The first thing they did was to find out if the curse really had been broken.

Killian reached for the flower tentatively, only to watch it wither and die under his touch. Emma could see the moment the hesitant hope vanished from his face to be replaced by resignation, his shoulders sagging. She reached for him, meaning to reassure him, but he jerked back from her touch.

This would happen a lot over the coming weeks. She would reach for him, only to find him retreating instinctively. Sometimes he would catch himself, and he would only tense instead of pulling back. It was a difficult time for Emma. She had to remind herself again and again that he could not simply forget centuries of being careful around those he cared for, centuries of evading the touch of another human being like it was a matter of life and death. But it hurt nonetheless to witness him drawing back from her over and over.

It would always be only the first instant though. The moment his conscious thought took over, he would melt into her touch, reaching out for her in turn. Every time, she was taken aback anew by the tenderness in each of his reverent caresses, like she was a precious treasure made of glass that could break any moment if he wasn't careful enough

There were only two occasions where his demeanour changed and he crushed her into an air-depriving bear hug like that first day. Both times, it was after she'd had a brush with death, while thwarting whatever evil was lurking in Storybrook at the time. He'd held onto her like she was his life line, which in some ways, maybe she was. He'd held onto her and mumbled her name into her hair and pulled her as close as humanly possible. It was always her who drew back first, after a long time. She sometimes wondered how long those hugs would have gone on otherwise. He seemed to be content to stay like this forever.

She remained strangely immune to his curse, unlike anybody or anything else he had ever encountered in his life. Nobody could offer any explanation for it. If it had been true love's kiss that day she saved his life, it should have broken the curse completely. Maybe it was because she was the saviour, the product of true love. Killian didn't much care what the reason was, as long as it didn't change.

If he was entirely honest with himself, he had to admit that he was terrified. Terrified that whatever made her an exception would stop working suddenly and his touch would kill her. He knew in his heart that he could never come back from that and he didn't intend to.

Many times, he would make the decision to stop seeing her, stop the touches, stop the hugs. It was the only way to keep her save. But then he would inevitably see her again and she would smile at him and his resolve would crumble to bits. He had lived such a long time and yet he had never asked anything of the Gods, had never once prayed to them to lift this curse from him. But he prayed to them now, prayed that he wasn't making a huge mistake, prayed fervently that Emma wouldn't have to pay the price for his selfishness.


When he sat with her father at the camp fire, in a different time and realm, under a different name, he told the prince of his fears.

"I'm a danger to her." His words were gloomy as he stared into the darkness surrounding them.

Charming laughed, and Killian turned to him, surprised.

"Of course you are. Love is the most dangerous thing there is."

He regarded the prince carefully, wondering how much he could share with this man without affecting the past.

"You don't understand. There is darkness in me. Every day, every hour, I'm afraid that it will come to the surface and claim her as well." His voice broke on the last part and he turned away from the other man, ashamed. "Forgive me, we hardly know each other. I shouldn't have bothered you with my troubles."

He felt Charming's hand settle on his shoulder and tensed. The prince still wore his gloves and Killian was clad in leather, yet he had to fight the overwhelming urge to pull away.

"I can see that you care deeply for her. And she cares for you, too. And that's all there is to it. You will find a way."

Killian huffed. "It's not that simple."

"It's exactly that simple."

Much later, when he was sitting in front of Granny's diner and Emma sat down at his table, smiling, he wondered if it really could be that simple. If this was something that he could have. If the Gods, for once, had decided to give him a break.


"You traded your ship for me?"

"Aye."

Emma looked at him in wonder. His ship had been his home for decades, centuries even. The only constant in his life. And he'd traded it away just for the chance to find her.

When she reached out her hand to cup his cheek, he didn't pull back. He didn't even flinch. He just stared at her with that expression of wonder that never failed to make her knees wobbly. She was quite grateful that she was seated at the moment.

She moved closer, searching his eyes for confirmation, reassurance. His tongue darted out to wet his lips. She leaned in and brushed her lips against his, then opened her mouth slowly. The kiss was awkward at first, noses bumping and teeth clashing. Emma realized with a start that this was his first kiss. A man who had lived over 300 years, who had spread terror and fear in the hearts of his fellow man. And he had never been kissed.

As in everything else, he proved a quick study in this as well. She showed him what she liked and he copied her movements. She deepened the kiss, showing him that she wanted this, that she wanted him, putting everything into the kiss that she couldn't put into words. He made a needy sound in the back of his throat that send shivers down her spine.

When they pulled apart, he leaned his forehead against hers. Both of them were gulping in air, trying to get their breathing back under control.

After a few seconds, he dived in for another kiss and if she hadn't known better she would have said that he had done this all his life.

Somewhere along the line, she ended up in his lap. In hindsight, she couldn't exactly recall when and how it had happened. The last half hour was somewhat of a blur. He pulled back, panting, and looked up at her. In his eyes was an expression of pure awe and it made her heart clench. It reminded her painfully of all the things he had missed out on in his long life.

"That was ... um." He said, clearly at a loss for words.

They were interrupted by somebody clearing their throat loudly behind them and Emma jumped up, embarrassed that she had actually indulged in a make-out session with Captain Hook right in front of the diner, for all the world to see.

A flash of something akin to sadness crossed his features but it was gone too quickly for her to identify. She could see the instant his mask fell back in place, the moment he became again the unapproachable, lonely man he was to the rest of the world.

She offered him her hand, not ready to let go of the man he'd been only moments before just yet. He looked at it with surprise. After a moment's hesitation, he accepted it and she pulled him up, probably pulling him a little closer to her than was necessary in the process.