Fragmented Lies

Chapter 9: Glitter, unicorns, and happy endings (+Epilogue)

A/B: Final chapter + a small Christmas-inspired surprise Epilogue. (It was written in the week before Christmas) So this is the fluffy conclusion of this story, I hope wrapped this up in a satisfying way. (If any too glaring loose ends are there, let me know in a review, thanks)

I have worked on this for the past three months, from the inspiration struck when I saw Julia Volkova's amazing fanart of our Colin dressed as 007. And then I watched the new "No Time to Die" Bond movie and my muse was insistent on me writing this.

This might be the one fic I'm most proud of right now, it will perhaps be the groundwork for an original story one day. Though currently, I'm working on my first original novel + its sequel, so it won't happen right away. It will also require quite a bit of change around certain things, and plot points, places and most of all names, etc.

One last shoutout to the wonderful SnowBelleWells who have helped beta read this, without her it would have been a whole lot messier with grammar and structure.

Enjoy (I've added the Epilogue at the very end of this, just because I wanted this to be closed and wrapped up.)

Chapter 9: Glitter, unicorns, and happy endings

When working at MI6 doing any kind of agent work, traveling becomes a part of everyday life. Yet this flight was the first time Killian actually looked forward to arriving; this time he would be reunited with Emma and Hope. Glancing out of the small oval window in the large airplane, he could see the lights of New York blinking up at them. The captain had announced that their approach would be delayed by five to ten minutes. Killian leaned back and closed his eyes for a moment; Emma and Hope's faces flickered before his inner eye. His heart beat a little faster as a smile formed over his lips, knowing he would see them both soon.

"Are you thinking about Miss Swan?" Henry asked from the seat next to him.

Killian opened one eye to glance at the young man sitting next to him, the curious glint in his brown eyes couldn't fully hide the grief still lingering inside Henry. It had been almost two months since they had found Gold in his castle in Scotland. The bastard had died, a small blessing to the man himself, but the aftermath of what happened next was still haunting them all. Images of M taking her last breath, while she tried to confess her transgressions and making him promise to take care of her son, flashed before his eyes. He could still wake up in a sweat from time to time and still have that same wet, earthy smell mixed with the stench of blood hitting his nostrils.

"Aye," Killian answered with a small smirk; the lad had become part of his life now. Taking his promise to M very seriously, he'd helped the young man to sort through his mother's things. It had been tough the day they found a small box with letters sent to his mother from Robert Gold, the very same man they'd hunted down, and in the end, killed. Killian had already suspected that something more than just professional interaction must have happened between Regina Mills and Gold. The letters she'd saved from Gold confirmed this, as it seemed to show that the pair had been in an intimate relationship. The correspondence had stopped shortly after the accident. Gold had written one last letter once he'd been released from the intensive care unit. This letter had been the toughest for Henry to read, while he also realized something else. If his mother had been intimate with Gold around that time, it also meant that he most likely was Gold's son. This information had almost devastated the young man, but Killian had talked him through it and helped him find a psychologist so he would not suffer from any of his mother's past transgressions. It was still a struggle for Henry to accept this, but he was making great progress.

Henry had joined Killian on his trip to the US in an attempt to change the scenery for him. Anton had agreed to this, as he was now temporary head of MI6 until the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Defence would pick a new leader for the organization. Everyone could see that Henry needed more time before he could return to his work.