This idea popped up in my head a while ago when I talked to a friend about our upcoming vacations - I've never been camping in my life and I still don't know if I really want to go but here is my idea of Emma and Killian going camping
thanks to hookedonapirate for your constant support and your friendship
Ask whomever you want - Killian Jones was by far the best husband in the world. He was honest, he was loyal, fair, caring and not only attractive but also an unbelievable romantic lover and a great, respecting friend. He had only one weakness - Emma Swan.
Emma was a stubborn woman, lightheaded, impulsive, careless but also very loyal, beautiful, fearless and head over heels into Killian Jones.
She knew his weakness and she never stopped using it to get what she wanted. But this time, this time she hadn't to do anything at all with the whole thing.
It was a nice evening at the end of June when Killian and Emma sat on the couch, watching a Marvel film, Emma's head heavy on Killian's shoulder.
"Love? Do we have any plans next weekend?" Killian broke the silence making Emma lift her head, eyeing him with one raised eyebrow.
"No, why? You have anything in mind?" Emma looked at Killian sleepily, being snuggled up with her better half on their couch was one of her favourite things in the world. Something she loved doing whenever they had the possibility to do it. His arms were her safe haven.
"Well," he started scratching behind his ear nervously, "I thought about taking you camping."
Emma's heart skipped a beat, a huge grin appearing on her face. "You... you want to take me camping? But... but you told me you hate camping, Why? Why would you do that?" She couldn't believe what Killian just told her.
"Because I love you and I know you always wanted to go camping ever since your childhood." He smirked at her.
Suddenly Emma sat up straight, in a smooth motion she swung herself on his lap, straddling him, starting to shower his whole face with kisses. "I love you, Killian. I love you so much."
"So is this a yes, shall we go camping?" He beamed at her like a small child, seeing his Swan so happy made him happy too.
"Aye", she mocked him but before he could say anything she captured his lips with hers. When they finally broke apart he smiled at her.
"Good, because I already bought all we need and I wasn't sure how I could hide it any longer in the garage."
Emma smacked his shoulder still smiling. "So that's the reason I have to park my bug outside the last days and was not allowed to enter the garage?"
Killian nodded and pulled her face back down to kiss her again.
"Oh my god,Killian, it's beautiful here." Emma's eyes blew wide. She was standing on a rock plateau the lake surrounded by woods on full display.
He smiled at her, put his arms around her from behind and laid his chin on her shoulder. "Have you imagined it like that?"
Emma turned her head. "Does that mean we can stay here that night? But we are in the middle of nowhere, isn't it forbidden to camp wild?"
"We won't camp wild. I talked to the ranger and got permission. There are some specific spots in these woods where you can camp with permission."
He couldn't say no more as Emma already pressed her lips against his. "I love you so much. Thank you, Killian, thank you for everything."
He smiled at her and took her hand. "Come, love, we still have to hike a bit until we reach the lake and the spot we can camp." He led her down the platform,through the forest towards the lake. Two hours later they nearly reached their goal.
"Dammit," Emma muttered under her breath. It was hot, she was exhausted and she got stung by the hundredths mosquito already.
"Are you alright, love?" Killian looked at her concerned. He could tell she wasn't feeling comfortable and happy, but he needed to hear it from herself.
"I'm fine," as answered but added quickly when she saw his look, "just a bit hot."
Killian nodded understandable. "I know, sweetheart. Just a bit further. We can go swimming after we set up our tent."
"But I haven't brought a swimsuit," Emma complained before she saw the mischievous look on her husband's face. Oh. A smile appeared on her face, replacing her grumpy look.
"That's my girl", Killian said smiling and grabbed her hand again. "Come on, love. Enjoy the nature. See it as an adventure. You always wanted to go on adventures and go camping."
Emma nodded. But it looks so much more enjoyable on tv she thought but kept her mouth shut.
Fifteen minutes later they finally reached the camping spot. There was a little fireplace and a large spot under a tree, perfect for their two-men-tent.
"Okay, let's start to set up the tent, than we will collect some firewood and after that we can go swimming. Later we can make some sausages and potatoes over the fire and we can have marshmallows." He wiggled his eyebrows still smiling.
Emma nodded but when she turned she rolled her eyes. She was tired and didn't want to set up the tent or collect fire wood or wait so long for her food. She placed her backpack on the ground and looked for her Thermos bottle. She needed a cup of coffee now, no matter how hot it was. After searching her bag for the third time she gave up and let out a frustrated sigh.
"Emma? Is everything alright?" Killian sat in between ropes, metal poles, tent stakes, a plastic tart and the still folded tent itself.
"My coffee isn't here," she huffed annoyed and sat down on a log in front of the fireplace.
"Oh honey, I am sorry. How about you go and collect some fire wood, that will distract you. I think I can manage the set up alone."
Emma nodded and walked a bit into the woods. She found some small logs and picked them up but when she picked up the last one she didn't look closely and burned herself on a stinging nettle.
She let go of the logs and pressed her hand to her chest. "Dammit." She wanted to scream, but she didn't want to concern Killian. She breathed the pain away and went on with her task.
Fifteen minutes later she walked back with a pile of fire wood in her hands. She threw them into the fireplace and sat back on the log.
Killian poked his head out of the already set up tent. "Everything alright, love?" He got out and closed the zipper before he walked to her. "Emma, your hand! What happened?"
"Stinging nettle. It's nothing." He picked up her hand and inspected it closely.
"Doesn't look like nothing. Let's go to the lake, afterwards I can put on some salve."
"You brought something against stinging nettle?" Emma raised an eyebrow.
"Not specifically for it but for mosquito bites, sun burn and stinging nettle injuries." Killian scratched behind his ear. "Too much?"
Emma shook her head smiling, she traced his scruff, enjoying the feeling of her husband's strong jaw underneath. "Let's go for a swim, husband."
"As you wish," he answered and scooped her up. He threw her over his shoulder and carried her to the waterside.
The water was a bit cool but it was refreshing. Without any hesitation Emma got rid of her clothes and jumped into the lake followed by Killian.
They started to kiss and fool around, splashing and diving each other. They completely lost track of time. Killian broke their passionate kiss when he heard a roll of thunder. He looked up and closed his eyes. They were surrounded by dark clouds.
"Emma, we should head back to the tent, I think it will start raining any minute."
Emma looked up shocked. "Oh my, when did that happen?" She looked at her husband placing both arms around his neck. "I think we got a bit distracted."
"Aye, I would say so." He followed her out of the water when Emma suddenly screamed. "Emma?!"
"Dammit, I think I stepped on something." He lifted her leg so she and Killian could have a closer look.
"Aye, you stepped on a piece of glass. But it's not a deep cut."
"But it stings like hell," she replied pissed. Killian pulled out the shatter.
"Can you walk?" Emma nodded, she avoided stepping on the wound. Slowly she followed Killian who picked up their discarded clothes. He handed her her shirt and panties before he put on his boxers and own shirt.
When Killian offered her his help, she refused it annoyed. Killian bit down on his lip. My stubborn Swan he thought walking next to her towards the tent.
He saw that Emma shivered, realising that the temperatures had fallen and it was getting very cold. When they finally saw their tent there was a loud roll of thunder again before the rain started to fall.
Emma shrieked, she tried to limp quicker. Killian started to run to the tent, putting everything inside as fast as possible. He turned around looking for Emma who was already standing right in front of him.
She was soaked and didn't look happy at all. He tried to cheer her up by a smile but Emma only crawled into the tent. She searched for some dry clothes and changed as quick as possible. Killian did the same, watching his wife closely. He knew that look. She was pissed and she wasn't comfortable. This trip wasn't anything like expected.
"Show me your foot, Emma. I will disinfect it and bandage it." Emma nodded, looking into the rain with a blank expression.
"What shall we do now?" She asked while another thunder could be heard. She hissed while Killian cleaned and bandaged her wound.
"Sorry," he mumbled and placed a kiss on the bandage. "We will make the best out of the situation," he then answered her question.
"But we cannot lite a fire, we cannot cook or have marshmallows. The wood is wet, the rain would douse the fire immediately." She shook her head before leaning against Killian's shoulder.
"So we eat fruits and cookies instead. We won't starve. When the rain stops we can still try to lite a fire." Emma nodded. She was disappointed, she couldn't understand why this whole trip was nothing like she imagined it. "Come here, love," Killian put his arm around her, pulling her closer. "I am sorry that this trip isn't like expected. If I had known it would rain, we would never..."
Emma crashed her lips into his, silencing him immediately. The last thing she wanted was him to believe he did something wrong. He wasn't responsible for the weather or that she was clumsy or that she forgot her coffee or anything else. Anything he did was perfect. He found the perfect spot for her, he was there for her, he even went camping although he hated it as he went too often with his own dad and brother when he was young.
No, nothing was Killian's fault, it wasn't even her fault. She deepened the kiss, suddenly not being that hungry anymore.
Emma laid her head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat. It was still raining but she wasn't cold anymore, being here in Killian's arms was like heaven. She always felt safe and protected, she always was happy being that close to her husband.
"Thank you, Killian. This trip isn't perfect but I appreciate that you wanted to fulfil my dream."
"Always, love, and I have to admit that I kind of enjoyed it. Setting up the tent after a good hike, swimming with my beautiful wife, being alone and relaxing is something I will never get tired of."
"I love you, Killian."
"I love you too, Emma."
The next morning they woke up more exhausted than the day before. Neither of them slept well, neither of slept much. The rain had stopped a bit after midnight but everything was still wet.
Emma sighed, stretching out all the kinks in her body. She watched Killian who laced his shoes. "You wanna go home?" His voice startled her. Guilt-ridden she couldn't even look into his eyes. Yes, she wanted to go home but she didn't want to admit it, she didn't want to ruin this trip because of her egoism.
"No, I am fine. What did you plan for today?" She gave him a half hearted smile.
Killian swallowed. He looked her up and down. He could see she didn't want to stay, he just didn't understand why she wouldn't tell him. "Well to be honest I didn't plan much."
"Oh. Okay. How about we go for a hike? Explore the environment a bit?"
Killian looked at her again. "Emma, we can really..."
"Come on, Killian", Emma got up and unzipped the entrance to the tent completely. The whole surrounding didn't look inviting at all but she ignored it and inhaled the fresh air.
"Hmmm," Killian's voice behind her made her smile. She turned around and kissed him quickly. "How is your foot? Sure you can hike?"
Emma totally forgot about her injury. She put more weight on the foot not feeling any pain. "Doesn't hurt at all. Thanks to the best doctor by my side." She pecked his lips again before grabbing her backpack. She packed two water bottles, apples and some slices of bread and turned around. "I'm ready when you are."
Killian nodded. "So let's go than, love." They decided to walk around the lake. They knew they wouldn't be able to surround it completely but that didn't prevent them from going.
Killian took many pictures with his phone, Emma didn't want to use hers as she was afraid of dropping it. When they had to decide where to go next, Emma insisted in climbing up a rock so they could get another look over the lake.
It hadn't looked that high but when she was on top, she got a bit dizzy from looking down. She slowly stepped back waiting for Killian. "Wow, this is an incredible view, isn't it?! Even better as from the plateau yesterday." Killian turned around seeing her white face. "Emma?"
"It's quite high, don't you think? I thought we could go back from here but I am afraid we have to climb back down and I... I don't know... I don't think..." She looked at him white like a sheet, her breath was uneven, her heart pounding in her chest.
"Emma, look at me - look at me. It won't be a problem, we can do that together. You don't have to be afraid. You are safe as long as you are with me. I will guide and help you." He took her face into his hands. "Do you trust me?"
Emma nodded slightly trying to calm down. "Yes, I do trust you."
"Good, let's enjoy the view and eat a bit before we climb down again, okay?"
Emma nodded again hugging him tight. They ate in silence, looking at the lake. Killian sat behind Emma, he kissed her bare shoulder and stroked her hair. She doze of, surrounded by Killian's warmth and the fresh, clean air; feeling save and loved.
An hour later Killian woke her gently. "Love, I think it's starting to rain again, we should go." Emma nodded sleepily. She got up, rubbing her eyes. They slowly started to climb down. Killian was the first, helping Emma place her feet to solid ground.
"Okay, stop, love. I need to check where to go down from here. Please hold on." Emma nodded, staying where she was. Killian climbed down a bit further, looking up to Emma. "Do you think you can handle it on your own with my guidance from down here?"
Emma turned her head, looking over her shoulder down to Killian. She felt dizzy again and turned her head hastily. She pressed herself against the wall, trying to stay calm. She wasn't that high and normally she had no problems with highs at all, so why now?
"Emma, are you alright?" Killian's voice soothed her instantly.
"Yes," she answered, trying to keep her voice steady. "Just tell me where to place my feet."
Slowly she climbed down with Killian's help. "Okay? You can jump from this high, look, it's less than six feet."
"I'm scared. I think I can't do that." Emma looked down again, again feeling dizzy. While climbing down the weather had changed and it was raining slightly. Emma clung to the wall, not able to let go.
"Emma trust me. I will catch you."
"No, I will hurt you. Just tell me where to place my feet so I can climb down the last bit on my own."
"Okay. But be aware, the rock is getting slippery because of the rain." Killian guided her and everything went well until Emma suddenly put her foot on a non solid rock. The stone came lose and fell down with several smaller ones. Killian had to turn a bit not to get any gravel in his eyes.
That was the moment Emma lost her grip. With a high pitched scream she fell to the ground. Killian was with her in an instant. "Emma! Love are you hurt?"
Emma tried to sit up and looked at him shaking her head. "No, I don't think so." She looked at her left foot, there was a small cut on her knee. She tried to get up with Killian's help feeling a sharp pain in her left foot.
She tried to make a blank face, not willing to show Killian that she was hurt. She tried to walk slowly while Killian was distracted by collecting the belongings which fell out of her backpack.
She could walk but it hurt immense and she wasn't very quick. The way to their tent would be very long. "Can we walk a bit slower please?" Emma bit down on her lower lip, the longer she walked the more her leg hurt.
"You okay? You look a bit pale." Killian's voice was full of concern. Emma's eyes filled with tears. She looked down, avoiding Killian's look. "Emma?"
She kept quiet still walking towards their camping spot. "Emma? Love please talk to me. Are you in pain? Did you hurt yourself?"
When they finally reached their tent, Emma sat down on the log by the fireplace. She put her face in her hands. She was exhausted, she was in pain and she was soaked. She wanted to go home but she knew she must walk for over two hours to get to their car.
"Emma," she felt a strong arm placed around her shoulders. She turned and buried her face on his shoulder.
He stroked her back, holding her tight. "Are you in pain?" She nodded. "Is it your leg?" Emma nodded again. "Do you want to go home?" She nodded again but this time she looked up, wiping away her tears.
"I don't think I can walk another two hours," she said with a small voice.
"Oh, Emma. I can call the rangers and they can pick us up with the boat and bring us back to the headquarters or to our car." He kissed her temple.
"They can?!" She asked starting to sob uncontrollably. She felt so silly, she felt relieved and couldn't believe how their weekend went.
Killian made the call, started to pack up their tent. They walked to the lake, waiting there to be picked up. Emma felt guilty for ruining their weekend, felt bad for not telling Killian to go home this morning.
Killian watched her. "I can practically hear you think, love. Please don't blame yourself for anything. I had a great weekend - do you know why?"
She looked up. "I had a great weekend because we were together. I had a great weekend because besides some not so great moments we had some alone time. We could forget the whole stress, could relax and enjoy the nature."
Emma sniffed and nodded. She pulled her closer, placing another kiss to her temple. "Rest my love, we will be picked up soon."
Emma laid on their couch, looking at Killian. Her left leg propped up on some pillows a leg brace around her knee.
"Do you want to see the pictures of our camping trip?" Killian asked his wife smiling.
"Sure," she adjusted herself so her husband was able to come closer. She was surprised how many pictures he took - how happy she looked. She looked up and beamed at him. "Thanks again for taking me camping."
"Although you didn't like it at all and hurt your knee?" Killian raised an eyebrow sceptically.
"Yes." She smiled at him warmly. "I love you, Killian Jones. I love you so much for being there for me, for granting me every wish, for spoiling me and loving me with all my kinks and my stubbornness.
Killian kissed her briefly. "For as long as you want me by you side I will be there for you. I love you too, Emma."