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Chapter 7: Substance dependance
Substance dependence When an individual persists in use of alcohol or other drugs despite problems related to use of the substance, substance dependence may be diagnosed. Compulsive and repetitive use may result in tolerance to the effect of the drug and withdrawal symptoms when use is reduced or stopped. These, along with Substance Abuse are considered Substance Use Disorders
-taken from "Substance dependance" Wikipedia-
Still the next night, regardless of how tiring her day had been or the fact her uncle Midas (who had gotten wind of her nightly escapades and had chosen to stay at the big house with her for a couple of days) was sleeping downstairs, she had still kept her promise (it was a promise right?).
Killian meanwhile had spent the day with Regina, who was joyfully enjoying his apparent discomfort at having his "errand" with Aurora mentioned repeatedly, of course Regina knew more details about what he'd been doing than he wanted her to, she wouldn't be herself if she didn't, but spending time with her was better than the alternative (walking around town looking morose or sitting in his yacht drinking with some of his old crew) he didn't have to like it but the queen sometime during the past craziness had turned out to be a good sort-of-on-and-off friend/drinking buddy. But he wasn't going to tell the princess about Regina's plans...not yet at least.
"this is coercion...worse..this is blackmail" was the first thing Aurora had said when she approached his still form in the docs, he was like always, sitting on the usual bench, just waiting for her.
"Heard Regina ratted out to your dear uncle Midas, how did the old goon take the sneaking out by the way?" she was dressed in a sensible black outfit, he supposed it was her pitiful attempt at being discreet.. it didn't work, the princess had a way of standing out like a candle even against the dark of a moonless night.
"he doesn't know I snuck out you idiot" she hissed "and I only came back because you threatened to break into my house, as I said, this is blackmail"
"keep telling yourself that if it helps you sleep at night" he grinned roguishly and again Aurora wondered how it would be like if he really where another person, just a normal guy, and she a normal girl, of course even in the modern world there was nothing normal about a nightmare ridden girl and a womanizing cad meeting hours after midnight, even in this world, the very scenario brought dirty connotations to her mind, imagine what would happen had it been the enchanted forest. "ohh I forgot, you can't sleep much can you"
she shook her head deciding to let his rudeness slide "So what is the topic today pirate?" She wondered settling next to him nonchant and she was glad he was now used to her presence "we have already talked about my childhood (endless protocol lessons and not nearly enough time to have fun), your childhood (endless beatings and mischief making), my parents (dead), your parents (dead too), my love life, your love life, my enemies (maleficient) and yours (the crocodile)"
"we do talk quite a lot don't we lass, and to think that you are a woman" for all these little talks he had been having with her, he had revealed as much of himself to her as she had of herself, funny he never thought the day would come when he would actually like a beautiful woman for something other than her beauty. "you are the one with all the questions, go ahead and ask something"
"I don't want to know anything else than what I do already if that's good with you" She had come to the startling realization that she did mean it, of Hook she knew surprisingly enough, and while she was sure he would not sugarcoat any of his dark deeds if she asked about them just to see her squirm, she thought herself clever enough to have learned how to read him.
"wise dessition princess, considering the only things left to ask me about are about my life of piracy and my way with women"
Aura chuckled "I suppose you are right" cocking her head to the side she smiled "but then again you have had a long life, whereas I, have only led a short one, if I wanted I could ask enough questions about your adventures to last a lifetime"
"but you don't wish to know about my adventures" Killian saw a flicker of amusement pass trough the girl's face "that's a first, normally it's all women like to gush about when they meet me"
"I was raised to love my home and consider myself the sedentary sort" She told him with a srug because it was true " I am a homey girl, I've never had much of a wish to travel because I get attached to people around me, I know them enough, love them enough then of course I don't wish to leave them" Aurora admitted back in her kingdom it had been her extraordinary love for her people that had prompted her to sacrifice everything for them "I find that people that have many adventures more often than not find themselves in places far away from the people they love"
"and I find that this is exactly the reason why I was always at the sea, I never liked to get attached to a single place, the world was too large to be left unseen and the rewards to big to be left unexplored" he explained to Aurora "staying in one place was for common folk, my father was a sailor, I was raised to beleive in the freedom of the sea"
"then I suppose you would never understand me" she was seeing in him something, something apart from the mask he let everybody see, when he sat with her, he seemed to be honest, and Aurora found herself liking him for it.
"I don't see how, why give up the freedom of the sea?, when one can travel and see everything there is to see, why limit oneself to one single place"
"Because there's more to it than you realize" Aurora replied, wondering again how being so so different, they found common ground, he thought freedom meant running, and she thought freedom meant staying. Subconsciously she edged a little closer to him and their shoulders brushed slightly, but neither said anything.
"I'll prove it to you, See that yacht over there, it's called the Phoenix" Hook pointed to a black vessel by the Pier, he had maneuvered it just right, so that she could see it's imposing structure someday, seeing as Aurora wasn't impressed by the normal things he used to impress women, like his adventures or his charm, then he thought he would give the ship thing a try. (wait a minute since when did he want to impress her royal haughtiness?)
"I think the name suits the bearer" was all she commented, and he could sense she was tired, maybe if he hadn't been so insistent she spend the nights with him he would be getting more rest, but then again he was a pirate, he usually didn't care for the welfare of others except his crew.
"Come" He ordered getting up, this time not giving her a chance to refuse "I'm going to show you what it is like to be on deck"
"No!" he hadn't even asked what a jerk, she adjusted her scarf and glared "I told you I hate the sea"
"and I would guess that living all your life in the desert you have never actually set foot on a ship" Killian sighed at the idea that just occurred to him "how do you know you hate it when you have never tried it?" he chuckled "come on princess the sea isn't as bad as it looks, you were willing to climb a beanstalk"
"this is different" she crossed her arms over her chest glaring "what if I trip, or get seasick, or slip and end up drowning?"
"you'll be with me lass what's the worse that could happen?" Aurora raised a perfect beautiful eyebrow "fine, then carry on if you will, but I never expected to see the day the princess of the sands cowered in fear" then to punctuate his statement he tuned his back on her and added under his breath perfectly aware she could hear him "chicken", it was an old trick designed to goad the best of prides even the crocodile had fallen for it, so naturally Aurora was no exception.
"You sir are infuriating, I am not, or will ever be a coward"
"prove it princess, come for a ride in the Phoenix with me" he sniggered at the way she blanched "unless of course you would rather admit you are scared"
"Never" She hissed, "Fine, I'll come but only to prove to you I am better than that"
this was how they had found themselves aboard the Phoenix, alone at one am on a very chilly night, Aurora had climbed into the yacht with reluctance but still holding her head high, to show him she wasn't a chicken as he claimed, he had done it because...well he didn't know exactly what possessed him to goad the princess into riding his new "ship", but he was a man of the sea, the very idea of someone not knowing how it felt to navigate even a rowboat was inconceivable, the fact she was one of those rare people that hadn't sailed or even tasted the sea in their whole lives made him sort of angry.
It was like loving a certain flavor of ice cream and discovering the rest of the world doesn't care for the taste, nahh loving the sea was like loving a woman, but he wouldn't think of woman analogies with her there so close to him..it made things difficult and he was still bloody male.
Aurora on the other hand was trying to find even ground, so to speak, but the "thing" kept rocking back and forth, this was why she hated the sea, it was never still, one sway of a wave and poof she could be on her bum as fast as lightning, sand dunes at least had the decency of keeping still when one walked on them, "see I'm sailing, but I still don't like it" return me to shore please, I hate not to know have a still ground under my feet, was what she wanted to say.
She was holding the railing tightly and Killian could see she was more nervous than she wanted to let on, her cheeks normally a pale pink where now fully apple red, the wind was whipping on her hair but she made no move to settle the strands bothering her face, he had of course seen people that didn't care for the sea but seeing the girl like that, both frightened, freezing and tired, but trying her hardest not to show weakness just because he had goaded her into it suddenly made him feel like a cad, and that my friends was something that captain Hook didn't feel often.
Putting the yacht in auto-pilot he decided she probably had enough of his stupidness, and remembering something a old sea wench had told him about settling nervous women he sighed and took off his coat "Princess, come here" he said standing right in the middle of the ship's deck.
Aura looked at her own feet, that would probably either slip, slide or trip with the ship's movement and shook her head "I am quite happy where I am, thank you Hook" darn him for convincing her to do this, she thought to herself, what was with his smirk that could get even the hardest of souls to follow him to hell?. She swallowed wishing she could put her hands around her arms and rub them for warmth but there was no way she could loose hold of the railing, shivering she squared her shoulders back and gave Hook a tight smile "See I am perfectly fine"
She was stubborn, but he admired that, "I know that princess, I just want you to see something" when he saw her shake her head again he got irritated "Aurora, come here" he startled them both by saying her name, he didn't know why it mattered if he called her by her name or not, but normally he tried not to because it kept him distanced from people, he vowed not to make the same mistake again, but he was happy it had made his companion shocked enough to do what he said. "now sit here" he pointed to the floor Aurora snapped out of it and looked at the shiny white surface.
"there, in the floor?"
"yes there!" He nodded "have a little faith in me a bit will you"
with a sigh Aurora did as she was told, not because he looked very handsome in his dark blue shirt and trousers, not because she felt he sounded like he cared, but because she wanted to sit down anyway (liar). "now what? Hook what are you doing?" she asked when he lowered himself to sit right next to her, "carelessly" dropping the coat he had under his arm around her shoulder.
"it's a trick someone taught me a long time ago, now close your eyes" Aurora narrowed her eyes in suspicion, looking like a tiny lion cub that thought herself capable of taking on the leader of the pack "I'm not going to try anything all right" he said holding his hands up, "I promise, just trust me, close your eyes"
Aurora did as she was told with reluctance wondering where her can of mace was just in case, "what is the purpose of this?" she asked already feeling more frightened, the air smelt of salt, and wood cleaner, she could eel Hook's warmth just right next to her, making her heart beat a little faster, then she felt a n arm come around her shoulder and her eyes snapped open "Hook!"
"Close your eyes princess, I said I wasn't going to try anything right?" he remarked, because while he was a cad, and a womanizer, and a all around bastard, Hook liked to think himself above debauching innocents, and lets admit it, the girl in his arms was as innocent as they got, regardless of the fact she had a backbone of steel. It didn't mean he couldn't enjoy it tough, after all, she was warm, despite the cold weather, and smelled like sunflowers in bloom, something he reveled in.
Aurora wanted to tell him that what he was doing looked pretty close to "trying something", but deciding she was already in to her neck, and had brought this upon herself, closed her eyes again and tried to pretend she wasn't enjoying his arm around her.
"now I want you to feel the movement of the ship, just take a minute to think about how it feels, not the waves not the water, not the cold air, just the ship, can you do that?" Aurora nodded, and Killian watch her closed eyes scrunch in concentration.
Aurora, tried, she tried to feel what he was telling her to, just the ship, concentrating for a few minutes, she began breathing in and out, in and out, she could hear the waves in the distance, the floor beneath her kept moving, back and forth, up and down, unnerving her every time, but a few minutes with her eyes closed like that, she began to get used to the feeling until finally she understood what he had meant, "It feels like the movement mothers use to calm their babies" she whispered amazed "it feels like...a rocking chair"
He saw her open her eyes and give him a smile "see that sailing is not so bad lass?" he watched her nod and close her eyes again, trying to catch the movement of thee sea with her senses once more.
"thank you Killian" Aurora whispered with a smile still sitting next to him, unconsciously she laid her head on his shoulder, and in her calm state of peace she wondered if they made a romantic picture, sitting in a yacht looking very much like a couple.
He wondered about that too, but since neither of them made a move to break the comfy position they where in, the other chose to ignore the implications of those things.
Sometime during the night, Aurora fell asleep, with her head on his shoulder.
And tough he was tense enough as it was, sometime during the night Killian relaxed long enough to fall asleep too.
The night had been cool and both had been tired.
It wasn't until the glare of the sun rising over the coast of Maine woke him up to find Aurora still very much asleep cuddled up at his side that he realized he hadn't had any dreams at all, and looking into the princess's sleeping face, he smiled.
She looked calm, unlike the other times in the enchanted forest he had seen her sleep, with an almost smile in her face, shielding it subconsciously against the dawn, warm as ever he considered the implications of what they where doing.
Because he couldn't deny it anymore, he might have been able to do it before this, but now he had to actively admit to himself he liked her, perhaps like was too much of a tame word, he was starting to fall for her dammit, the princess with her steely gray eyes holding unguarded secrets, he needed a woman fast, maybe Regina would be up for a little play sometime that night, but no, even as he thought about it, with the sun getting higher and higher over the sea there was no denying that he was the one that didn't feel up for it, not when the blasted little lady currently still snuggled up at his side continued to haunt his thoughts.
He would have been relieved had the pirate known he wasn't the only one startled by the sudden revelation because once Aura opened her eyes a moment later to find his staring right into them, she too realized she liked him a lot more than she should... maybe even...was she falling in love with a pirate?.
Hook felt her lift up her head, and look adorably disoriented while she moved away, shaking his thoughts about her warmth from his head he tried to pretend nothing was amiss and smirked "Good morning princess, just in time to see you namesake I see" he pointed to the far sea and immediately regretted it, here he was trying to think why it was not a good idea to like her, when the universe conspired against him with the perfect...
"Sunrise?" She mumbled watching the sun was lifting itself from the depths of the sea coloring the sky with a multitude of beautiful hues in awe, her eyes gazed at the splendor of it, and Hook felt her lean into his side once again, he knew she hadn't noticed else she would have moved away, but he reveled in the knowledge that her body responded automatically to his...interesting.
"that's what sailors know as Aurora" he whispered husky into her ear, watching her eyes widen, and her pretty lips purse and gulp. Finally realizing the intimate position she was in, practically leaning all over him and blushed.
The phoenix, while in auto pilot had sailed quite a distance away from the shore, and all around everything she could see was water, illuminated by the sun sparkling like the jewels of her favorite diadem, Hook, looked at her and got up, apparently he hadn't realized the beauty of what she was seeing, Aurora wondered if he too felt the peaceful feeling that had reigned when they where sleeping next to each other, if he felt the need to touch, the itch in his fingers, like she had, before he got up. Breaking the moment.
"you where right, it's beautiful" she conceded, getting up slowly from her spot and stretching her legs, "is this what you wake up to see every morning?" she wondered in awe at the blue glittering sea, in the distance she could hear the waves, that before had terrified her, now it sounded like a lulling sound. Had it always been this wonderful.
"Aye, I told you the sea wasn't that bad" he was talking to her from the top part of the yacht where the steering wheel was, and was looking at her with an odd expression on her face.
She walked to the railing, this time with less fear than the previous night and watched the sun warm up all she could see, with a sigh she nodded "I'll admit it's better than I expected"
he laughed glad that she was still being haughty, it was part of who she was after all, but her body language betrayed her excitement, her brown hair whipping in the wind as she tried to subdue it, "they all say the same thing, now princess didn't you want to say something?, you know along the lines of Hook devilish handsome captain, you where right?"
Aurora laughed "Fine, you where right?" she conceded again, then felt her stomach grumble loudly, very loudly, and that was all it took for reality to come crashing back down "Heavens, I snuck out last night!" she panicked with wide eyes "I snuck out and I'm not back yet, uncle Midas, oh lord this is bad"
it was Hook's turn to laugh "Hate to break it to you princess but that's the least of your problems" he grinned leaving the steering wheel and deftly reaching her in a minute "after all, for all intent and purposes you spent the night in my company!" he whispered leaning over to let his words reach her ear.
Okay now, comment and review, I refuse to have a fanfic with more chapters than it has reviews no matter now much I love you all...
