A/N: Sort of late, but here it is! This is my gift to Zoe, for the Captain Swan Secret Survivor thingy on Tumblr!
Read and enjoy, hope you like it :)
Killian's ocean blue eyes were beautiful, and against the popular saying of "getting lost in his eyes", Emma felt found and understood whenever she looked at them. It was like having all the pieces of the puzzle finally coming together, and much to her delight, they fit perfectly. She smiles a lot now, genuinely… her smile now reaches her eyes and it's all because of him. It was a shame she hadn't gathered enough courage to tell him those three words specifically; of course she tried to make him feel her love, it was there, whenever they kissed she poured as much love as she's able; and when they made love she didn't even have to try, every soft touch and caress were enough to make him understand everything she felt for him. But still, Emma knew he needed to hear her saying them and she wanted to tell him so badly sometimes it was hard to sleep.
Why couldn't she just tell him?
As the thoughts raced through her mind for what felt like the thousandth that day, she didn't even realize he was approaching her, the sand beneath his feet made him soundless; so when he sat down next to her, Emma felt like he'd caught her red-handed.
"You scared me" she said without looking at him; she focused instead in the sand seeping between her toes and relished at the feeling of it. The sun was rising and the sky was painted with beautiful tones of pink and violet that reflected on the water, with such an amazing display of color it was hard to see the horizon; it all seemed like an infinite landscape.
Watching sunrises together had become a hobby by accident; their first day had utterly sucked and they ended up in the beach, talking and talking until the first lights of the morning hit their faces. Now they just woke up really early to watch the break of the day and then they went back to sleep, even with their clothes on.
The sound of the water licking the shore delicately soothed her; Emma then watched with amusement how some of the small rocks and seashells where dragged back to the sea by the water and how the bigger ones put up some resistance but in the end where finally defeated anyhow. Maybe she was one of those bigger rocks and Killian was the ever persistent ocean tide; going back and forth until he dragged her into the depths of him, she had surrendered and now she was being absorbed to the very core of the ocean –his love, she could see the darkness and feel the strength of the pull, but Emma could also feel the warmth, the life and how gentle –how easy– it could be his loving.
Killian was the ocean himself.
"Didn't mean to, forgive me, Swan," he said after what felt like ages of silence. Emma then turned her head to the right look at him and smiled; he would never stop wearing black, but the variations of his forever dark outfit were interesting. For example, at the moment he was wearing just his black loose shirt and his leather trousers were replaced by a pair of jeans Emma had given him; oh, he wasn't wearing any shoes either "like what you see?" he smirked at her when he noticed she'd been staring.
Emma snapped out of her trance and glared at him, faking annoyance was hard when there was still a smile tugging at the edges of her lips, and Killian laughed victoriously when he saw it.
"It's okay, love. I'm a rather dashing pirate captain, there's nothing to be ashamed of… I don't blame you for staring." Killian winked at her.
A soft breeze started to dance around them then, taking Emma's hair along for the party. Killian used his good arm and hand to place a strand of golden hair behind her ear and then he sighed.
"What? What is it?" Emma asked, nervous for some reason she didn't quite know.
"You're a hell of a sight, Swan. What this light does to your hair, your skin… your eyes," he explained as he came closer to her "it should be illegal" he stopped when he was inches away from her face.
Emma laughed and leaned forward, she pressed her forehead against his; slightly brushing their noses.
"I'm a sheriff, I can't afford to get arrested" then she shortened the space between them and kissed him.
As usual, he was gentle and loving. Emma put her open lips on his before slowly letting them shut, repeating the motion as she twisted her fingers in his hair; Killian cupped the back of her head, just like any other time they kissed, and brought her closer to him; placing a hand on his chest, Emma could feel his heart racing and she sighed at the thought of how it was all because of her, his heart was hers.
Killian then began to put some distance between them, smiling as he slowly pulled away.
"Come on" he said and stood up. He offered Emma his hand and helped her to stand back on her feet; Killian never let go of her as he walked towards the water.
The sun was slowly going up as they strolled along the shoreline, walking between the land and the sea with their bare feet while they held hands. The playful breeze returned then, making Emma's hair go crazy once more and also playing with her white dress this time, making it flow like the water itself.
Emma turned to look at Killian and felt taken aback by the way the light hit him, by the way his hair was being affected by the wind, he should be illegal too and even better; she could actually arrest him and use her handcuffs. But all kinky thoughts went away when she saw the way he was staring at her; her stomach fluttered and her knees went weak because he was looking at her with such loving eyes; Emma couldn't believe it had taken her so long so admit she loved that man.
It was still taking her too long. The words were still caged between her lips.
"You know this thing between us is magical, right?" she asked him, pulling him closer to her. Emma grabbed his hand and his hook and made him circle his arms around her.
"Aye, I know that" Killian answered, his eyes burning into hers.
This was it, she had to tell him now or she would never do it. "I never thought I'd feel like this. I know we're both full of crap and that I might be a pain in the ass sometimes, but we make a hell of a team, Killian. I love you."
Her heart was doing back flips and dancing merengue inside her chest, and the air… God, she forgot how to breathe. With somebody else the lack of response would've made her panic, but Killian was probably pushing it all down his throat so he could finally speak or do something, because the look in his eyes was enough to let her know he had listened.
And he returned the feeling now more than ever.
"I love you," Emma said again and kissed him softly on the lips "I love you…" she repeated between kisses before he fully embraced her and kissed her back with a passion that was not meant to be shown in a public beach.
The sun was finally up now.
His lips were soft and demanding, he kissed her for all he was worth and stole the little air she had from her lungs. Emma ran her fingers through his hair and pulled him impossibly closer, shivering when she felt his hook running up her spine. Killian angled her head with his hand so he could deepen the kiss and Emma parted her lips without any resistance, letting him enter her mouth. It didn't matter they'd kissed a billion times before, every brush of lips was enough to set her on fire and make her feel like she'd never been kissed before, she saw stars behind her eyelids.
"I love you too, Swan," he muttered between soft pecks and ragged breaths "but you knew that already" he smiled before letting his lips fall on hers once again.