The past few days of walking through the terrifyingly beautiful forest of Neverland were beginning to take a toll on Emma's confidence and exterior; her feet ached, her head felt heavy, and she wasn't any closer to being reunited with Henry. Due to being in a new land, a magical one at that, she found herself easily agitated and exhausted; especially today. Not only did she have to deal with the worry and panic of trying to find her son, but she had to deal with him; with Hook. To her displeasure, he was absolutely infuriating, managing to rattle her thoughts by just being in her presence. It threw her for a loop; nobody had found a way to do that to her in years, and he somehow waltzed into her life out of the blue and got under her skin just simply by staring at her. It was terrifying, exhilarating, and most of all, irritating.

Hook had suggested their big-happy-family of a group split up to cover more ground, and after minutes of bickering she got stuck following him along the dirt trail, no knowledge of where her parents were at, which was unnerving to say the least. And as they walked endlessly through the cluttered forest, branches crunching under their feet, Emma found herself getting particularly annoyed at the familiarity of their surroundings.

"We're literally walking in circles, Hook. This is pointless, how the hell is this going to help with anything?" she grumbled while side-stepping around a rock, following close behind him.

"I know what I'm doing, love. You've just got to give it time." She knew his calm and assertive tone wasn't done in a taunting way, but with her tired state she took it that way, not giving it any thought. With a roll of her eyes, she sped up her steps so she could walk by his side, taking a confident stance.

"No, you just can't admit you're wrong and have no clue where we're going." She side eyed him, narrowing her gaze as he shook his head back and forth with a chuckle.

"Emma, I'm doing the best I can here." He caught her gaze, his eyes automatically reading her without a second thought, without hesitation. Just he like he always did.

Bastard. This was the last thing she wanted to deal with today.

"Well try harder," she snapped, the words seeping maliciously from her lips. She saw the look of surprise that covered his face as he turned to face her, furrowing his eyebrows tightly together.

"We have to find the lost boys hideout. Unfortunately, they're somewhat nomadic and I don't know if you've noticed but this is a vast amount of space we're to cover. We're going to find Henry, darling, but you have to be patient."

"Patience is the last thing I have right now, especially with you! My son is lost, Hook. He's alone and we've literally accomplished nothing in the past few days." Her skin was burning, and she felt her cheeks flushing an angry red as her fists clenched at her sides.

It surprised her when he stopped walking, linked his hook around her wrist, and made her face him with one swift motion. Her breath caught in her throat when her eyes flicked to his, seeing a flash of hurt and a surge of anger behind his electric blue eyes. "Bloody hell Emma, you have to realize we're not going to find him in a matter of days. This is going to be an agonizingly long task, but we WILL get him back. You have to trust me, lass."

"Well I hate to break it to you, but I don't." She slipped her hand free from his metal appendage and turned abruptly on her heels, storming off down the trail to god knows where. She just needed to get away from him. Her emotional walls were cracking from exertion and if she didn't stop now, she was going to crack.

"Please tell me you're joking." Emma stopped walking, keeping her back to him. She still heard the sounds of leaves crunching, his footsteps nearing her, feeling his presence creeping up on her ever so slowly. "After everything I've done for you?"

She didn't have to see him to know he was staring her down with those pleading eyes; his voice was breaking, almost fragile, but still under laced with an indignant tone. But this plea triggered something in her gut; it snapped her back to everything that scared her about Hook, this idea of trust. She wanted to trust him, and in ways she already did. But the back of her mind constantly told her he would leave, just like everyone else. And despite that heart fluttering feeling he gave her on an occasion, the little voice in her head managed to drown it out just like it always had.

Finally she turned to him; quickly glancing at the wide eyed stare he was giving her, and crossed her arms tightly across her chest. "You've done shit for me."

"I came back for you!" His arms flew out to his sides and he stepped closer to her, the outburst making her jump. "For gods sake, I gave you the bean! I brought you and your family here to Neverland to find your son, whom I've only spoken to for all but 10 seconds. I'm helping you, Emma. What the hell else do I have to do to show you that you can trust me?"

Emma's arms fell violently to her sides and she further closed the tense gap between them, feeling his breath falling hot against her face, ignoring the way her entire body was burning by being in such close proximity to him. "I don't know, figure it out!"

The rest of the moment happened so quickly that she was entirely sure which way was up anymore. In a matter of seconds his lips were crashing hard against hers, his fingers tangling in her blonde hair, ravishing her mouth with his. She was shocked; completely shocked, too shocked to move, to react. But she couldn't ignore the way her heart felt like it was going to burst from her chest, and the way her legs felt like they would give way at any moment, nearly willing herself to get lost in the moment. As soon as his lips released hers she let out what was hardly short of a whimper, completely confused as to what just happened. Her eyes longingly met his, failing to find the words to say, instead gaping at him in disbelief.

His chest was heaving, his intense stare burning into hers, seeping with passion. They could have stayed like that for hours; just watching each other, reading each other, both of them too stubborn to speak first. But when he began walking away, brushing his shoulder against hers, she let out an exasperated squeak, quickly following after him. "Hook… Hook! Wait!" He turned around slowly with a slight roll of his eyes, and her brows furrowed, trying to shake away the tears exasperatingly starting to form behind her eyes, for god knows what reason. "What the hell was that?"

"Figure it out."

He put it so simply, throwing back her initial request in her face, and her mouth fell open again, staring at him in shock and annoyance. He gave her a nod and continued walking, leaving her briefly standing in her spot alone, eyes darting around the forest, brain running wild and thoughts colliding with one another. She moved her hand up to clasp her forehead as everything around her started seemingly spinning, wide eyes still looking for answers.

What the hell just happened?

Before you ask, I AM planning on doing a second part, just haven't really decided where I want to take it! Should be up within a week though! :)