CHAPTER FOURTEEN —
( Tell me, if he handed you a bloodied hand, would you take it, only because it was his? )

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        The day after Luna willingly fell under a sleeping curse to communicate with Mary Margaret in the Enchanted Forest and assist Emma in trapping Cora, both Emma and Mary Margaret climbed out of the town's well and returned to Storybrooke without the Queen of Hearts.

Granny organised a heartwarming welcome back party for Emma and Mary Margaret at her cozy diner. Friends and family gathered to embrace the two as they exchanged warm greetings with guests. Luna watched her youngest daughter, immersed in lively conversations with Henry Mills.

Mary Margaret finally spotted Luna and rushed up to her, enveloping her in a warm, tight hug. "Oh, Luna! I can't thank you enough for risking yourself to help us find our way home."

Luna chuckled softly and returned the embrace. "It was the least I could do. You know Cordelia always assisted Snow White whenever she needed help back in the Enchanted Forest."

Mary Margaret beamed and nodded gratefully. "She certainly did, and I will always be grateful to you for doing that." Luna fidgeted anxiously with the dragon ring encircling her finger; her mind weighed down by questions. "It's alright, you can ask me about him."

Gazing into Mary Margaret's compassionate eyes, Luna found her nervousness melting away. "Was he okay? What was he like? What did he look like? Did he happen to mention anything about me?"

Mary Margaret let out a soft, amused chuckle. "He's quite attractive, even more handsome than you told me," she remarked. The two shared a brief, light-hearted laugh before Mary Margaret's smile softened. "He was good, but it turns out he was working with Cora."

Luna couldn't help but groan. "Working with Cora? Are you serious?"

"He wanted to work with whoever would get him to Storybrooke," she said.

Luna narrowed her eyes. "I feel like there's more to this."

"He's still upset with how you left things all those years ago," she said, then grimaced as she continued, "and his sole focus at the moment is getting revenge on Rumplestiltskin."

Luna's shoulders dropped, and she looked away from Mary Margaret. "Gold's going to find out."

Mary Margaret frowned. "He doesn't know about you and Hook?"

Luna shook her head. "No. He'd probably kill me if he found out. I only told you about him, but I'm fairly certain Regina knows."

Emma walked up to the girls and crossed her arms as she stared at Luna with a frown. "I can't even picture you with him. You're bright and happy, and he's all leather and dark," she said. "He is very flirty. Is that what you fell for?"

"Not exactly," Luna replied. "He was never afraid of my dragons; I think that's what I initially fell for. I loved the flirting, but I never gave him anything, and he nonstop flirted with me for over four decades."

"And nothing happened between you two?" Emma asked, her eyebrows raised.

Luna shook her head. "The day one of us finally admitted our feelings, I left him. I flew away with my dragons and returned to the Enchanted Forest."

"And remember, Luna wasn't known as the sweet clothes shop owner like she was in Storybrooke when you met her," Mary Margaret reminded Emma. "She was the Queen of Dragons, powerful. People feared her. It's also one of the reasons Hook fell for her."

"I also liked wearing dark clothes, whereas my closet here only contains bright clothes," Luna added. "We looked like a pair when we stood together."

Emma shook her head. "I still can't picture it."

David walked up to the woman, sent an apologetic smile Luna's way, then grabbed hold of Mary Margaret's arm and pulled her to the front of the diner. "I just wanted to, uh, thank you all for joining us tonight," he began, alerting everyone in the room. "Mary Margaret and I, we have a saying, that we will always find each other, and while I believe that with all my heart, I'd like you all to raise your glasses and join me when I say, here's to not having to look for a while. To Mary Margaret and Emma."

Everyone raised their chosen drinks and cheered back when the door suddenly opened and in walked Regina, causing all chatting in the room to immediately die down. She paused at everyone's stares. "Sorry, I'm late."

Leroy immediately jabbed his knife towards her. "What is she doing here?"

"I invited her," Emma stepped forward before quickly getting pulled away by her parents.

"Oh, I made lasagna," Regina said with a small smile while placing the food on the counter.

"What's the secret ingredient? Poison?" Leroy sneered.

Regina stared at him. "Red pepper flakes. Gives it some kick." And despite his comment, Leroy gave himself a slice of the lasagna.

Luna wasted no time making her way over to the former Evil Queen, and she smiled at her as she gave herself a small plate of regina's famous lasagna. "Regina, it's good to see you here," Luna smiled.

Regina sighed. "It looks like you're the only person who thinks so."

Luna shrugged. "Who cares what everybody else thinks, as long as it looks like Henry's happy you're here." They both looked across the room at Henry and Daisy, who were still talking with each other while smiling their mother's way. Henry waved at his mom, and Regina waved back. "His feelings should be all that matters to you. Now, come sit with me."

Regina grabbed a serving of her lasagna, and the two made their way to a spare booth and sat down. "You don't have to sit with me because you feel sorry for me," Regina spoke while Luna gave herself a mouthful of the lasagna.

Luna shrugged. "I'm not. I considered us friends before the curse broke, and we were also friendly back in the Enchanted Forest. So I'd like to sit down and hang out with my friend. Is that alright with you?"

Regina smiled. "Of course, it's alright with me."

"So, how are you?" Luna asked.

"I'm okay," she replied. "However, I'm surprised you're alright. I thought you'd get stuck under the sleeping curse."

Luna smirked. "My bond with my dragons is stronger than you think."

Regina laughed lightly. "Yeah, I underestimated you. I thought we'd have to go back to the Enchanted Forest or Neverland or wherever to retrieve Hook so that he could kiss you."

Luna sighed. "So you do know?"

"As if I didn't do some research on you before inviting you to my castle. You could've been a huge competitor when it came to being Queen. So, naturally, I felt threatened," she admitted. "Clearly, I didn't need to be because all you seemed to care about was helping people and not being a Queen."

"I'm surprised you found anything," Luna said. "Only his crew knew about me and everyone on Neverland."

Regina let out a laugh. "It's not like you two were very subtle during your trips to the Enchanted Kingdom. I got my research on you two from pubs all along the sea on every land."

Luna's face instantly turned a dark pink. "I didn't realise we made such a scene."

"Well, you did," Regina said with a smirk. "Does Gold know about you and the pirate?"

Luna pursed her lips and leant back. "There's nothing to know about if nothing happened."

Regina narrowed her eyes, not believing her friend in front of her. "So you didn't get together? No true love's kiss? Not even one night spent together over all those years?"

Luna shook her head. "Nope. No kissing or one nights, Regina."

Regina shook her head, not really believing what Luna was telling her. "Would've thought differently with that pirate."

"Oh, but he flirted an awful lot," Aella suddenly said, sliding into the booth beside her mother.

Luna sent her a look. "Aella, is now really the time?"

Aella lulled her head to the side and narrowed her eyes. "Yes. I witnessed it from the start, and I'll tell you that I nearly barfed on several occasions."

Luna looked back at Regina. "It was only a couple of words spoken here and there."

"Don't forget all the touching, laughing, and the fact he let you do anything you wanted."

Regina gasped. "So, there was touching."

Luna narrowed her eyes. "Regina."

Aella chuckled. "Oh, yeah. They were very close. Also, they had to always be at least three inches away from each other. Drove Ladon and I mad."

Regina and Aella laughed as they ate their lasagna, and Luna huffed. "You guys are incredibly rude. I'm going to have an early night while you two continue to gossip about me." And that's what she did. Luna headed home while Aella continued to tell Regina stories about her mother's lovestruck behaviour, which nobody besides Killian's crew, Luna's dragons, and anybody lucky enough had ever witnessed.

-ˋˏ ༻♥༺ ˎˊ-

The following day, rumours spread that Regina had killed Doctor Hopper, aka Jiminy Cricket. Gold even taught Emma how to use magic using a dreamcatcher to go through Hopper's dog, Pongo's memories, as he was the only witness in Hopper's murder. Luna didn't believe for a second that Regina killed him, especially when she had just saved Emma and Mary Margaret and was trying to be better for Henry's sake.

Luna was walking down the street from her apartment to the school bus stop to pick Daisy up when someone suddenly grabbed her arm and pulled her into an alleyway. Only a few people in town were brave enough to go against Cordelia, and Rumplestiltskin was one of those people. However, she had no idea why he was suddenly holding the Dark One's dagger against her throat.

"Rumple, what are you doing?" Luna asked quickly, her eyes wide as she stared into his cold eyes.

"Tell me where he is!" He seethed. This was the first time in Luna's life in both Storybrooke and the Enchanted Forest that he acted like this to her. Even when Cordelia annoyed him during her youth, he never once physically threatened her. Luna didn't know what to think.

"Who? Where who is?"

"Hook!"

Luna paused for a moment, and at that moment, Gold knew that everything he had heard from other people was right. "Captain Hook? The pirate?"

"Let's just say some people in this town know of your little journey with the pirate," he spat. "You went travelling for decades after you left me, physically never changing. Where and with who I wonder!"

Luna hadn't planned this exact moment with her surrogate father, and she was utterly terrified. "Look, Rumple, I'm sorry I never told you. I knew how you'd act. But you raised me to take care of myself and make my own decisions without you being there. I made the decision to travel with him, and I don't regret it!"

"So, you know where he is?" He pressed. And when Luna opened her mouth, he pressed the blade tighter against her neck. "Death would be too kind to you. I'll turn your girls back into dragons and use this blade to skin them. So, tell me, where is he?"

Luna's face flushed with anger, but she knew she had to keep her cool. "I don't know. I left him and his crew a few years before Regina cast the curse—moved all over the Enchanted Forest with my dragons. You can ask them; you can even ask Snow and Regina. They'll tell you the same thing. That's honestly the last time I saw him."

Gold shook his head in disbelief. "You know what he did to me and Bae. I told you in complete confidence because I thought we had a trusting relationship while you lived in my castle, and I gave you your dragons. I can't believe you still did this." He pulled away. "The pirate's in Storybrooke. If I catch you with him, it'll be the last time you breathe."

Gold turned around and walked off, leaving Luna breathing heavily and rubbing the thin cut on her neck the blade had caused. "Fuck."

Luna had only made it a few feet from the ally when she recognised a familiar red beanie lying beside a rat, trying to drag it away with him. She frowned, waved her hand above the rat, and turned the rat back into a man named William Smee. "I see Rumplestiltskin confronted you as well, didn't he?"

Mr Smee sighed as he quickly put his beanie back on and scrambled to his feet. "I'm sorry, I told him about you and the Captain by mistake."

Luna gasped. "So, Killian really is here?"

Mr Smee nodded. "Yes, I've talked to him. He's been watching you from afar, but he thinks you don't want to see him."

Luna frowned. "I didn't think he'd want to see me."

Mr Smee laughed. "Right," he said. "Now, I don't know where he is, but the Jolly Roger is here, and he's going after the Dark One. That's all I know."

She gave Mr Smee a soft, grateful smile. "Thank you, Mr Smee."

Luna walked away and pulled her phone out of her pocket, dialling the one person she knew would give her the correct advice.

"Luna, is everything okay?" Mary Margaret's soft voice sounded through the phone.

"Snow, Killian is in town, and I don't know what to do."

There was a pause. "Hook is here?" she asked.

"He is. Rumple just confronted me and threatened to kill me if I went anywhere near him," Luna quickly explained. "He knows about us. He said he'll kill me if he finds me near Killian. Should I go find Killian or leave him alone?"

"What is your heart telling you to do?" she asked

"To not care what Rumple says and to go see Killian anyway."

"There's your answer."

"But I can't see him, not after what I told him after he told me he loved me. He probably hates me."

"Are you sure about that?"

Luna paused to think about it. Mr Smee told her that Killian had been watching her from a distance, thinking she didn't want to see him. Maybe Killian didn't hate her after the hurtful words she spoke but instead felt that she still hated him after all these years. She won't know if Killian hates her unless she sees him herself.

"True love doesn't just disappear."

"I'm going to go find him," Luna told Mary Margaret. "That more than likely means that Cora is in town. You might want to warn your family."

"I will. I'm glad I could help you, Cordelia. You deserve love, just like the rest of us."

"Thank you so much, Snow," Luna said. "And do you mind picking Daisy up from the bus stop and looking after her for the afternoon while I see Killian?."

"I'd love to."

Luna hung up the phone. After a few deep breaths, she threw her hands up and disappeared in a blaze of fire.

-ˋˏ ༻♥༺ ˎˊ-

Luna appeared suddenly on the docks, and she quickly looked around in search of the beautiful Jolly Roger, but she didn't see any ship out of the ordinary. While Luna was walking past an open space of water beside the dock, she felt the presence of strong magic. She narrowed her eyes and looked around, then held her hand out and watched as the air rippled where her hand was. Luna hummed, followed the rippling air, and bumped into something invisible on the floor. She looked down and noticed floating sand, so she followed it and stepped on it, climbing upwards and through a protective forcefield that hid the Jolly Roger.

Luna let out a content sigh, looking around at the large ship and immediately reminiscing all the memories she and Killian shared with the ship. She marvelled at the ship's beauty, her yellow painted rims, and the sails that softly moved with the breeze. She walked up to the wheel and ran her hand over it, remembering the feel of the wheel in her hands while she steered the ship with Killian by her side. Luna spent almost five decades living on this ship, sailing it with its Captain and crew. She missed sailing the sea and being with its Captain.

Luna didn't want to waste any more time reminiscing over the good old days when she knew she could be doing that with Killian instead. So, she made her way to the Captain's quarters, where she expected Killian to be. However, as soon as she pushed the door open and noticed the large, empty, queen-sized bed at the back of the room, she realised Killian wasn't on board. Luna let out a disappointing sigh but decided to walk further into his chambers and look around at what he had changed within ten years of not sailing with him.

There was still a single bed to the side of the cabin with silk sheets where Luna spent half of her time sleeping if Killian didn't offer up his bed instead. There were small dragon figurines throughout the chamber. They'd find small ones while visiting whatever land Peter Pan ordered them to. There was even a replica of a dragon egg made with sapphires that sat on his dresser.

The Captain's quarters still looked the same, and all of Luna's belongings that she decided to leave behind were in the same place she had left them, as if Killian expected her to return at any given moment. There was one thing different that Luna noticed when she glanced back over at Killian's bed. A year before Luna left the Jolly Roger and its crew, she had one of the kingdoms they frequented design and make a working sail for Killian that would remind him of her; it was blood red and was patterned to look like dragon scales, but it worked just like any of his other sails. She remembered gifting it to him, and he immediately hung it up on his ship and proceeded to sail around Neverland to watch it in action. He loved it, and Luna immediately figured out how to find Killian.

-ˋˏ ༻♥༺ ˎˊ-

Breaking into Gold's Pawn Shop was scarier than Luna cared to admit. Knowing that Gold was incredibly angry with her and on the verge of ripping her heart out, Luna knew she couldn't just visit him and ask him for his help in finding the man who killed his wife.

The back door creaked open after Luna waved her hand over the lock. She slowly opened the door and peeked her head into the room. Gold didn't appear to be in his shop, and because it was getting dark out, Luna assumed he must be having dinner with Belle somewhere. Luna hoped that if Gold returned to his shop, he'd bring Belle with him because Luna knew that as long as Belle was with him, he wouldn't murder her.

Luna rustled through one of his draws and pulled out a crystal blue potion. She put his drawer back into place and left everything just the same as when she broke in and exited through the back door. She locked the door with magic and went to Storybrooke's main strip again. Luna held up the red sail she gifted Killian all those years ago and poured the Locator Potion all over it.

"Please find him, and don't just fly back to the Jolly Roger," Luna begged. After a couple of seconds, the sail lifted into the air and began to fly down the road in the opposite direction of the docks. Luna let out a sigh of relief and then started running after it.

The red sail flew through the air for over twenty minutes, and as Luna continued to tirelessly run after it she came to the realisation that she was on her way to the edge of town. The woods flew past her eyes as she ran and the sail made no move to turn into the woods where Luna expected it to go and she realised that perhaps Killian was out of town.

Luna decided to speed up to catch the sail before it flew over the town line when the Sheriff's police cruiser raced past Luna with its lights and sirens flashing and sounding out. Luna instantly knew that Killian was the cause of Emma and David's rush, so she hurried forward.

Rounding the corner, Luna quickly spotted the police cruiser parked on the side of the road. Emma and David were hurrying out of the vehicle and towards a turned-over car that had hit a tree on the side of the road. A feminine voice was yelling, scared, and Rumplestiltskin could be heard calling out Belle's name. That's when Luna noticed a leather-clad body lying in the middle of the road, clutching onto his chest and rocking side to side.

Luna slowed down as the red sail flew towards the body lying in the middle of the road. The sail slowed down near the man and came to a halt above his body before lowering itself over him, blanketing him from the cold.

Confused, Killian grabbed onto the sail with his one good hand before glancing at Luna's way as she slowly approached him. Killian let out a pained chuckle, watching Luna as she approached him with a crooked smile. "Mmm, hello, Princess," he murmured.

Luna knelt by Killian's side and placed a hand on his bloodied and bruised face. "Oh, Killian, you look like crap."

Killian raised his one good hand and placed it over Luna's. "I promise I'm still dashing."

"How dare you!" Gold yelled out. Luna looked up, and Gold was on his way over, fury in his eyes and his cane in hand, ready to swing. "I told you, I see you with that pirate, you're dead!"

Luna didn't want to wait around and see who Gold was going to choose to kill, so with a hand still on Killian, she raised her other hand, and in a blaze of fire, they disappeared and appeared in the middle of the lobby at the hospital.

"I need help over here!" Luna called out, alerting several nurses and doctors to hurry towards them.

"What happened?" a nurse asked while they went to get Killian onto a gurney.

"I was hit by one of your fancy carriages," Killian replied, followed by a groan as he attempted to get himself comfortable.

"A car. He was hit by a car," Luna spoke.

They began to wheel him off, but Killian quickly grabbed Luna's hand. "You're staying, aren't you, love?"

Luna patted Killian's hand. "You need to get checked out first. Then I'll see you afterwards," she told him. Killian nodded and let go, and that's when Luna caught a glimmer of silver. "He has a hook where his left hand is. You might want to take it off before he starts swinging it."

Killian groaned while a nurse unscrewed his hook. "Good job unhanding a man," he mumbled. Luna smiled lightly at him while Killian laid his head back and was wheeled out of the room.

AUTHORS NOTE
😁🕺🏻🥰😮🔥😇

Sorry for the long chapter, I couldn't help myself! I wanted Luna to be there when Killian got hit by a car but I knew she couldn't just *appear* exactly my where he was so I dragged the whole 'finding where he was' out 😁

Don't expect next chapter to be up so quickly. I wanna make sure that when they have their first actual conversation that it's not just "I didn't mean it, ily", "okay, ily". Sorry, but I'll try my hardest to publish something soonish <3

Feel free to comment what you think about this chapter and what you think may happen between Cordelia/Luna and Killian, and don't forget to like!! Also, if anyone is down, I'd love any sort of graphics made by you guys. I'll definitely post them and make sure I dedicate you 💕

Pheebs/-rosepetal