A/N: Inspired by an anonymous prompt on Tumblr - it became this one-shot, and if the muse agrees with me, there's every possibility that I will continue this one ... But for now, uh, enjoy it for what it is?

The door to the station banged shut loudly, making Emma jump in her chair as she whipped her head around to see who had decided to make such an entrance.

Her heart stopped when she saw him, leaning against the doorjamb, a cold smile on his face. "Miss me, love?" he practically sneered.

"Hook … I … "

He held up his hook, taking a step away from the door and into the room. Emma inhaled sharply as he approached.

"Oh, are you going to apologize now?" he asked her, his tone biting, and she knew she deserved it. "Spare me, princess. I know everything I need to know. You're working with the Crocodile," he spat. "Like everyone else in this bloody town of yours." The look he gave her then was almost … disappointed.

Emma glared then. "You don't know anything about what's going on!" she snapped back. "You just come in here, thinking you're going to get revenge on this man … there are so many things going on that have nothing to do with you."

"Might be that's true," Hook conceded, leaning over her desk then, invading her personal space, as he was so wont to do. "But you stole my ship." His face was very near hers now, and a smarter woman would have leaned back, but Emma found herself unable to move. He was close enough that she could feel his breath against her skin, and when he spoke again, he'd lowered his voice to almost a whisper. "That makes it a little personal, wouldn't you say, love?"

"It wasn't my idea," Emma muttered lamely, her forehead creasing.

"And I'm sure you put up such a fight." He gave her the same droll smile he'd given her in the hospital, after he'd been hit by that car, his face still far too close for her to be comfortable.

"What good would it have done?" Emma asked, struggling to maintain eye contact. "Should I have chained myself to you in protest?" She gave him a look then, noting his arched brow. "Don't answer that. Believe it or not, Hook … I've been trying to help you."

He gave her an incredulous look, finally leaning back enough that she could breathe properly again. "You've been trying to help me?" he repeated in a bland tone. "Darling, I think you need to look up the definition of 'help'."

"Goddammit, why do you think I went with him in the first place?" she spat then, slamming her hand down on the desk. "It sure as hell wasn't for me. And then you go and show up and ruin everything … I had no choice but to go with them! What am I going to do, protest and give your fucking Crocodile more ammo to further kick your ass with?"

He opened his mouth to say something, but by now, Emma was fired up and not about to let him interrupt. She was on her feet, hands splayed across the top of her desk, her eyes shooting daggers at him. "Do you honestly think that anything that's happened in the past two weeks has been enjoyable for me? Because let me tell you something, right now, my life pretty much sucks beyond the telling."

"Join the bloody club."

"And you! You are the whole and sum of why things suck so badly for me right now!" she continued, not bothering to censor her words at all now. "I have to listen to how dried up and useless I am, and then I have to see you all mangled on the side of the road … after you shot Belle, which was just fucking super, let me tell you what. You've been nothing but a pain in my ass since the first day we met, and I am sick of it. I'm tired of bending over backwards for you when you just don't seem to care at all."

His expression had gone cold again, his features a hard, stony mask. "Well, far be it for one so lowly as myself to make Your Royal Highness' life such a hardship," he spat coldly, shaking his head.

She looked at him then, as though she was just registering that he was still there. "I am trying," she bit out through gritted teeth, "to save your life here."

His eyes flashed, something unreadable in their blue depths, and he made to step toward her, before he shook his head, rolling his eyes and giving a dry, joyless chuckle. "No life here to save," he told her, turning away then and making his way toward the door.

"Hey!" Emma shouted, going around her desk and grabbing him by the wrist, making him turn around and look at her. She should have been a little more frightened by the look he gave her — he was angry and upset, and that was a volatile combination in someone like him — but she wasn't scared.

"You better let me go if you know what's good for you, Swan," he warned, his voice low.

"No," she said defiantly, her eyes meeting his. "You're not just going to walk away from me. I'm not done with you." And before she could stop herself, she curled her other hand around the back of his neck, dragging him closer to her, her lips crashing against his insistently.