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cutieodonoghue · 6 years

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more than all the stars (1/18)

summary: In a world full of soulmates, Emma Nolan doesn’t know who hers is. Enter Killian Jones, attempting to stop his brother from proposing to his soulmate, only to be thrown a curveball when he’s sent to spend Christmas on a farm with a bunch of strangers. (soulmate modern au)

rating: k+ (mild language, suggestive situations later on)

word count: ~3,500

catch up: read it all on tumblr here

also find it: ff.net, ao3

a/n: Hello, dear friends! I want to preface this with a rather important note. Yes! A new story! And, no! I won’t be updating any of my other mcs. Every word about them has been so kind and I feel awful about it, but as I’ve described in the past, I have run out of drive for them.

Over the past few months, I’ve spent every moment of my free time- evenings and weekends and even some days sitting at my desk at work typing on my phone- attempting to build one last hurrah to share. It was my goal to make something that could serve as a love letter to thank everyone who’s been a friend or acquaintance or just a wonderful reader, as well as a farewell, and with one last burning plot in my head, I came up with this story.

It’s been a fun one to write, and one of my beta’s all time favorites to read as well, so I hope you’ll enjoy it. If you do, please let me know!

Without any further ado, onto chapter one! Enjoy!

All my love,

Megan

one

There are three universal truths about the way things work.

One - Soulmates exist.

Two - Soulmates are scientifically assigned at birth, interpreted from a birthmark in the pattern of a constellation, and shared with you at nineteen.

Three - Soulmates are a massive waste of time.

When Emma Nolan was born, it was on the side of the freeway in the middle of nowhere, in the backseat of her father’s car at three thirty in the morning.

Her parents weren’t rich by any means, and they still aren’t, running a small farm in a quiet town, so they never brought her to the hospital for an official assignment, instead opting for a doctor friend to make sure she was healthy.

She must be the only person alive, over the age of nineteen, who doesn’t know the exact name, age, and location of her soulmate.

But it’s not the end of the world, not knowing. It just sometimes feels like she’s missing something that seemingly everyone else understands. It’s as if there’s a language all of her friends and family can speak but she hasn’t learned all of the words yet.

When she was eighteen, she thought she met the love of her life, her soulmate, but he ended up being a complete disaster, leaving her heartbroken and alone after two years together.

Case in point, soulmates are a massive waste of time. Mostly.

When she was twenty-one, she met the love of her life in her son, who she named Henry David Nolan.

Her belief in soulmates changed, believing instead that maybe not everyone gets a romantic soulmate, but rather some have one like the one a mother and child share. Not everyone needs to find true love, and maybe she’s one of those people.

She’s twenty-two now, living with her parents and grandmother in their farmhouse while she saves up to move out on her own.

It’s not so bad. She helps run the farm and works the shop they have in town every other day. Her parents help her take care of Henry when she needs it, and it’s nice getting to have family for him to grow up around.

All of her friends from high school have gone off to college or made big life decisions to move away for good, except for a few who remain in Storybrooke, providing her a good outlet for evenings when she’s bored.

One of her closest friends is named Elsa, who is practically engaged to a handsome man she met a few months ago- her soulmate, obviously. His name is Liam Jones and they’ve only met twice in person because Liam lives in England with his father and brother.

She finds Elsa sitting in a corner booth at Granny’s Diner, nursing a mug of something warm.

Emma, bundled up in her winter coat, hat, scarf, and gloves, sighs happily at the introduction of the warm air. She smiles kindly at Granny, the namesake of the diner, from across the room as she makes her way toward Elsa, and pulls her gloves and hat off as soon as she reaches their table.

Her friend must have something on her mind, because she doesn’t immediately react to her presence at the table.

“Oh, Emma,” Elsa smiles, shaking her head. “Sorry, I’m just in a whole other world.”

Emma laughs. “It’s alright.” She sits down and unbuttons her coat. “So, what’s up?”

Elsa smiles wryly, obviously trying to keep a level head about her while she sits there with something monumentally exciting about to spill from her lips.

“Liam is coming to town tomorrow. For two weeks. We’re going to look at land and at available listings and-“ Elsa shakes her head and beams so happily she looks like she might burst. “Emma, it’s happening!”

She knows Elsa’s been waiting for this day to come for a long time. Ever since she started talking to Liam, she’s said how excited she is to get to be with him.

While it’s a feeling Emma doesn’t quite understand, she knows that if she were ever to fall in love, Elsa would show her nothing but respect and equal measures of joy in regard to every step along the way.

Emma smiles and shrugs her shoulders. “Wow, Elsa this is so exciting!”

“I know!” Elsa presses her hands to her cheeks and shakes her head. “I know it hasn’t been very long, but it just feels so right.”

Emma averts her gaze uncomfortably. The only thing that’s ever felt that right was when Henry came into the world and changed her life forever.

“I feel so selfish talking about me so much lately. How are things at home?”

Emma takes a breath and hums. She finds it a little easier to meet Elsa’s gaze.

“Good. Things are good. Nana has decided she’s going to go for a cross country road trip this spring and she asked if I might be interested.” Emma shrugs. “I don’t know. I think I should stick around.”

Elsa tilts her head thoughtfully. “You could go. Your parents love taking care of Henry.”

“No, I know, it’s just…” Emma sighs. “I’m saving money.”

Her friends eyes widen. “Emma Ruth Nolan, are you going to take my advice and see who your soulmate is?”

Her face feels hot. She shakes her head. “Elsa, I don’t want to know…”

“Mhm. In a world full of soulmates, it can’t be easy not knowing who yours is.”

Emma sighs. “I’m happy. I’m happy not knowing. I have Henry. I have my parents and my grandmother.”

“How’s Charlie?” Elsa wonders.

The mention of her younger brother causes Emma to look down at the table briefly. She shakes her head. “He’s fine. He’s happy. How couldn’t he be? He found his soulmate.”

Elsa hums. “And it didn’t end in ruin.”

Emma looks down at the table. She considers chastising her friend for this but instead, they’re interrupted by Granny at the head of the table.

“What can I get you?”

///

The sun has just started setting when Emma climbs out of her car and carries a bag of breakfast pastries up the creaky steps of the porch.

She can hear happy chatter inside, the sweet sound of baby giggles mixed with a warm chuckle from the adults, something that hastens her approach. She hates missing even a few hours with Henry, but some days she has no choice.

Emma opens the screen door and kicks her boots against the side of the house to shake the snow that had gathered in the cracks and clung to the sides. She smiles breathlessly as she opens the door with the tasteful wreath hanging in the middle to find everyone gathered, laughing at Henry as he rides the dog through the kitchen.

In the instant that the door opens, Henry’s attention goes directly to her and a grin splits his face in two.

“Mama!”

She gasps. “Hi, baby!”

Looking up, she finds her mother ready to accept the breakfast pastries. She has an excited grin on her face, the kind she wears when she has a secret she can’t wait to spill. “Emma, Charlie called. He’s coming home in time for Christmas.”

She slips out of her coat after pulling her hat, scarf, and mittens off. Emma’s eyes widen. “Oh?”

“He’s bringing Hannah.” her father adds from his spot at the kitchen island, where he’s chopping something that they’ll be having at dinner.

“It’ll be nice to see her again.” Emma takes her boots off and flexes her toes after stepping off of the slightly damp doormat and onto the hardwood floor.

She smiles down at her son, who has climbed off of Wilby the herding dog, instead holding onto her legs tightly. He giggles through his paci, one of Emma’s most favorite things. She kneels down and takes him into her arms before standing again.

With her lips against Henry’s forehead, she takes his fingers into her hand and then leans her cheek against his soft hair.

She crosses the room to the dining table where her grandmother sits with a book.

“Hey, Nana.” Emma says in greeting before leaving a gentle kiss to the top of her head.

Affectionately, her grandmother smiles at her, “Emma. Hi, sweetheart. How was your day?”

“It was good.” Emma smiles. She turns to look at her parents, finding them side-by-side in the kitchen, laughing with one another and bumping each other’s hips. “How was Henry? Not too bad, I hope.”

“Oh, no,” Grandma Ruth shakes her head. “He was an angel as always.”

Emma kisses her son’s cheek before he settles it against her collarbone and snuggles in close. Her heart swells warmly and she rests her cheek against his head.

Swaying just a little, Emma stands beside her grandmother as her father announces, “Emma, we’re having your favorite grilled cheese and homemade tomato soup for dinner.”

“Mmhm!” Nana pounds the table with delight. “I can hardly stand the wait!”

Emma and her parents laugh. She shifts Henry’s weight on her hip. “Okay, well, I have to change, so I’ll be down in ten.”

“Oh, Emma,” her mother says just as she’s about to leave the room. “You got another one today.”

Her heart sinks and she groans a little as her mother hands her the letter still sealed in its envelope.

“I don’t know why I ever told anyone I’m without a soulmate in a world full of them.” Emma’s voice comes out just slightly bitter, although she didn’t mean it to be.

Nana laughs. “When I was your age, it was a game of connect the dots. Young people these days have it so much easier than in ages past.” Her grandmother tosses a hand at her and lays on classic Grandma Ruth wisdom with kindness in her eyes, “If I could do it, then you can too, Emma. You don’t have to listen to these modern day instant gratifiers.”

Emma’s mother sighs and rubs Emma’s arm gently. “When we decided we wouldn’t take you for pattern cataloging, it wasn’t meant to hurt you. At least this way, you can find love for love and not… just because some piece of paper says it’s love.”

While Emma’s heard both women tell her the same thing time and time again, especially with the disaster that had been her life at eighteen.

“I’m not worried,” Emma says, tilting her eyebrows inward slightly. “I’ve given up on trying. If it’s going to happen, it’ll happen.” She squeezes Henry tighter. “I’ve got my little North Star and that’s all that matters.”

Without another word, Emma takes her leave. She turns the corner in the living room that goes to the private set of stairs that lead to her and Henry’s shared attic bedroom.

Grandma Ruth used to live up here while Emma was growing up, but then she had a fall that resulted in her bedroom being moved across the hall from her parents downstairs. It’s almost a full apartment of space, it’s just missing a kitchen, so it’s almost like she’s not living at home.

Emma settles Henry down on her bed, finding him beaming up at her happily, and smiles at him sweetly before she kisses his cheek a few times.

“You’re so good, bug.” Emma whispers. “And I love you so much.”

She studies him, trying to memorize the little creases by his eyes and the sweet sound of his voice when he babbles at her. He grabs for her hair before she replaces it with one of his stuffed animals and shifts him further onto the bed so he won’t go rolling off.

Emma moves across the room to the wardrobe in the corner. She pulls it open and finds one of her favorite sweaters.

After shucking her shirt from her body, she grabs the sweater and moves toward the bed again, where she faces a mirror just so she can turn to the left and stare at the smattering of birthmarks, a unique constellation that’s mirrored on someone else’s lower rib cage just like hers.

The idea was enough to get her heart racing years and years ago, but now she just feels quietly lost and hopeless.

She touches the spot at the top, the biggest of the markings, the one that’s mirrored on Henry’s side- or she likes to believe it is. Henry’s father, Neal, had most of his constellation right. It was just missing a few spots here or there and it was just slightly bigger than hers.

Not that birthmarks on skin make a soulmate at all- this is one of the cardinal rules of soulmates. They are a massive waste of time just because of the fixation most everyone she’s ever met has about the spots.

Emma shakes her head and lowers her fingers from her side. She stuffs her head and arms through the openings of the sweater and then pulls her hair free and ties it over her shoulder before she goes to grab her favorite pair of leggings from the top drawer of her dresser.

She makes a face at Henry so he’ll giggle and then she tugs her dirty jeans off before replacing them with her leggings.

Satisfied, she joins Henry on the bed and curls her body toward him with her knees facing her chest.

“You’re the only one I need,” she whispers as she reaches up to stroke his hair. She smiles softly at him. “I love you more than all the stars in the sky.”

///

He’s never bought into the idea that matching birthmarks make for life lasting soulmates, so when Liam told him he’d be going to America, leaving their business in his care for a full two weeks, Killian had obviously fought him on the idea.

One argument led to another, and all of a sudden, they’ve both packed bags and are going to America for two weeks, leaving their business in the capable hands of their father, who would much rather spend his Christmas with his new wife rather than in the office.

The flight lasts far too long, and he’s very much regretting his choice to up and leave on a protective whim. Liam’s the older brother, for God’s sake. If anyone should be gallivanting off to another country looking for love, it should be him.

Maine is frigid, he discovers upon deplaning, even though he and Liam wear their favorite jackets and scarves. Perhaps it’s because he’s still angry with Liam for deciding to do this, but they move in quiet companionship to the baggage claim.

He can tell that Liam is beyond excited for what’s to come. He would be too, if he were in Liam’s shoes. Liam’s only met face-to-face with his soulmate twice, both periods lasting a weekend.

Killian’s only met Elsa once, when she came to London to meet Liam the first time. She’s a lovely woman, one his brother would probably love even if it weren’t for the marks on their sides.

His brother had spent a lot of time knowing who she was, knowing exactly where to find her, but hesitant to go look in case she wouldn’t want him. A foolish thought, because he’d gone crazy daydreaming the person whose name was Elsa who lived in Storybrooke, Maine. But a lot of people do the same, when their soulmate isn’t immediately nearby.

Regardless of the past, they’re here for two weeks. Christmas is in a week and they’ll be here through the New Year as well.

Part of him wonders why he’s doing this. Liam’s a man with his mind made up, so he won’t be talked down from marrying Elsa, and it isn’t as if the man has any other prospects back in England.

Sighing, Killian pulls his phone out of his pocket and taps into the messaging app to let their father know they’ve arrived safely.

He has a few notifications from dating apps he’s been trying, but it isn’t as if dating is any good if either party only has one thing in mind- the bloody birthmarks.

“Killian, have you put any thought into what I proposed about the trip? Looking into expanding the business?”

Killian looks up at his brother and frowns, shaking his head. “No, I haven’t. I’ll need a minute to see if expanding in this… Storybrooke makes any sense.”

Liam smiles widely. “It’s a lovely town, brother. You’ll love it. Very quaint. Elsa’s told me that there are a hearty number of town-wide holiday traditions she wants us to partake in.”

Killian lifts his eyebrows and hums. “Sounds absolutely delightful.”

He doesn’t mean it, and it comes through in his voice.

His brother gives him a hard look as the alarm sounds, signifying that their luggage is about to come down the line.

“I know you’re not a believer in the science, Killian, but would you just be happy for me? I’m about to be engaged to a beautiful woman, who I love very much.”

Not wanting to fight him on this, about how entirely ridiculous he is for letting his life be led by society’s solution to love, Killian keeps quiet. He watches the belt move with bags that are nearly identical to his, but aren’t quite right.

“Liam? Liam!”

He looks up and narrows his eyes. He finds Elsa looking every bit as pretty as she had before, maybe even a bit more. She’s wearing a lovely long peacoat and her hair’s let down over her shoulders. She has a bright smile that matches his brother’s when they meet and the pair instantly embrace in a tight hug that has her eyes falling closed.

“It’s so wonderful to see you again, my love.” Liam’s voice is quiet, but Killian still hears it.

He tries to pretend the luggage on the belt is far more interesting so they can have their moment, but he still hears the kiss they share, and the laughter on their lips afterwards.

“I’m so glad you’re here.”

“Aye. Me too.” Liam says quietly. “I… suppose you’ve noticed Killian’s here.”

Taking that as his cue, he turns and smiles at Elsa. “Hello again, Elsa.”

“Hi, Killian,” Elsa smiles warmly. She’s holding Liam’s hands and doesn’t seem keen on letting go. “I… just realized I don’t have room for you at my apartment right now.” She laughs and shakes her head. “Um… it’s not a problem, though. I have friends in town who might be able to help and if we need to, I can see about renting you a room at Granny’s.”

Killian manages a smile, though the fact that he’s prematurely being kicked out of staying with his brother makes him just a little upset. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees his bag coming their way and takes a step toward it before catching it.

He sets it down in time for Liam’s to come right behind and when he wheels the bags toward the happily reunited couple, his grin spreads. “Alright. That’s everything.”

“Wonderful.” Elsa says as she releases only one of Liam’s hands so he can take his bag in the other. “I can hardly wait to share Storybrooke with you both. Last time Liam was here, he only got to see a few of my favorite spots.”

Killian feels his stomach jerk with mild disgust over the thought of the last time Liam was here and he suddenly wants nothing more than to return home to their father and their business.

Elsa leads them out of the airport, chattering excitedly the whole time.

Killian occupies his mind with the mundane activity at the airport, staring at parents with children trying to juggle all too many suitcases or the way the snow has formed sludge in the street but maintains it’s gentle fluff on grassy spots.

When they climb into Elsa’s car, Killian sits beside Elsa’s last minute Christmas shopping in the backseat, something she apologizes profusely about.

“The trip back to Storybrooke is kind of long, so feel free to take a nap if you need to.” Elsa says to them both as she pulls the car out onto the highway. “I don’t mind at all. I’ve been there.”

Liam smiles over at his girlfriend and reaches over the center console to touch her thigh. “I’ll be alright. Killian on the other hand…”

Elsa glances at him through the rearview mirror and chuckles. “Did you sleep on the plane at all?”

“Not all that much.” Killian admits. He stares out the window at the weather and traffic around them.

It’s the last thing he does before his eyes fall closed and sleep brings him in and out every few minutes.

“-doesn’t believe in them. He thinks there’s no way someone could have been meant for another in that way.”

“Well, to each his own, I guess. It’s just… sort of silly.”

“Believe me, I know.”

“I wonder if… I could set him up with someone…”

He fades back into sleep with the lulling sounds of the radio and the motion of the vehicle working together to pull him back.

#cs ff #cs au #my writing #mtats

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