A Neverland fic that could be a canon divergence but consider it as a missing scene from around 3x02
He sat on a fallen tree, scratching his hook in the brown, mud-like ground and occasionally swatting the bugs away that came to terrorize them. Emma was seated not far from him on a large, mossy rag spread across, protecting her clothes from getting even filthier. Her eyes kept reverting to his figure, scrutinizing his nonchalant posture.
"Why are you here?" she wondered.
The volume of the question was too loud to merely be a question to herself and Emma doubted that it was. But it was also too quiet for Hook to understand.
"Come again?"
His hand traced the metal to get rid of any crumbs of dirt remaining. Hook teared his attention away from his curved attachment and transferred it to Emma. His characteristic eyebrow went up.
"Why are you here?" Emma asked again, her voice more firm and demanding this time.
"To help you get your son back." he said after a pause and slowly, trying to clarify something he had explained the instant they all set foot on his ship and began their desperate quest. Something that had echoed several times during their journey.
Emma tried to settle for that answer, had been attempting for some time, but it was Hook. Her mind kept mentioning his reputation. He wasn't supposed to be helpful and generous, he needed to be selfish and annoying and just eye roll material. Nothing more.
While Emma was deep in thought, her brain pondering over the seemingly hard puzzle, Killian spoke again.
"Swan, why do you think I'm here?"
His voice rose slightly and Emma casted a look towards their companions but they were all concentrated on themselves, not paying attention to Emma and Hook facing each other. She turned back to him.
"I don't know, Hook." sounded as her reply. "I have been trying to figure out your secret agenda for hours now. Why don't you simply tell me?"
It was a futile request, Emma was fully aware that Hook would not just unravel his secret schemes because she was so kind to ask. It would take more.
"You think I'm here for myself?" Hook suggested.
The shock tore down his carefully constructed facade and displayed the disbelief the pirate felt.
"I don't see any other reason that is probable, so tell me, does Pan have your favorite parrot in captivity or are you coming to retrieve the treasure you once buried here?"
That tinge of nastiness Emma spoke with was extraneous and her comments were lame, she knew that. At least her explanations sounded a bit logical. Hook's features were distorted in a grimace as he stood up, urging Emma to lean back.
"If you are done mocking me, let me know. I'm going for a walk." he stated shortly.
Hook never felt offended by her teasing. He always masterly retorted and gave Emma a taste of her own medicine with his ironic quips. It was their thing, the banter.
Emma didn't understand why he was so offended now. She looked back across the clearing, saw her parents facing one another in conversation, saw Regina pacing around practicing magic and had not seen Gold for some time. Stretching her legs, Emma rose. She lingered awhile, showing a great interest in the botany of this world, running her fingertips along the spine of the often pointy leaves. After she felt she had heard enough bird whistles, had turned her fair share of mosquitoes into red spots on her skin and had a sufficient amount of sweat trickle down her forehead, only then did she disappear into the forest.
Straight ahead she went, thinking it the best way not to get completely disoriented. That way, if she didn't find Hook, she could easily follow her line back to camp. Branches after branches were pushed out of Emma's face and she was starting to think Hook didn't even go this way.
To her relief, she saw the outline of his body in the dark. He had gotten rid of the coat, something Emma understood. It was boiling in Neverland. There was a welcome breeze here, however, one the sea brought. Emma's feet left the squishy soil of the jungle and stepped on the rocks of the cliff Hook was sitting on. As she reached him, she took a sharp breath of air. The rocks ended in a peak and Hook was sitting on it, feet dangling above the black nothing. Emma had to call upon her courage as she carefully seated herself next to him. Fear of heights usually did not trouble her, but she did consider herself sane.
After a moment of silence, Hook started speaking.
"You deem it so impossible that I show the slightest sign of compassion. Do you consider me a monster?"
His eyes sought out Emma's. He was trying to read her, she knew that. Recognized the feeling from the many times before Hook wanted to know what she was thinking or going through. Emma ruptured the connection by directing her eyes to the sky.
"I-" Emma hesitated.
She was not only searching something to say that would not hurt his feelings, but as well asking herself what exactly it was she was planning to say. Before she could decide, Hook took her silence the wrong way and retreated his legs, lifting them back up.
"Aha, I see." he said while moving. "I won't force you be in the company of such a vile creature any longer."
Emma sighed with his exaggeration and placed her hands behind her to push her body away from the abyss. Hurried steps narrowed the distance between them and when it completely had vanished, Emma grabbed his arm.
"Hook, wait."
His closed eyelids scrunched even more when she said that. Emma couldn't help it that that was his name. The wind had caused a blonde lock to fly away from the rest of her hair, blocking her eye and she set it back into place.
"Of course I don't think you are a terrible person." she continued.
"Then why do you keep questioning my motives? Why do you keep doubting me?"
His ringed hand came to emphasize his inquiry even more.
"Maybe I don't doubt you are here to help." Emma gingerly started."Maybe I just want to hear why exactly you care so much. He's Regina's son, Mary Margaret, David and Gold's grandson, he's my kid. Obviously, they are coming to rescue Henry but you don't owe us anything. Okay." Emma nuanced her statement. "You did sail off with the bean but Greg and Tamara were practically unstoppable. You barely know Henry. Why?"
Emma heard the birds chirp again, heard the rustle of the leaves and when she closed her eyes she heard cries, they did not sound like an exotic animal or any other creature that would roam Neverland, it sounded like humans. Ignoring her ears and the noise they detected, she shook off the feeling and returned to Hook's blue irises who were watching her intensely. He had not given her an answer yet.
"What if it was just the right thing to do?"
Emma raised her eyebrow, still unsatisfied with his answer. The little detector in her head was not content yet with the half truths he was professing.
"You really want to know?" he asked.
Undoubtedly, she wanted to know. Why would she have asked if she wasn't interested to the answer of why Hook was here? Emma eagerly nodded.
"Emma, I don't think you are ready."
His voice became softer, more raspy and it might have been that that caused Emma to reply as breathlessly as she did or it might have been the way he said Emma but breathless it was.
"For what?"
"You know for what." Hook replied, while brushing yet another strand of hair away from Emma's cheek.
It made Emma's heart stop, turned Emma stunned as Hook stepped away from the rock and faded into the green of the wood.
Yes, she knew. Maybe she had known all along.
A couple of days later, she heard it, the words tumbling from his lips in the faint light of those damned caves. Hook was right, she wasn't ready but maybe she would be.
