THE PROMPT: mryddinwilt asked us for 38 - "You fainted…straight into my arms. You know, if you wanted my attention you didn't have to go to such extremes." for Hooked Queen

A/N: A disclaimer: I started this before 'Birth' aired and seriously considered abandoning it in light of new developments. But I decided Canon divergence is a thing, after all, so we will pretend the whole DO thing NEVER HAPPENED for the purposes of this fic!

The Rush

It had been twenty seven days since Killian Jones had acquired magic of his own, a force that had apparently lay dormant within him for all of his many, many years of life until the Sorcerer Merlin had seen fit to bring it to the fore. As a force that served his higher purpose- the return of the Saviour to her family, and to him - he was eternally grateful for the gift bestowed by the wizard. The same could not be said for its after effects.

He was sure he would never become accustomed to the rush of power that accompanied the use of his new found magic. 300 years as a non magical, albeit unusually long living, being had not adequately prepared him for the knee-shaking, vision-blurring force that swept through his body when the red sparks shot forth from his fingertips.

It was yet another reason to admire his Swan; her grace and composure under the stress of learning to use her own magic.

Not to mention her grace and composure under the stress of having an ex Evil Queen with the sharpest of tongues as your instructor in its use.

They had tried Emma as his tutor, truly they had. It always began well, with simple spells and light hearted jests. But humour soon led to flirting, flirting to innuendo and somehow each lesson inevitably ended in a heated embrace and minor power outages throughout Storybrooke.

(The Widow Lucas had only so much patience for defrosted lasagna.)

And so it was that Killian found himself ensconced in the vault of the Mayor, surrounded by all manner of magical miscellania, as he attempted to transport his flask from one side of the room to the other at her command.

On the most recent effort, he was certain he had seen it move a quarter of an inch to the left, but Regina remained unimpressed. She stood imposingly behind him, hands on hips as she barked insults in his ears.

"What kind of pirate can't fetch his own rum?"

Each grating word had his fist clenching and his resolve strengthening - determined to silence her with success. The flask wavered, and he held tightly to the moment of hope, focusing every bit of energy on the worn leather and textured stitching.

The small container shimmered and disappeared…and Killian's world went black.

His eyes blinked wildly as he fought with consciousness. As his surroundings came into focus, he was met with the arched eyebrow of his mentor, her lips curled in an acerbic half-smile.

"Regina…" he started, attempting to raise himself seemingly from the lap of the mayor. "How did I…"

"You fainted…straight into my arms," she scoffed, hauling him up to sit and brushing non existent dust off her narrow skirt as she stood. "You know, Captain, if you wanted my attention you didn't have to go to such extremes."

Head still spinning, Killian rested his elbows on his knees as he tried to regain his composure. And his wit.

"Believe me, your Highness, it wasn't you I required then, nor is it now."

The Mayor looked down at him, the mocking expression on her face giving way to something closer to wry amusement. She reached down to him, his eyes widening as her hand slipped inside his leather jacket before he could back away.

"A man likes to be courted, milady," he began, but Regina just shook her head, eyes rolling back in an impressive show of disdain, and held out the leather covered flask she had retrieved from his pocket. A triumphant grin made its way across his face as he took it from her, and he flipped the stopper, taking a long steady slug, the familiar taste of rum a contrast to the unfamiliar sparking beneath his skin.

"Drink up, pirate," Regina ordered. "You attracting rum is hardly going to impress anyone. We have a lot of work to do."