A/N: This is a one shot I wrote as a submission for the Captain Swan writing challenge on Tumblr, based on the prompt "tomorrow." Speculation for season 5 because I'm dying to see Captain Charming bonding.
It's after dark when he hears David arrive at the docks and make his way onto the Jolly Roger, just as he has every night since it happened. It's been a week since Emma sacrificed herself, taking the Dark One's curse and their happiness away with her. Every night since, her father has gone to see Killian, trying to offer some kind of support while the pirate continues his attempts at drinking away the emptiness in his heart that Emma's absence has caused.
Killian doesn't look up when he hears David's footsteps coming closer, nor when he sits down on the deck beside him, instead simply handing over his flask to share a drink just as they have for the past several nights. He knows David simply wants to help, wants his friend to understand that he's not the only one that's hurting, that he knows what it's like to lose Emma, too. But he also knows it's harder on Killian, who has lost the only light in his life that he's had in centuries.
David takes a swig of the rum before giving the flask back to Killian and taking a deep breath. "Look, Killian, I know this has been hard on you."
Killian laughed dryly before he could continue. "Whatever gave it away, mate?" he asked before throwing his head back to consume what little rum he now had left.
"You didn't let me finish. Yes it's been hard on you, it's been hard on everyone that cares about her. But sitting around Storybrooke miserable isn't gonna make this any better. We have to find Merlin and work together to save Emma, which I have a feeling is going to require your help."
Killian threw his flask across the ship and covered his face with his hands as it lands on the other side of the deck. He couldn't believe David was delusional enough to believe he could free Emma from the darkness. "I didn't even have the chance to tell her how I felt before she was taken away. What makes you think I could possibly play any part in bringing her back?"
The moment replays in his head, just as it has hundreds of times since it happened. Killian's fear of losing his happy ending had come true when his Swan, brave and selfless as always, had given up her own happiness to restore someone else's. He hears her last words to him constantly, no matter how hard he tries to forget, each time a painful reminder that he wasn't able to say it back.
"Killian, she knows how you feel about her. You may not have said it, but I think it was made obvious when you traded your home for her, and even more so when you put yourself in front of my sword to make sure she and Henry were able to escape Snow and I in that alternate reality. And I'm more than willing to bet that you'll be proving it to her again if True Love's Kiss is what's required to break her curse."
He looked at David, surprised. "You really think I'm her True Love?" Killian knew he had finally begun to warm up to him, but hearing the prince put that kind of faith in him was completely unexpected.
David sighed before answering Killian's question. "I may have given you a hard time about Emma before, but I can tell you're not the person you used to be. You're good for her- you make her very happy and she trusts you, which says a lot considering everything she's been through. So yeah, I do think what you two share is true."
Killian gave him a sad smile, the first one anyone has seen on his face since Emma left. "I appreciate your confidence in me, Dave, but I'm afraid you're mistaken. I tried something like that when she couldn't remember me in New York and let's just say things didn't exactly go well."
The look on the pirate's face is the only thing that keeps David from laughing. "I'm guessing no one's ever told you how True Love's Kiss works?"
Killian all but rolled his eyes at the question. "I assume you kiss the one you love and a curse is broken or some kind of magic occurs. Why, is it more complicated than that?"
"I'd say it is," says David, smiling. "True Love's Kiss doesn't work with memory loss."
He's too shocked too say anything at first, simply stating at David, confused. All this time since he found her in New York he's tried to push the painful memory out of his mind, trying to convince himself that the whole idea of True Love was a myth, because of his wasn't Emma, he simply didn't have one. "Are you sure?" he finally asked after a moment.
"I'm positive. The same thing happened with Mary Margaret and I once." David tells him the story of when his wife drank a forgetting potion in the Enchanted Forest and how his first attempts at restoring her memory failed as well. Killian actually manages a laugh when he hears how David was hit in the head with a rock after he kissed her, remembering the similar reaction he received from Emma outside her apartment.
Although the prince has made his pain ease for a moment, he knows True Love's Kiss won't be achieved unless they find Emma. "So, then what's our first step in beginning the rescue mission?"
"Well, our biggest step is finding out exactly where Merlin is. Belle's been doing research at the library and she thinks she's found information that may help us, but it looks like this guy is in a different realm none of us have ever been to. However, it looks as if there's something in Gold's shop that can act as a portal and she's planning to make him activate it for everything he's done."
"It's at least the bloody Crocodile can do," Killian mumbles before pushing the thought aside. "So when can we depart for this other realm? We can use the Jolly to transport us, just as it did to Neverland." If Emma really is his true love, it's only fitting that he head the mission to rescue her.
"When would you like to leave? After all, you're the captain."
Killian doesn't think about it twice before responding, "Tomorrow morning. The sooner we leave, the sooner we'll have her back."
David smiles before they both stand from their seats. "We'll be here, bright and early. Oh, and, Killian?"
"Yes, Dave?"
He nods to where Killian's flask landed on the end of the deck. "Cut back on the rum? I'd hate to arrest you for sailing under the influence."
Killian laughs for the second time and so does David, relieved to see his friend finally acting like himself again. "I'm sure you would. See you tomorrow, mate."
David nods before turning away to head home. "Tomorrow."
For the first time in over a week, Killian feels hopeful. He knows they have a long journey ahead of them, but tomorrow, he gets to take the first step in the rescue mission that he knows will put Emma back in his arms again. He heads below deck for the captain's quarters, knowing he'll need to rest before the trip begins, but stops before descending down the stairs and looks up at the stars, focusing on the Cygnus he sees in the night sky.
"Emma? I don't know where you are, or if you can even hear me, love, but don't lose hope. I've headed many a rescue mission, and tomorrow, I'm coming to get my happy ending back."