Moving On
Fandom: Once Upon a Time
Pairing: Captain Swan
Rating: PG-13 (for now)
Chapter 1: Stargazing
Word Count: 1,032
Summary:
After the adventure in Neverland, everyone is just ready to be home and get back to normal. For Emma, that might be easier than it seems. On one side she has the enthusiastic father of her child, on the other side she has a pirate villain turned hero. Both spent most of their time in Neverland vying for her attention, and now they expect her to choose. Everyone thinks they know what she needs, even if they haven't bothered asking her, and she's spent the last ten years pretending "relationship" is just something found in fairy tales and romance novels.
Author's Note:
Please excuse the really long AN. Hopefully it will be the longest one in the story.
It's been awhile since I've written, and this is my very first OUaT fic, so please bear with me while I try to get back into the swing of writing and finding my way with our lovely characters. If you have any advice, especially for Hook and Emma, please don't hesitate to let me know.
This is going to be a multi-chapter fic, but I'm going to try to write each chapter as if it were a one-shot. That way, if I have issues updating, you guys won't be left with a cliffhanger until the muse agrees to cooperate.
For this fic to work, we go canon divergence right around Save Henry and The New Neverland. Peter Pan was defeated in Neverland, so the curse was never reenacted, Henry and Emma never left town, and no memories were wiped because there was no lost year. The Blue Fairy and Neal are both still alive. There is no Wicked Witch/Zelena. This story picks up on the Jolly Roger after Rumpelstiltskin captures Pan. For the sake of the story, Neal and Hook had the "I'm going to back off of my pursuit of Emma for the sake of Henry and having his family back together" conversation on the ship while Regina and Emma were both tucking Henry into bed.
This canon divergence also means that, while I may draw on some of it, any backstory we received after The New Neverland cannot be assumed as true while reading this story. A lot of it, especially concerning Emma and Hook, will probably end up getting used, and I might make it even more tragic than we know for sure it was.
Also, I know nothing about sailing or boats and ships. I have no idea what the parts of a boat are for or are called. Please, if you have this knowledge, help me out before Killian kills me for insulting his precious Jolly.
For the purposes of this story (and likely any OUaT fic I write), my personal head cannon is that Emma's full first name is actually Emmaline. Snow and Charming picked Emmaline, but they always planned to call her Emma for short, which is why Snow told Rumple the baby's name was Emma and the baby blanket said Emma. Pinocchio knew this and told her full first name and the nickname to the police and Child Services before he left her behind.
Stargazing
The night was beautiful above the clouds. For miles in every direction it was just the fluffy white clouds below and the blue-black sky sprinkled with thousands of jewel-toned stars twinkling away. Sighing, she took off her sweater and folded it into a makeshift pillow. She placed it on the deck beside her already discarded weapons before laying down on her back to stare at the sky until falling asleep.
"Something wrong with the crew quarters lass?"
Sitting up, she looked toward the voice. "No, I just didn't really feel like staying below deck. Regina's with Henry, Neal is in one room, and Gold's in another. My parents were pushing two mattresses together in another room, which I don't want to think about, and the only other separate room is right beside theirs. I guess I could go sleep in one of the spare hammocks with the Lost Boys, but that feels a little weird and Felix still creeps me out. I can go if I'm bothering you though, or at least move somewhere else on the deck. I didn't realize I was so close to the helm," she explained, sitting up to begin collecting her small pile of things.
"Relax lass, you can stay. Can't say I blame you. Though that's very bad form on Their Highness' part. If anyone should be indulging in a bit of fun, it should be the captain. Unless that's the real reason you've come on deck. Decided to see about the fun I promised you? Can't say I blame you love, I am a devilishly handsome hero now," he said, raising that stupid eyebrow suggestively, wicked amusement spreading across his face.
"Ugh, never mind," she huffed, heading toward the hatch. "I should have known better than to think our could stop with-with whatever this is-so we can have an actual conversation and I can get a decent night's sleep."
"Swan," he sighed, the sound stopping her just steps from the hatch. "I apologize. We've had a bad time of it, especially you with worry for your boy and father. Come back and sleep. I promise, I'll wait until you've rested a full night before gracing you with the entirety of my dashing self."
Slowly turning back around, she warily made her way back to her previous spot. After placing her belongings back on the deck, she gave him one last caution glance before laying down. "I sear, you say one more innuendo and I'm setting this bucket on fire when we get back to Storybrooke."
"Bad form lass, very bad form," he gasped. "The Jolly Roger is the finest sea vessel you shall ever find. And here I was going to offer to tell you a tale to sleep to. I've challenged men for lesser insults to the Jolly."
"I'm sorry, Hook. I promise I won't insult your wooden girlfriend again."
"I don't believe you are sincere in that apology. I can feel your sarcasm in the air around us, so think with it was your apology. And she's done such a good job getting you back to your boy."
"You're right. I don't know what we would have done…" Melancholy thick in the air, her words trailed off into silence for so long Hook thought she'd fallen asleep. Startling him with the sudden break in silence, she changed the subject in a falsely happy voice. "So what's this about a bedtime story? I haven't had one of those in years. I have got to hear what Captain Hook deems an appropriate bedtime story."
"Hmm...Aye lass, since you've appropriately apologized to the old girl, I suppose I can indulge you." Pausing for a moment to check their heading, he eventually started his story. "Did I ever tell you I had a brother? Liam was his name. Seven years older than me, and a bloody git he was. Always teasing me and giving me ridiculous nicknames and calling me his "little" brother, even when we were older and I'd grown to be the same size as him. Always did look out for me though, saying only he could mess with me, since I was his brother and responsibility.
Anyway, when I was about five, I developed a sudden…dislike…of the dark. I wouldn't go to sleep without what seemed every candle and lantern our family owned blazing in our bedroom. While it helped me go to sleep straight away, it kept Liam up for hours.
This went on for a good month before he finally decided to act. Now most older brothers would have just snuffed all the lights and told me to stop being such a child, but not Liam. No, Liam set out to find a solution for us both.
He spent ages trying to think up the perfect solution. He discarded countless plans, and I was beginning to despair that we'd ever both get a full night of sleep again. Then one day, a good three months' time from the start of his search, he stopped me from climbing into my bed after we went to our room for the night.
With a secretive smile playing over his lips and his body practically vibrating in anticipation, he dragged me over to the corner of our room and began moving the few bits of furniture we had there. Grabbing a ladder I'd never seen before from the floor, he…"
Glancing over to see what she thought of the story so far, Hook noticed Emma had fallen asleep at some point. Chuckling to himself, he watched her silently for awhile, lost in thoughts of the past and Liam. A slight shiver from Emma brought him back to the present, and he frowned as he noticed just how much the temperature had dropped. After debating with himself on if it would be going back on his promise to Bae, good form won out as Hook shrugged out of his coat. He took the few steps to where Emma lay on the deck and draped the coat over her form. Eyes lingering for a moment on her face, he carefully brushed a golden curl from across her mouth and nose before silently rising and returning to his post.