her hand braced flat against the door, she stared at him.

"I was hoping you felt as I did."

He knew, deep down, that it wouldn't work. There was no magic in this world, as Snow and Charming had told him countless times, and she had no memory of him. Snow had warned him against the stupid move he'd just barrelled in and tried. But he knew there was no way he could have seen her and not wanted to kiss her. All rational thought had left him the moment his gaze had fallen on her.

Emma Swan was his True Love, of that he was sure. So sure that he'd risked life and limb (literally) just to give it a shot. Charming had told him, before he'd left the Enchanted Forest, of the time Snow had beat the living shit out of him when she'd lost her memory and he'd boldy planted one on her in an attempt to break the curse.

Part of Killian had known it wouldn't work but he also knew he couldn't have walked away from her without trying. The way she was looking at him now though...she clearly thought he was completely insane. She moved to close to door.

Wincing through the searing pain in his groin, he pushed himself to his feet and pleaded with her.

"Look, I know this seems crazy, but you have to listen to me! You have to remem-"

And the door was closed in his face, the three big letters firmly telling him that his first attempt had been a big fat failure.

But Killian Jones had not spent a year finding her to just give up. It would take time, of that he was sure. He didn't care how long it took, she would remember. And he'd make sure he was the one to help her do so.