Disclaimer: I do not in any way own Once Upon A Time. ABC, Disney, and whoever else have that distinction No profit is being made, and no copywrite infringement in intended.

AN: Spoilers for 4.3 Rocky Road, as this takes place immediatly following the last CS scene in that episode. Cause apparently my muse is as obsessed with Captain Swan as I am, and because I think this could be such an emotional moment and turning point, yet it is rarely, that I've found, featured in fics. Enjoy, and as always please let me know what you think.

Greater Compliment

by Lady Callista

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"To be trusted is a greater compliment than being loved" -George MacDonald

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"So will you have that drink with me?" Killian asked as the kiss finally broke, although neither of them made any move to pull away from the other.

"It's been a long day, I kinda just wanna go home and crash." Emma admitted honestly. "And I know what you said about how there's always going to be a crisis, but..."

"It's alright, Swan." He said gently, kissing her forehead as he took a small step back, his arms sliding down her back until hand and hook rested lightly on her hips. "It has been a long day, I just had to see you before it ended; I wouldn't have been able to sleep thinking things were so wrong between us. And right now I just want a few more minutes with you in my arms."

Emma realized she wanted those extra minutes as well. "I could walk you home."

Killian chuckled. "I could invite you in."

"Just for a few minutes." She whispered, arms sliding down from around his neck to take his hand in one of hers.

They grinned at each other before turning and heading back to Granny's.

They went in the back way, ascending the stairs silently, and when he unlocked his door she didn't hesitate to follow him in.

He turned even as she pulled the door closed behind her, and his eyes were hot as he took a step forward, backing her against the door. "I could ask you to stay." His voice was just a little bit wicked as his fingers reached up to thread through her hair.

"I can't, not yet." Emma felt genuine regret about that at the moment, but knew it was true.

He shifted slightly closer to her, nothing on his face showing he was either surprised or upset by her words. He didn't even seem disappointed, likely because he had known what her answer would be. "At least kiss me a little longer before sending me to my lonely bed."

She chuckled as she slid her arms under his coat and around him, her hands coming to rest low on his back. "That I can do."

The kiss turned passionate at once, although they held a slight distance between their bodies and kept their hands stationary. They both knew that they couldn't let themselves go too far, knew that not rushing this was the way to go, but as the kiss spun on Emma found herself getting lost in the scent and taste of him, and the heat of him against her body. It had been so long since she'd been with someone like this.

Almost unconsciously her hands fisted in the back of his shirt, pulling it from his pants to dance fingers along his spine. His hand in her hair tightened briefly before relaxing, and Killian broke the kiss gasping her name.

He slid back from her then, eyes hot with passion, body tensed as he fought for control.

Emma was still lost in him, and her hands slid around his waist, un-tucking the shirt as she went, thrilling when he shivered under her touch. Her hands slid under his shirt then, fingers tracing over warm flesh, watching his eyes burn into hers as she traced over his defined abs, feathered her fingertips higher until they encountered a leather strap at his shoulder. She assumed it had something to do with the way his hook was attached and would have simply passed over it in the desire for more touch, more heat, but he suddenly froze and then started to draw away from her.

"Hook." She breathed the name and saw the flash of pain in his eyes before they skirted to the side, looking anywhere but at her. She realized her mistake at once, but using the nickname was a habit it would take time to break. Emma left her fingers laying lightly on the strap as she let her palm drop to rest over his heart. "Killian." Her voice was still soft, and when he didn't turn to look at her she slid the hand that had been around his neck to his cheek, urging him to meet her eyes. When he did, the vulnerability mixed with the heat she had seen earlier nearly took her breath away.

"I've never... I mean no woman has..."

Killian didn't finish either thought, but he didn't have to. She knew he wasn't saying that he hadn't been with a woman since the hook, he was a pirate after all, but, "You never took off your shirt?"

"Sometimes. It wasn't like I was ever going to see them again, it didn't matter what they thought of me." The intensity in his eyes was almost painful to look at, and although he tried to give her his trademark smirk as he went on, it didn't reach his eyes, "But it wouldn't do for the famous Captain Hook to not have a hook while he's shagging a wench."

No, it didn't really matter what a one night stand thought of you, Emma knew that all too well. She saw through the bravado he'd tried to put into his last sentence though, and focused in on what he had left unsaid. It hadn't mattered what those random girls thought, but it did matter what she thought. He worked so hard on projecting the image, of being the swaggering, sexy, devil-may-care pirate that everyone thought he was, and she saw the flickers of terror in his eyes at the thought that this would change how she saw him, probably somehow make him less of a man.

The thought whispered through her mind that it would actually make him more of one, and make her fall more... nope, she wasn't going to go there yet. It had been hard enough to let him in as much as she had, and Emma knew herself well enough to know that if they moved too fast it would just trigger her to run away.

And she didn't want to run away from this man.

Emma blinked rapidly as she felt his shoulder shift under her hand, which still rested over his heart as well as the strap that held his hook. She realized she had been getting lost in her thoughts at the same instant she realized that the last thought hadn't inspired terror as it once would have, but rather a warm feeling that flooded up from her belly. "You've never let a woman see you without the hook." Her voice held a gentleness she was barely aware she possessed.

"No." His voice was barely a whisper, although his eyes held hers this time, refusing to look away. "It's ugly."

"It's not." Emma whispered. "I've seen you without it, remember, in the hospital. It doesn't matter to me, trust me on this."

"Swan, your eyes never left my face. Even when I gestured with it, asked about the hook, even then you didn't look at it. And that's okay, really it is luv, I know it's ugly and..."

She cut him off at that. "Nothing about you is ugly. And I did look, I just didn't stare. It really doesn't matter to me, Killian, it's just part of who you are." Everyone I've ever been with is dead. I can't lose you too. "We all have scars, some of them just happen to be on the inside. You know about most of mine. Let me see yours." Emma whispered, her hand sliding from his cheek to grasp the hook that rested on her hip, bringing it up to her lips and kissing it lightly.

His breath hitched even as his eyes widened, and the mix of awe and gratitude shining in those bright blue depths caused her heart to melt. She'd thought his face had been open earlier, but it was nothing compared to now. "Swan..."

"Trust me." She breathed as she cut him off with a kiss.

TBC...