summary: Emma and Killian have had a really long day. Hurt/comfort/fluff, set post 5x02.

the big spoon

"And these will be your chambers, milady."

Killian and Emma stepped inside the room, elaborate tapestries covering the stone walls, a sizeable four poster bed off to one side across from a large fireplace, flames dancing merrily behind the grate.

"His Highness King Arthur hopes you will find them satisfactory," the maid said, clasping her hands at her waist.

Emma said nothing, her face drawn, dark circles under her eyes as she glanced around with disinterest. The maid shifted uneasily, and Killian chose that moment to step in.

"I'm sure she'll find them more than adequate," he assured her, a tight smile on his face. "And my quarters are?"

"Down the corridor, third door on the left, Captain," she supplied, still glancing at Emma warily. "I can show you the way if you would like?"

Killian could tell she was more than anxious to be away. "That won't be necessary," he said. "Thank you."

The girl bobbed her head to them both before turning on her heel and fleeing the way they'd come. Killian shut the door behind her, exhaling deeply, letting the trials of the day seep out of him. He turned to find Emma glaring off into the far corner of the room.

"Are you alright, love?" he asked, crossing over to her side.

Her head swung in his direction like she'd forgotten he was there, but her glare softened as her eyes met his.

"It's been a long day," she said simply, and Killian didn't fail to notice that she hadn't answered his question. He would let it slide for now, but she would have to talk to him at some point.

"Aye," he agreed. Her words were a vast understatement. "All the more reason to turn in for a good night's sleep."

Killian didn't know what he'd said wrong, but her expression dropped completely, her eyes landing on the bed with a certain sense of misery.

She swallowed tremulously. "Of course," she said, before turning her back to him, sweeping her golden mane over her shoulder. "Help me out of this thing, would you?"

Killian's eyes widened at the prospect in front of him, and glanced around guiltily as if any second her father or mother might walk in on them. At his hesitation, Emma peered back at him, her lips twisting into a genuine smile, one of the treasured few he'd seen from her that day.

"Are you seriously blushing?" she asked, and while it was at his expense, he was glad to see some color return to her face in her glee. "Some pillaging pirate you are."

"Ha, very funny, Swan," he said, rolling his eyes. He moved closer and began undoing the long row of buttons down the back of her white gown. "As I once told you, I am a gentleman first and foremost."

"Hmmm, didn't seem that way last week on the Jolly," she quipped, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Well," he said, shooting her pointed look, "I defy any man, pirate or otherwise, to try and resist you, love."

She emitted a tiny noise of amused satisfaction before facing forward again. It took him a while to undo all of the buttons with his one hand, but his Swan was patient and stood still until the dress grew slack at her shoulders and she was able to pull her arms out of the long sleeves and step out of it. She picked it up from where it had pooled on the floor and hung it over a nearby chair.

Killian's breath caught in his throat when she came back to him. The corset she was wearing pushed her breasts up most alluringly and the quirk of her eyebrow and curve of her lips were no less as tempting.

He cleared his throat and gestured with his hook to her bodice. "May I?"

She nodded, not taking her eyes off of his, and he set to work carefully, both hand and hook working in tandem, loosening the laces until the corset came apart and he gently dropped it off to the side. All she wore underneath was a flimsy gown that left little to the imagination, but Killian focused his eyes on Emma's face, bringing up his hand to cup her cheek.

He caved in to his need for her and leaned down to capture her lips with his in an unhurried kiss, though no less lingering than the one she'd planted on him earlier. She let him take control, moving her lips languishly in time with his until they both pulled back, resting their foreheads against each other.

"Perhaps I should retire to my own chamber now," Killian suggested, though not without some reluctance. He was loathe to be apart from her, not when he could still feel the desperation pumping through his blood when he thought he'd never seen her again after she had disappeared from Storybrooke.

Emma placed her hand on his cheek hastily. "Stay," she pleased, her eyes filling with such despair, his heart ached. "Please."

Killian nodded. He could deny her nothing, afterall. "As you wish, love."

Her shoulders lost the tension they'd previously been holding, and she dropped her hand. He pushed his coat from his shoulders as she began working on the buttons to his vest, and he threw both items onto the same chair as Emma's dress. She knelt to help him with his boots, tossing them to the side and stood back up. He unbuckled his trousers since he didn't want to test his willpower by having Emma's hands in that vicinity, and by the time he'd slung them over with the rest of their clothes, Emma had blown out all the candles and slid under the covers of the bed.

He followed after her and, once he'd discarded his hook on the bedside table, crawled onto the side she had her back to. He shuffled over to her and hesitated only for a moment before curling his body behind her, wrapping his arm around her waist protectively. She relaxed into him as she had done time and time before and moved in closer so that every point of their bodies was aligned from top to bottom.

"You love being the big spoon," Emma said, amusement coloring her voice. The slight trembling of her body suggested something underlying that, but he chose to indulge her, knowing she would reveal what was truly bothering her when she was ready.

"Big spoon?" he repeated, unfamiliar with the phrase and its context.

"You know, when we're lying together like this, it's called spooning," she explained quietly. "You're always on the outside, my back to your chest. That makes you the big spoon and me the little spoon."

Killian's brow furrowed, trying to gauge her reaction in the flickering firelight. "Would you like to be the big spoon?" he asked, beginning to draw away.

"No," she said instantly, pulling him back so he was wrapped even more tightly around her. "I didn't mean it in a bad way. I like being the little spoon."

She paused, but Killian remained silent, knowing there was more to it.

Emma continued in the tiny voice she used when she felt she was revealing too much. "When you have your your arms wrapped around me like this, I feel safe, like you'd never let anything happen to me."

Her words both simultaneously warmed his heart and smashed it to pieces. To know that his embrace gave her that, made her feel safe in a way she'd most likely never felt in her life was a wonderful feeling but he ached for the trials this amazing woman had suffered through.

"Just so, love," he murmured, entwining their hands over her stomach. She was still trembling, her body shaking slightly in his arms. "Won't you tell me what's wrong, Emma?"

She bit out a humorless laugh. "Besides the obvious?" she asked. He felt her swallow, hesitating, but Killian Jones was a patient man, especially when it came to Emma Swan. "I'm just so tired."

"Then sleep, Swan," he urged her. "I've got you."

"That's just it," Emma told him, her voice breaking with the same despair he had seen earlier in her eyes. "Ican't. I can't sleep. Dark Ones don't need sleep. I tried all last night, but..."

She trailed off, shaking her head. Oh, Swan, Killian thought sorrowfully.

"You might not be able to sleep, but you can rest," he insisted after a moment. "And if my being the 'big spoon' helps you feel safe, than I'll simply hold you like this in my arms until morning."

He pressed a kiss to her hair and she responded by drawing his hand up to her lips, kissing the back of it. "Thank you," she whispered, her voice full of gratitude.

"We will get the darkness out of you, Swan," he told her, hoping his confidence gave her some comfort. "I'll do whatever it takes, you can be sure of that."

He could feel her holding back whatever was on the tip of her tongue, but all she said was, "I know."

Killian knew then and there that he had to do something to make her believe their quest would succeed. She needed something to look forward to on the other side of this whole mess, and he thought he had just the thing. He would need a little help from her lad though, and he thought he remembered seeing a few things back at Granny's that would lend itself to his task.

"I can feel you thinking back there," Emma murmured. "Non-Dark Ones need their sleep, Killian."

"Aye,," he said. He pressed a few kisses to her shoulder where her nightgown had slid off. "G'night, love."

"Sweet dreams."

"If you are there, I can guarantee you they will be."