Emma couldn't quite believe what she'd just heard. Hook had saved David's life? That was almost more surprising than the idea that she was in Neverland. Almost. It wasn't that she wasn't grateful. She just couldn't quite comprehend why Hook would save him, as they seemed to always be at odds. Keeping her face straight wasn't a problem, though; she'd had plenty of practice with that. So when David handed her the flask, she was able to say, "To Hook." with little to no emotion. But when Mary Margaret and David followed Regina back to their makeshift camp, Emma stayed behind, taking a swig of rum. She paced a few steps away from the clearing, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. She could feel herself stalling, though she wasn't 100% sure why. She wasn't even sure why she'd not gone back to camp...or why Hook hadn't either. Yet there they were.
Deciding on something to say, she turned to face Hook, who wasn't looking at her, and asked, "D'you really save his life?"
He stared at the ground silently for a moment before glancing at her and replying, "That surprise you?"
"Well," she began, holding out the flask. He came closer and took it from her, replacing it in his pocket, "you and David aren't exactly...how do you say it? Mates?" she stated, putting a pirate accent on the last word.
"Doesn't mean I leave your father to perish on this island." He didn't seem able to meet her eyes, as if embarrassed, until he'd finished speaking. Then his oh-so-blue eyes were on hers, an indecipherable expression on his face. She didn't know quite what it was, but something in it made her heart begin to beat the slightest bit harder. She forced a feeling of confusion on herself, like there wasn't a small voice in her head that said she knew what was going on. She ignored it.
"Thank you." she said sincerely, nodding slightly once and making sure her eyes never left his. He averted his gaze again and scratched behind his ear in a way that that small voice whispered was really cute.
"Perhaps gratitude is in order, now." he answered back quietly, his finger trailing down his jaw and tapping his lips twice. His head remained tipped down, but he looked up at her through his eyelashes, grinning in what was almost a mischievous way that hinted at the littlest bit of invitation.
"Yeah," Emma couldn't help a smile breaking through her facade as her heart leapt involuntarily, something else she pushed out of her thoughts like it hadn't happened. What she couldn't ignore was what it left behind; a slowly but steadily growing pressure in her chest that wasn't at all unpleasant. "That's what the thank you was for." He was grinning hugely now, as if he could sense her internal struggle.
"Is that all your father's life is worth to you?" he inquired, feigning innocence and raising his eyebrows disbelievingly as he stepped nearer to her, until there was barely a foot between them. Despite her attempts to remain neutral, which were growing desperate, she couldn't help a flare of anticipation and excitement at how forward he was being. In a last endeavor to not feel what she was feeling, she completely deadpanned her face aside from a small bit of forced smugness and retorted with a small shake of her head, "Please. You couldn't handle it."
"Perhaps you're the one who couldn't handle it." he answered huskily, challengingly. He put extra emphasis on the t, looking at her through his eyelashes again. In that moment she fully realized just how attractive Hook was, and she couldn't help but stare at him for a second. She was stunned both by how forward he was being and by what it was making her feel. That pressure was still there in her chest, straining towards something; if she was honest with herself, towards Hook. Suddenly no longer in control of her own body, she abruptly reached forward, grabbed the collar of his coat, and yanked him towards her, slamming her lips into his. One of her hands reached up and held the back of his head as she kissed him, closing her eyes. For an eternity-moment, both of them stood there, completely still. She felt she had shocked him. Then his hand touched her head, holding in the exact same place she was his, and he kissed back. His touch remained on her head only for a short time before he dropped it to her hip. The pressure in her chest suddenly bloomed into a passion that warmly flooded her entire body, right to the tips of her fingers and toes. She could feel the same intensity behind his kisses, and it was making her almost giddy. She kissed him again, revelling in the waves of emotion running rampant through her body and against her skin. It had been a long time since she'd felt this way, this strongly, about anything except protecting Henry. She hadn't felt like this since Neal. The memory of him snapped against her mind like a rubber band and she pulled her lips away from Hook's, though just barely. They remained just above hers, tantalizingly close, tempting her to kiss him again. But she didn't. She couldn't. It was like the memory of Neal had dumped icy water on the fire of what she'd been feeling, leaving dizzying steam and the mere wisp of sizzling embers. His forehead was still pressed against hers, and she still clutched at his collar, holding him a mere inch from her as they both panted.
"That was..." he breathed, but trailed off. His forehead lost contact with hers as he tilted his lips a little towards hers, going in for another kiss.
"A one time thing." she finished for him, unclenching her hands from his coat and stepping away despite the wrenching in her chest as she did so. She turned and started back in the direction of the camp, ignoring the confused, slightly poleaxed look she'd seen on his face for just a second. Her head felt cloudy and she was having trouble thinking, let alone decrypting what it meant. She felt detached from her body, as if she might float away at any second. "Don't follow me." she added, resenting that as hard as she tried, she still sounded breathy as she talked. "Wait five minutes. Go get some firewood or something."
"As you wish." he replied, and even though she was fighting what she could feel happening as hard as she had ever fought anything, she couldn't help but smile a little as she left.