Chapter Text
Five days before Christmas...
New York...
Bloomingdales...
Cashmere gloves are hanging from a hook. White, red, beige, and just appended by the sales clerk, one single pair of black gloves are added to the display.
Two different hands grab a glove each and pull. They find the other glove is attached to someone else.
The man asked, "I'm sorry lass, did you want these?"
The woman sighed. "Damn, it's the last pair."
The sales clerk walked by and they gained her attention to ask if they had more of the black gloves on display. The salesperson confirmed that they didn't have any more in the back.
They put the gloves back while they decided what to do.
A grumpy man grabbed them and the woman stopped him.
"Sir, we were discussing those!" The woman said.
"You two can discuss them all you want, but I will be the one paying for them."
"Sir, with all due respect. The lass and I were discussing what a perfect gift those gloves would be for -my girlfriend."
"-my boyfriend." The woman said at the same time as her partner in crime.
The old grumpy man stared at them with a scowl. "Are you saying that these gloves are for both your boyfriend and his girlfriend?"
The woman smiled sweetly. "Yes, right now he is my boyfriend but after the surgery..."
The younger man scratched behind his ear. "Aye, after the surgery she will be my girlfriend."
The grouchy man didn't believe them for a second and muttered that he had no time to argue and bid them Merry Christmas before moving on.
The pair laughed as the man left.
"Lass, you were bloody amazing!" he said in awe.
"Come on, you were right there with me. Let's just call it a team effort," she said with a smile.
"I don't mean to upset you, but I think we make quite the team."
She snorted.
He paid for the gloves and handed them to her.
"Well, I think it's only fair if I buy you a drink then," she said.
They ended up at Serendipity. The chocolate there was to die for and it was her favorite place.
"Tell me lass, how did you find this place?" he asked while drinking a blended coffee.
She moaned as she took a sip of her hot chocolate. "My mom. She loves this place."
"Oh, serendipity is one of my favorite words," he said smiling.
"Why is that?" the woman asked curiously.
"It's such a lovely word for what it means. A fortunate accident," he clarified.
"Oh, it does have a nice ring to it," she said.
"Except I don't believe in accidents. I think fate is behind everything," he replied.
"Wait, so if fate is behind everything, that would include the one pair of gloves?" she asked.
"That is my belief."
She shook her head. "Everything Is predestined and we don't have any choice? I don't know how I feel about not having control of my destiny," she said.
"Not exactly. I think we make our own decisions. I just believe fate sends us signs and it's how we read them that decides if we are happy or not."
"Little signals," she said hesitantly.
"Aye, fortunate accidents," he stated.
"Perhaps I should get going. Now I have to go find something
for my girlfriend," he said hesitantly.
She grimaced. "Oh, they were for your girlfriend. I'm sorry, are you sure you don't want them?"
"No, it's alright. I will find something. I do confess I have no regrets. Those gloves were lucky. I got to enjoy your company," he said with a smile.
"Thank you, good company is hard to find these days. I guess it's time to go," she replied.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to keep you from meeting your boyfriend," he said.
"Oh no. I'm sure he is out doing the same thing you are," she said.
"Ohh, is he becoming smitten with someone else's lady love?"
he said with a raised eyebrow.
"No, he is buying a Christmas gift," she said with a light blush on her cheeks. "So what do you want for Christmas?" she asked to shift attention to him.
"I would love some golf clubs. I really enjoy the game," he said with a dreamy smile.
She paid the bill and they walked out of Serendipity. They both wanted to continue their night together, but it was obvious the timing was wrong since they both had somebody.
The woman smiled shyly at him and his hand went to scratch just behind his ear.
"Do you think exchanging names makes us horrible people?" she asked.
"I don't know," he said thoughtfully.
"Well, my name is Emma. Does that make you want to tell me something?" Emma said smiling.
"Merry Christmas, Emma," he said smiling. "It was a pleasure meeting you today, but it's not our time. It would be bad form to ignore the signs," he said as he signaled a cab.
Emma stared as he got inside the cab and disappeared.
Emma was disappointed, but she did have a boyfriend and what was she thinking? She had been so lost in the magic of the meeting. She couldn't shake the feeling that he was special. She was riding the train to go home and then noticed she didn't have the Bloomingdale's bag. She must have left it at Serendipity. She groaned and made her way back.
She asked the host if it was turned in and he said no, but that she could go check the table.
She arrived at the table and she was lucky to find the store bag underneath the table.
She sighed in relief.
Someone cleared their throat.
She looked up to find dazzling blue eyes. The same ones she had been staring at for hours.
"Hey, what are you doing here?" she asked while picking up a black pashmina.
"I forgot my scarf," he said, pointing at her hands.
"Oh!" Emma said as she walked towards him and wrapped it around his neck.
His breath hitched at her proximity.
"We keep meeting," Emma said with a smile.
"Aye, it appears we do."
"Maybe we should do something?"
"Alright, what do you want to do?" he asked.
They end up ice skating.
Emma gracefully skated around him, giggling at his hesitant movements.
"So I need to know, are you here to marry someone for a green card?"
He laughed loudly. "No, lass. Did the accent give me away as a foreigner?"
"Okay, what do you miss the most about home?" she asked.
"That is easy, my brother."
"I'm sure he misses you, too. I would miss you," she said, smiling when she noticed the tip of his ears reddening.
"It's my turn to ask a question. What is your favorite movie?" he asked, shaking off the moment.
Emma stopped for a second. "That is an easy one. The Princess Bride." She shrugged. "What about you?"
"The Pirates of Penzance. It appears we have the love of pirates in common," he said.
"Yes, it does. Okay my turn, favorite New York moment?" Emma asked.
He pondered his answer for a minute. "This one is sailing to the number one spot."
She grinned and then she bit her bottom lip. "What is your favorite sex position?" she asked while raising her eyebrows.
He growled at her. "You are being very cheeky, lass."
She laughed, lost her balance, and promptly fell down.
"Lass, are you alright?" he asked as he helped her to her feet. He inspected her for any damage.
"I'm okay," she grumbled.
He gently grabbed her hand and noticed a deep slash.
"Oww!" she winced.
"Let's look at this." He guided her to the bench and sat down. He inspected the cut carefully. He reached into his coat pocket and took out a flask.
"What the hell is that?" Emma asked as he poured it on her injured hand.
"Rum," he said as he took his scarf and wrapped it around her hand slowly while staring deeply into her eyes.
Emma sighed.
He grinned and with difficulty turned his eyes away to inspect his handy work. He traced some freckles on her arm.
"What is it?" she asked.
"It's just that your freckles resemble the constellation Cygnus. Did you know Cygnus is associated with the myth of Zeus and Leda in Greek mythology? Its neighboring constellations are Draco and Pegasus, among others. Sorry, lass, I fail to recall all of them at the moment."
Emma was distracted by his soothing voice and how warm his fingers felt on her arm while he traced the freckles.
He cleared his throat. "Lass, perhaps exchanging contact information would be acceptable?" he asked, hoping she would agree.
She wasn't the type of girl to give a guy her information while dating another, but there was nothing wrong with making a new friend.
"Okay, can I borrow your phone?" she asked.
He patted his pockets and shook his head. "I must have left mine at home charging. I'm sorry, but I can enter my details in yours."
She smiled and searched for it in her bag but came up empty. "Damn it. I don't have my phone either. I hope you don't mind if we exchange information old school." She wrote down her name and phone number on a piece of paper and a gust of wind blew it away.
He huffed his disappointment and said, "Perhaps it was fate telling us to back off."
"I don't believe in fate. I can write it on something else," she said when she noticed his face.
He smiled. "I have an idea." He took out a five-dollar bill. "Write down your name and phone number."
She did as he told her and once she was finished, she handed the five dollar bill to him.
"Thank you, my lady," he said and walked across the street to a vendor's cart.
She eyed him curiously. He was so oddly refreshing.
He purchased some gum with the money and turned to wink at her as he walked away.
She jumped into action and walked after him. "Hey! What was that? I thought we were exchanging information."
"Lass, the signs point out it's not the right time, but when it is, you will hear my voice and then you will believe in fate."
She rolled her eyes. "You don't have an incredible night with a perfect stranger and leave it to chance? But what about me? Shouldn't I get the same opportunity to find something with your details? It would be the fair thing."
"You are right," he said as he found a table filled with books for sale. His eyes brightened when he found the perfect one and picked it up. "See this copy of JM Barrie's Peter Pan? I will write down my name and phone number and sell it to a used book store tomorrow. You will have to go in the stores and check to see if it's there."
The truth was that he wanted to ignore the signs. He smiled at Emma and pulled her inside the hotel they were in front of. "Lass, don't worry. I'm always a gentleman." He guides her to stand in front of the elevator, and he goes to the opposite side. "When the door opens you walk inside, and once the elevator door closes you need to press a floor number. Just don't think about it. Trust your instinct. If we pick the same floor, that means this is our time. If not, I will do as we planned with the book." Just as he finished his instructions, the elevator door started to close. "My name is Killian. Have a little faith in destiny."
Without thinking, Emma threw one of her gloves at him. The elevator closed, and Emma stared at the buttons. She took a breath and pushed the number 24 button while holding the bag close to her heart.
Killian pushed floor number 24 with a hopeful smile.
Emma rolled her eyes at the man's antics. No his name is Killian. Her elevator door opened and a man and small child entered. Her heart dropped as she saw the little kid press a lot of buttons at the same time. She still had hope that he would still be there, but once she makes it to the floor, Killian is nowhere in sight.
Killian had waited longer than he expected, but Emma never arrived. So he would wait to find her.