Captain Swan One Shots

A House is Not a Home

I've decided to post all of my one shots since I started writing CS in October 2014, so I'll be working backwards.
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Title: A House is Not a Home

Author: Steph aka CaptainSwanLuver

Rating: PG

Pairing: Killian/Emma

Characters: Killian, Emma

Category: Drama/Romance

Summary: The Dark Swan has a new house and she wants Killian to live in it with her.

Note: This was written based on spoiler photos of Emma's house before the episodes aired.

...A House is Not a Home: Part 1/1...

As soon as she saw it, she knew it had to be hers. It was perfect. With its steel grey paint job, white trim, wrap around porch, and turrets.

It looked just like a dollhouse that she loved in one of her foster homes as a kid. One of the few good ones. She was six years old and she was finally with a kind, caring family. They even had a little girl the same age as her named Rachel. They loved playing together and the little girl generously shared her toys with Emma.

But Emma's favorite toy was Rachel's dollhouse. It wasn't one of those plastic things you can buy at any toy store. No, this was a one-of-a-kind, handmade wooden dollhouse. It had three floors with gigantic rooms. Each room was painstakingly decorated with tiny furniture. And it was filled with a happy family of dolls. A mommy and a daddy. A little boy and a little girl. Emma and Rachel spent hours playing with it.

After a few months with Rachel's family, her mother got pregnant and they didn't feel they could handle three kids. So Emma was sent back into a group home until she could be placed with yet another foster family. She remembered her last day with that family. She had played with the dollhouse one last time with Rachel before they took her away. It was the only time she cried leaving a family.

Growing up, Emma never had anything that was just hers. She either had to share with other foster kids or ask to use the kids' toys of the family she was being fostered by. Now, Emma wanted something to call all her own. Something no one could take away from her. She wanted a real home.

When Emma returned to Storybrooke as the Dark One, she was in need of a place to live. It was way past time for her to get her own place anyway, but she was also certain that her parents would be afraid to have her under their roof now that she was the Dark Swan. More importantly, she didn't want to be kept under their watchful eyes.

So, she had gone looking for a house. But the Dark One doesn't simply look up listings online or go to a real estate agency. No, instead, she poofed herself around town until she found what she was looking for.

And there it was in all its glory right in front of her. The home she had always wanted. The home she had dreamt of.

Emma walked up the front steps and rang the doorbell. It was answered by a man she had seen around town, but was not acquainted with. He, however, knew exactly who she was. More importantly, he knew who she had become.

His face paled and his eyes widened in fear. "Uh, can I help you?"

Emma smiled widely at him and responded in an eerily calm voice. "This is mine now."

"Excuse me?" he replied, his brow furrowing.

"This house," she said with a flourish of her hand. "It's mine now."

He swallowed hard. "I, uh, own this house. I live here with my wife and two young children."

Emma's lips tightened. "Charming, but I am sure you'll land on your feet. If not, I hear Granny's has some lovely rooms available."