"Will you go out with me tonight?"

"Of course I will!" she answered without a hint of hesitation.

I didn't expect her lips to crash against mine with so much spirit, but that was not something I would ever complain about.

"I have one request." A request? "Can we skip the restaurant part and have dinner aboard the Jolly Roger instead? We can get some take-away food."

I could feel my left eyebrow going up, this time unintentionally. "Are you saying you want to eat a grilled cheese and onion rings on a date?"

"I'm not going out on a date with you for the food." Well, I'm glad to hear that. "And it doesn't have to be grilled cheese and onion rings."

"As you wish." To be honest, I wasn't going out for the food either.

"Are we going now?" she asked.

Are you as impatient as I am? "Are you ready?"

"Yes. Unless you prefer me to wear a dress?"

Love, you look beautiful with anything. And probably even more without anything. I shook my head to stop my thoughts from drifting any more. "You look beautiful like this."

Her smile made me think she was glad to escape the getting ready part. "Then, let me do just one thing and I'm all yours."

She took her talking phone, and I watched her handling it with an incredible dexterity. Within a few seconds, she was done with it.

"What did you do?"

"Texted my father."

"What did you say?" Rather indiscreet, but my curiosity had no limit.

"I said, 'Going to sail with Killian. Goodnight!' And now I'm leaving my phone here." Flashing me a bright smile, she put her talking phone down on the table. "Nothing will come in our way, it's just us. You and I."

Just us. You and I. The prospect was thrilling, and seemed unreal; would this town let me spend one night with her and only her?

"Let's go, before a dwarf comes running our way to announce the next hassle."

Emma giggled. "You're right, let's go. You're the only one I want to see tonight. I don't want anyone to interfere with our plans."

Us against the world. Or at least against this town where enjoying a quiet moment seemed impossible. I liked the idea; all I wanted was her. "Let's escape for the night."

Leaving my talking phone next to hers, I then took her hand and led her outside. I was hoping there would be no one we knew at Granny's and, luckily, the place was rather deserted when we arrived; her parents, the witch and the new guy had obviously not dawdled at the diner.

"What do you want to eat for dinner?" Emma asked me.

"Whatever pleases you."

Anything would suit me, as long as I was with her. While gazing at her, I thought again of how she had asked whether she should wear a dress: she didn't need one of those to look beautiful; every part of her was flawless, there was not a detail that I would change. She was just perfect. And the best part was that I was the one she loved.

"Since you didn't know what you wanted to eat, I took the one which is a mix of everything," she warned me, talking about one of those baskets Granny's was preparing to take away.

"You're perfect." The words slipped out of my mouth and were not just related to the choice of the basket; they were more like a general truth I needed to remind her.

I pecked her lips while Granny handed us our meal she had just packed and, taking advantage of Emma's momentary distraction, I handed Granny a bill before she had time to.

"Killian…" Even faster than I expected.

"I'm not letting you pay," I said.

"So old-fashioned."

A chuckle escaped me. "That's what you get from dating a man who's been alive for centuries." She looked for something to answer, in vain, which amused me even more. There was something else I could think of, and I added with a smirk, "And I'm not done being old-fashioned."

Before she had time to react, I took the bag from her.

"Killian!" She complained again. "You only have one hand."

Tactful reminder, love. I smirked and hung the bag from my hook before showing her my free hand.

"Not a problem, my hand's still yours." This all seemed to amuse Granny, who had obviously been watching us the whole time. It was time to get some privacy. "Let's go, love."

Slipping my arm in her back and placing my hand on her hip, I made her turn around and, after nodding goodbye at Granny, led her outside.

Used to always be interrupted when I was with her, I spent the journey from the diner to the docks looking for the one who would come and ruin our plans for the night. But no dwarf nor anyone else came running our way, and we arrived at the Jolly Roger without mishap.

Quite the team we made when it was time to set sail. Once we had put some distance between us and the shore, and the Jolly Roger was sailing in the right direction, I blocked the helm and joined Emma at the railing.

"Come with me."

"Where are we going?"

"Come," I simply said.

Taking her hand, I indicated her to follow. It wasn't the first time we were together on board, but it was the first time that the point of the trip was simply to enjoy it. I took her to my favorite spot; to the place offering the best view, and where the wind felt the most powerful: the bow of the ship.

"Are you giving me my Titanic moment?" she asked.

"Tita-what?"

She seemed amused, and I guessed this was again one of these references I was unable to catch.

"I really need to make you watch all those movies. In our house, we already have the couches, we should add a TV, Henry will want one anyway." She paused and seemed to hesitate. "Or maybe I shouldn't make you watch them, because I find it rather adorable that you never know what I'm talking about."

"Let me choose for you: if you make me watch those movies, does that mean I'll spend whole evenings holding you in my arms?"

A smile stretched her lips. "Maybe."

"Then, you should make me watch those movies. Or perhaps just a few of them, enough to keep our evenings busy, but not all of them so you can still quote things I don't know."

"Then, I should make you watch Titanic."

Titanic. The name didn't even sound familiar. "What is it?"

"Titanic is the name of a ship. The movie is about two people who fall in love, and there's one moment when the man leads the woman to the bow of the ship, and he holds her like this." She placed my hand and my hook on her hips. "And she does this."

She outstretched her arms and leant back against me. I was wondering whether there was something else coming or whether that was it, but as long as I had her against me, I was thrilled.

"Wait," she suddenly said. Wondering what she was now up to, I didn't move and watched her remove her rubber band to leave her hair loose. Again, she leant back against me and outstretched her arms. "Even better."

I guessed she was talking about the blonde strands now dancing in the wind, at the same time revealing her neck. This sight was irresistible; I pressed my lips on her neck, and the little sound she emitted was rather satisfying.

"He doesn't do that, but I won't complain about this interpretation of the story."

Smiling against her skin, I crossed my arms on her stomach to hold her even closer, and my lips parted to wrap around the soft flesh.

"Killian…"

She refolded her arms and I felt her fingers closing around my wrists while she leant back against me even more, and I kept lightly sucking and tasting her skin. I then felt her cheek rubbing mine and lifted my head up to capture her lips with mine. She turned in my arms and this was when I started to lose myself. Her arms were wrapped around my neck and mine around her waist, but my hand then found her hip and trailed down her thigh. Kissing her, I was barely aware of what I was doing when I lifted her leg up to my waist, and I certainly didn't expect her to jump in my arms, crossing her ankles in my back. The kiss seemed to become even more passionate and, holding Emma against me, I stepped back to lean against the railing of the ship. This was one of our most searing kisses; every move of her lips on my lips, of her tongue against my tongue, was triggering these instincts I had learn to fight against in her presence. I was lost in a world which only belonged to her and I, where I was only aware of her body against mine and my lips locked with hers. I realized she seemed to be playing with the buttons of my shirt.

What are you doing, love? Right here? Right now? As you wish.

My hand trailed up her hip and slipped under her sweater, grazing over a skin even softer than I had imagined. But she stopped my hand by covering it with hers, while lightly nipping my lip.

"We should eat," she whispered while getting back on her feet.

Love, no, you can't do this. "Swan…"

It sounded like a complaint, and she noticed.

"Sorry, I didn't want to…" she apologized. I kept gazing at her, waiting for the end of her sentence. "I didn't mean to…"

She turned red, and teasing her about it seemed to be the perfect way to recover from my emotions; a sweet revenge on what she had just done. "Didn't mean to what?"

As expected, she blushed even more. "I didn't mean to… to make you think that… well, you're a man."

"Oh, I'm a man?" I chuckled, very amused by all of this. "Don't you forget it."

"I mean… I got carried away."

"Kisses on the neck on the bow of the ship lead to a loss of control. Noted." Teasing her was just too tempting, and this blush covering her cheeks was simply beautiful. I thought again of how she had worded it, on this day when she had asked me out on our first date. "But I get it, still not the time to pillage and plunder."

"Stop talking." Her lips crashed against mine.

Efficient way to shut me up.

A moan escaped me when her hand unexpectedly landed on the top of my leg and, automatically, I started to pull her closer.

But soon she stopped me and said, "Let's have dinner."