Art of Loving - OUAT Imagines

love is all we've got (killian jones, 5)

A few days had passed. The group made it back to Storybrooke, the town glowing with the happiness of reunited love ones. However, Esme still wasn't getting any better. In fact, she seemed to get worse by the second.

Regina spent day and night in her vault, trying to find the safest way to take the demon out of Esme, but she had never encountered such a creature, and nothing in her spell books seemed to be enough.

Meanwhile, Esme stayed at Regina's house, where she could keep an eye on her. She spent all her days in bed, unable to get up. The usual strength and energy in her appearance was replaced with a feeble, colourless aspect. No one had ever seen her that way before.

The first days after getting home, Killian had spent every moment by her side, caring for her, talking to her, doing his best to make her laugh. But eventually, considering he was one of the reasons she couldn't get better, Esme thought it best to avoid him. Maybe if she didn't see him for a while, things would go back to normal.

Yet, instead of improving Esme's situation, staying away from Killian made it so much worse. It was foolish, thinking she could run away from love. Besides, even if she managed to ignore her own feelings, Esme wasn't naive: she knew Killian felt the same. And that was the hardest thing to run away from. She spent every second aware that Killian was worried about her, wanting to see her, and loving her. She hated how weak it made her, the demon feeding not only on her love for Killian, but on the love Killian had for her, as well. Esme always heard Snow talk about how being loved is supposed to make you stronger, but she had never felt this fragile.

Of course, Esme didn't tell Killian the real reason why she was avoiding him. She had Regina and Emma tell him it was better to reduce the amount of people Esme surrounded herself with. The less he knew, the better.

Yet, one day Killian had gone to Regina's house to get some news about Esme, when he ran into David and Mary Margaret, too. Furious, he demanded to know what was going on.

"You told me no one was allowed to see her, but you two. You lied to me, why?" he shouted to Regina and Emma.

"It's better if you don't see her, Hook" said Emma.

"Why? How is she?"

"She isn't getting any better"

"How does that have anything to do with me? I just don't understand why I can't be here, but you can" he pointed at Snow and Charming.

"It's not our place to tell" Emma sighed.

"Fine, let me see Esme, then. Have her tell me" He said, walking towards the room the woman was staying in.

Regina stopped him, defeated. With one look at Emma, asking for her permission, she started talking.

"Listen, Hook..."

~•~

Esme watched the ceiling spin, and then she stared at her fingers, which she felt she couldn't control or move.

Suddenly, the door opened abruptly, and Killian came in the room. The surprise made Esme jump, and the sight of him was enough to increase the ache in her chest, making her writhe in pain.

"Oh Esme, look at you" whispered Killian, staring at the lifeless woman, with an expression full of sadness and worry.

"Killian, please. I need you to leave"

"No, I'm not leaving you" he ran to her side, holding her cold hands. "Regina and Emma told me the truth. I love you too, Esme, I do, and I hate that you're feeling this way because of me, but I'll never leave your side. We'll find a way"

Esme wanted to cry. Hook's touch had her in agony, instead of making her euphoric, and she struggled to breathe. She needed to make Killian go away. If she couldn't do anything about her love for him, she needed to do something about his love for her. She let go of his hands, and turned away from him.

"They told you that?" her voice shook. "Tell me, how could I ever love a cruel, heartless pirate?"

Silence filled the room after she said that, and she could sense just how heavy the silence had turned. She wasn't even looking at Killian, but she could imagine the way his face fell, the way he was clenching his jaw. She could only hear her own heartbeat, and Killian's heavy breathing.

"I don't want you here" her throat felt sore. "Leave now, Hook"

Killian's entire world collapsed, hearing Esme pronounce the name with pure disgust. Still not facing him, she could hear Killian walking away, closing the door behind him. Knowing that all she needed was on the other side of the door, hurt Esme more than a million demons could, but maybe she wasn't meant for love. Never had and never would.

~•~

That night, unable to sleep, Esme couldn't believe the things she had said to Killian. She would take her own unbearable pain over hurting him like that, any day. She wondered if that was what true love meant, as well. Sacrifice.

The door opened, but Esme didn't bother to look, since sometimes Regina would check on her during the night.

"Gina? Why are you awake?"

Still, instead of being answered by Regina's soft voice, she was answered by a raspy one, with a distinct accent.

"It's me, love"

"Killian?" She got off the bed. "What are you doing here?"

"I may have found a way to get rid of the demon"

"What? Seriously?" her eyes opened widely, astonished.

"It may be risky, though"

"I'll try anything at this point" she shook, under his intense gaze. "What did you find out?"

...

omgg. i hope you're enjoying the story 🥺

next part will be the last one, and then we'll move on to new stories, hehe. remember you can request anything you want, and i'll write it for you <3

love to all!
venus.