THE FOLLOWING NIGHT, Wilma dreamed of Killian again, which by now, had become more or less habitual. But the dream itself was different than what she was used to — for the past months, she had been living in a rom-com in her sleep, from fond hugs and kisses to cute little dates and quirky comments at each other, but that night, the dream she couldn't snap out of felt more like a memory. Scarily much so, really, it was beyond vivid, like she was reliving a moment crucial to their relationship. They were in the depths of a jungle — which alone was odd for Wilma, who was sure she had spent all of her years living a city life — and under the moonlight, they kissed. It felt like fireworks going off in the pit of her stomach, like the eruption was making her heart race to a point where it nearly burst through her chest, and as euphoria spread out all over her, the feeling of utter love only intensified.

It felt so strange, but most of all, it was the feeling of happiness in Wilma's chest that caused her to jump out of the dream, snap back to reality, and with heavy breaths, she sat up on her soft mattress. She couldn't stop thinking about Killian, but then again, perhaps she was allowed to be a little confused by everything that had happened to her in the span of one day — this strange man, so convinced it was her he was looking for, showed up in her life suddenly, wanting to kiss her, wanting to prove to her that they knew each other. And yet, all Wilma knew about him was everything she had seen through her dreams — all she knew, was that he cared about her, and somewhere deep down, she cared about him too. She couldn't make sense of it, not even to herself, but she wanted to trust Killian. It felt right. It felt natural.

Considering it was already quite early, just a few minutes before her alarm would have woken her from the dream she kept on chewing on, Wilma tossed the covers aside and tiptoed to the kitchen, where, as per usual, Emma was making breakfast and Henry was patiently waiting at the table with some unfinished homework in the works.

"Morning, Winnie", the boy greeted, unwilling to drop the nickname despite the several mornings Wilma had begged him to do so, but instead of pointing it out, the woman settled for playfully glaring at her godson.

Clearing her throat, Wilma directed a look to Emma. "I heard Walsh proposed last night...", she pointed out casually whilst drawing a sip from her tea, "how'd it go?", to which Emma groaned in response. Concluding from that, not so well, so Wilma decided to drop the matter. Emma did the opposite, though, and brought up something unexpected.

"I heard you talked with the stranger from yesterday morning", she whispered, to avoid Henry hearing, and almost choking on her tea, Wilma coughed and lowered the mug before shooting the woman a profoundly shocked look. Grateful that Henry was busy getting ready for school, Wilhelmina shushed Emma, and then proceeded to wonder how she knew about it, and reluctantly, the blonde elaborated. "He kind of showed up while I was out with Walsh. He says I used to have this past life, but I've forgotten all about it because of some magical curse", she explained, but surprisingly, there wasn't a hint of amusement on her face. If anything, it almost seemed like she was considering the possibility of Killian's words being true, and Wilma thanked the heavens — at least she wasn't the only one.

"What if he's telling the truth?", Wilma asked bravely, and with widening eyes, Emma gave her an incredulous stare.

"Wilma", she scolded, "you can't trust him. Promise me you won't go after him. God knows how dangerous he could be. He's a stranger who tried to kiss you, remember? Please? Promise me you'll stay away from him." Wilma couldn't help but feel guilty under Emma's disapproving gaze, which didn't give her much choice but to nod in agreement, as a promise that she was going to stay away from Killian, and in the process, stay safe.

But frankly, Wilma didn't know if she could keep that promise.

———

IT WAS LATE already when Wilma got out of work, but after closing the shop, she finally did what she had been planning all day — she tried to find Killian. But before that, she needed to make a stop at home and then create an excuse of getting more coffee or tea at the nearest store, to convince Emma and Henry that nothing sketchy was going on. Luckily, just as Wilma was taking out her keys and reaching for the front door, she completed her mission — she found Killian.

"Love", he breathed out at the sight of her, and with wide, surprised eyes, Wilma looked up only to find Killian and Emma at the front door, both of them staring at her — Killian with happiness, but Emma seemed wary. The sight of them together made Wilma's heart sink, but concluding from the joy that lit up behind Killian's eyes at the sight of Wilma, he hadn't lied when he had told her that she meant something to him, and it caused her to break into the slightest of smiles. Before Wilma, or Killian, could say anything, Emma insisted on giving the two some time alone, and with that, she sneaked indoors and shut the front door behind her, leaving Wilma alone with Killian in the silent hallway.

It was quiet, for a while, making the situation almost awkward, but before the silence could do it, Wilma went ahead and leaped there. "What's up with the leather pants?", she laughed nervously, but also in some kind of amusement — New York was full of odd, interesting people, but she had never seen anyone like him. He was like from a different world, but despite seeming out of place, he looked quite flawless in her eyes, making her heart race as her cheeks turned pink and her lips curved into a shy smile.

"Correct me if I'm wrong", Killian cleared his throat, before flashing a mischievous smile, and then continuing. "But I thought it's what underneath that matters", he winked, leaning closer to Wilma, and in that moment, she swore her heart stopped for a second. However, she was unable to react in any way, not even given the time to swoon right there and then, when Killian had spoken up again.

"What are you doing here, love?", he asked then, with a curious gaze rooted deep in his blue eyes, and snorting, Wilma nodded towards the door.

"I live here", was her simple response, and chuckling quietly at the realization of how enthralled he had been by her beauty to remember such a trivial detail, Killian nodded. "I was going to look for you, though", Wilma continued, "I—um... Why do you want to kiss me?", she then blurted out with a nervous chuckle, and her gaze dropped to her trembling fingers which were fiddling with her keys awkwardly. It was such a strange question to ask, and it sounded even dumber out loud than it had in her mind, but in her defense, she wasn't the one just leaping in for a kiss. And perhaps, she had the right to be curious and ask questions. After all, he had put her in quite the odd position.

"It's rather insane", Killian smiled, but despite his vague answer, Wilma's interest didn't lessen. In fact, it only expanded.

Returning the bashful smile, Wilma shrugged and pushed her keys into her pocket to indicate she was ready to hear him out, no matter how long it would take. "I know a thing or two about insane. And I can be open-minded", she replied casually, as she gently bit her bottom lip, still maintaining the intent eye contact with Killian who seemed to be unable to resist her. Truthfully, Wilma had never seen herself as some divine beauty, someone so special and worth so much devotion and time — not that she was overly insecure, either — but under Killian's affectionate gaze, she couldn't help but wonder if he saw her as something like that.

"Well, you used to live in a town called Storybrooke, until Peter Pan forced a rather nasty curse upon the town and its residents. You had to leave, with Emma and Henry, since you were born in this world. The Evil Queen, Regina, gave you new memories, as the curse wiped away your old ones, however, true love's kiss can undo the effects of the curse, and therefore, free you from the curse and return your old memories", Killian explained, not bothering to hold back, but Wilma appreciated it. She, at the very least, wanted to believe he was being honest with her, even if he had proceeded to tell her about some magical curse and Peter Pan. As if Peter Pan was a villain.

But somehow, that wasn't the craziest part that caught Wilma's attention. The one thing that she clung onto, was the mention of true love. It made her heart skip a beat, as her mind ran over millions of scenarios, all of which caused her to wonder if she was staring into the eyes of her true love, if her fairytale ending was standing right in front of her.

"True love, huh?", she whispered, smiling to herself. "You think... what we have, or had... it's true love?", Wilma continued quietly, her gaze dropping onto the floorboards, and frankly, finding the strength to look up at him again felt impossible. Yet somehow, his words made sense. Somehow, it felt like lost puzzle pieces were finally colliding within her, putting together the big picture, which evidently formed her and Killian. Somehow, Wilma believed it. But still, nothing could prepare her for what Killian said next.

"I don't think", he responded as he stepped closer to Wilma, which made her hold in her breath when the space between their bodies began to disappear. "I know", Killian whispered, his voice low and husky, and very capable of sending shivers down Wilma's spine — and despite thinking she wasn't brave and courageous enough to do so, she still ended up looking up at Killian, and as their eyes locked, she knew what she needed to do. She knew what the right choice was, and honestly, she couldn't believe she had ever considered another.

"Fine. Kiss me", she breathed out, almost inaudible, but as soon as the words had rolled off of her tongue, Killian had grabbed her and pulled her closer until their lips met in the middle, crashing together with enthusiasm. They both closed their eyes, and when Wilma tasted the rum on his lips, the curse broke — a wave of pure magic erupted as Killian wrapped his arms around her, and as Wilma got her memories back, she broke into a happy smile. In pure bliss, Killian lifted Wilma in the air, twirling her around just a bit as they kissed, and once their lips separated, they were both breathless, but beyond happy.

And just like that — everything made sense. He was no longer a stranger from her dreams, no, it was her Killian, the pirate she had fallen in love with, her true love. And no words could fathom how truly happy and relieved she was to be in his arms again.

———

ACCORDING TO KILLIAN, there was a new curse, one that had recreated Storybrooke and returned everyone there. It was quite terrifying, but now more than ever, Wilma had faith that this curse, as well, could be broken and Emma, as the Savior, could save them all — the woman, too, had been woken from this dream of a life they had been living together for the past year, with a potion, that unfortunately didn't have enough for Henry. Therefore, the boy was still in the dark, his head full of false memories, but at least Wilma and Emma knew the truth now, and that was somewhat enough, for now.

However, there was the fact that they had lived in New York for a year now, and therefore, dropping things wasn't quite so simple. For Wilma, it was, she merely had to close her store or pass the job of a boss to someone else, as she had never felt so in touch with this life, and now, it was obvious why — all this time, she had missed Killian. Even without her memories, she had been connected to him, through those odd dreams she couldn't make sense of, until now. But Emma, well, she had Walsh, whom she had dated for the past eight months, and she remembered that when the man came knocking on their door. Promising to deal with him, and insisting that she owed him some kind of an explanation, Emma headed out with Walsh to have a chat, and in the meanwhile, Killian and Wilma stayed in the apartment with a bottle to drink.

"There's something I should probably tell you...", Wilma then spoke up, her hand squeezing Killian's as she lowered the empty glass onto the table. In an instant, her words made the man look up with a mixture of fear and worry painted across his beautiful face, and it was obvious what he was thinking.

"Please don't tell me you found a boyfriend, too", he muttered, partly joking, but Wilma could tell he was quite serious, too. Luckily, it was nothing like that.

"I could never. Truthfully, I never much connected with this life. I guess, even without my memories, I held onto you. The only good I can think of coming out of this bloody fake life, is that at least now I'm finally friends with Emma. Being Henry's godmother is really something, too", Wilma grinned, and looked down for a second, before facing Killian again, but with a more serious look this time. "No, it's that... Those dreams, you know. Pan told me they're not just that. I—I can, apparently, see the future. He told me a lot of things about me, that I didn't even know myself. And plenty about my father, too", Wilma spoke quietly, nervously chewing on the inner side of her cheek as she stared at Killian, as if she was somehow expecting him to flinch away or react in a negative manner.

But he didn't.

He was quiet for a while, though, but eventually, he flashed the most careful, sweet smile. "And whenever you're ready to tell me, I will give you my utmost attention and listen to each word, no matter how long it takes. I'll sit with you throughout the night, if necessary. I'll always be here for you, Wilma", he promised, and sighing in relief, Wilma rested her head against his shoulder. "Tell me, love... If you can see the future, what does it look like for us? You and I?", Killian then continued, his words earning a wide smile from Wilma, who let out another sigh.

"Good, I hope", she muttered, and Killian nodded in agreement.

It became silent again, for a while at least, but suddenly, noise from the roof alerted the both of them, and once they remembered Emma and Walsh, Wilma jumped up and Killian followed suit. They rushed to the roof together, and Killian shoved the door open to reveal a breathless Emma, staring down to the street with wide eyes and shock clearly swallowing her up. With worry, Wilma ran over to her, placing a hand on her shoulder and questioning if she was okay, to which Emma had a simple, but definitely confusing answer.

Sighing, Emma looked over to Wilma, "I'm pretty sure my boyfriend of eight months was a flying monkey."

»»»

this was so much fun to write omg i hope you liked it as much as i did ((: