Once Upon a Time, it's characters, and plots do not belong to me.
Mamihlapinatapei.
He'd sailed the seas of Seven Lands, communicated in more than a dozen languages, and at this moment, it was the only word that he could bring to mind. No matter that he could barely pronounce it and only vaguely understood what it meant.
Until this moment, when his eyes met hers.
Killian had first heard the word from Old Akuna during one of his visits to the Haturo, one of the Islands of Fire. Rather than being warm as the name would imply, the Islands were actually quite cold and had gotten their name from the large fires that the islanders built to keep warm. When making port here, Killian spent most of his time in the tavern trying to stay warm and playing a game of chess with the proprietress, Old Akuna.
She was a plump woman with snow-white hair. The story of her life was written in the deep lines on her face. Living as the daughter of a pirate had left worried creases on her forehead, but a thousand smiles had left joyful lines at the corner of her eyes.
It was over a game of chess one night that Akuna had told him of her girlhood love for Ipo, the magistrate's son. Ipo's father would never have approved of a pirate's daughter like Akuna, so they had planned to board a ship and elope, leaving the little island behind, but before they could, the magistrate captured Akuna's father and his crew and sentenced them all to hang.
"The last time I saw Ipo, I looked into his eyes and he looked into mine and neither of us said a word. A bouquet of thoughts and nothing to say. That is Mamihlapinatapei," she said.
Listening to her, he understood what she was saying on an intellectual level, but it still didn't make any sense to him. He was a charmer that used his silver tongue to get what he wanted. There was not a moment that he could recall not having something to say.
Until she sailed into Neverland.
The sailor manning the crow's nest had spied a ship ahead and Hook decided to pursue and engage. It was rare to see any ships but the Jolly Roger in these waters and those that did brave the journey to Neverland were usually looking for trouble.
As they sailed closer, he was surprised to see that the ship in question was The Poppy, a simple merchant ship. Hook had run across its captain, John Kyd, several times, but never in conflict. The man only transported goods to ports across the Seven Lands. There were no tales of him turning pirate, so what could have possibly brought him to Neverland?
Captain Hook hailed The Poppy indicating that he only wanted to speak to its Captain in peace.
"Ahoy, Captain Kyd!" he yelled as John Kyd appeared at the ships railing. "This is a surprise! What brings you to Neverland?"
"Ahoy, you scurvy dog!" Captain Kyd laughed as he replied. "Don't worry, I'm not trying to run afoul of you. I just gots a passenger paid a pretty penny to get herself up here. She has business on the island is all. Don't mean no harm to your ship and neither do we."
"All is well friend. I will not impede your passage," Killian said. "I must know though, what sort of business would a woman have in Neverland?"
"I asked it of her, but she would only say that her business is her own and none of mine…"
Captain Kyd continued to speak, but Killian's attention had been drawn to movement behind the man. The door leading to the ship's cabins opened and a woman stepped out. He would have known her anywhere. The light auburn hair, curling with the damp of the sea and the anger in her eyes when they set upon the man that had stolen her heart from her chest while she slept.
Rage filled her eyes, but she didn't say a word.
Sorrow filled his own, but he kept his lips sealed tight.
He could see that she wanted nothing more than to jump across to the Jolly Roger and scream and rail and scratch that permanent smirk off his face. But she stood, and stared, and she stayed quiet.
As Killian stared back, all he wanted to do was quietly ask for her forgiveness. There were lines that he said he would never cross and in his all-consuming thirst for revenge, he had crossed them anyway and spit on them as he did. He wanted to receive her forgiveness and her justice. But he stood, and stared, and stayed quiet.
Mamihlapinatapei.
A bouquet of thoughts and nothing to say.
It was only when Captain Kyd had cleared his throat that Killian finally looked away from Aurora. "Captain Kyd, you will have no hindrance from me or my crew as long as you are in Neverland. Keep shy of the mermaids and watch for the Lost Boys. They think all adults are pirates."
"Thanks you so much Hook!"
"No thanks are necessary," he said and then added "Let your passenger know that should she need aid, she only need whisper to the wind. It will carry her message to me and I will be there to help."
Aurora looked as if she would rather be speared to death by Indians than ask for his help, but at least she had heard his words.
He knew that what he had done was beyond forgiveness, but he was willing to try, even if it meant he would spend the rest of his life waiting to hear her voice on the wind.
Author's Notes: So that's it. This is my first attempt at sleeping hook and I wrote it on my lunch break at work today. It needs some work, but I might try to flesh it out a bit and see where it goes rather than just leaving it as a one-shot. Please let me know what you think!
Mamihlapinatapei is a word from the Yaghan language of Tierra del Fuego. There's no single word in the English language that means the same thing, but it can be roughly translated as ""a look shared by two people, each wishing that the other will offer something that they both desire but are unwilling to suggest or offer themselves." There are a few variations of this, but what they all have in common is a shared look, thinking something, but purposely saying nothing.
"A bouquet of thoughts and nothing to say," is a line from the song Bouquet by Caravan of Thieves. It's a more fancy way of describing the concept of Mamihlapinatpei. You can listen to the song at watch?v=FmGFE8j22QY
Captain John Kyd was the father of the British privateer Captain William Kidd. He was lost at see when Captain Kidd was still a child.
The PoppyI have read several different books that included ships by the name of The Poppy. I also used it simply because I think they're pretty.