A/N: Originally posted March 24th, 2015 to Tumblr. I had "Poor Unfortunate Souls" still fresh on my mind. All and any feedback is welcome and appreciated.
When she walked on the bow of the ship, it had lost what little sense of familiarity it once had from their time in Neverland. She wandered over to the helm, hand caressing the wheel, welcoming the faint recollections of mermaids, the scent of the sea, woods, shadows, and the echo cave. Their first kiss. So much had changed since then, years of false memories swimming in her brain only recently to be replaced by something better than she could have ever dreamed of. Her thoughts drift back to him, the reason she's here, and she continues to her destination. She finds him in his quarters, shirt strown over his bed, looking in a mirror to address the severity of his wounds. He jumps when she whispers his name, her arms wrapping loosely around him. She could see now, what Ursula had inflicted upon him, rings of red and purple enveloping his torso and ribs.
"I'm fine," he said softly, scanning her expression. "I've faced much worse injuries".
She remains quiet, pressing her lips firmly together to stop the words she feels coming out. I love you. Stay with me. I can't go home. You don't look okay. Hold me. I need you.
"Emma," He pulls her into him until it hurts to breathe, her body putting pressure on his fresh wounds. But this is a good pain and when she tries to distance herself he pulls her even closer. "Please, don't." She can feel feel the vibration of his voice against her and knows he needs the comfort just as much as she.
"I'm so tired," she murmurs, head tucked under his neck, hiding her glossy water-rimmed eyes in his shoulder, arms cocooning his neck. He guides her to the bed and props a pillow under her head, curling up next to her, letting her legs drape over his own. She notices the many scars she hadn't known were there, hesitantly tracing over them with her thumb, listening as he told her the stories of how they came to be, of his pirating days.
"Are you cold?" he asks, turning to his side to pull her closer, throwing a nearby quilt over them. She smiles because he was always so warm and she wasn't used to having him like this, to be able to fully enjoy how warm his blood run and just be with him.
"Only if you move." she whispers, running her fingers through his hair.
"I'm here as long as you want me." He kisses her head, listening to the sound of her heartbeat against the crashing waves, grateful to find her in the same position when they wake up the next morning.