Ugh! I had no intentions of making you wait over a week for the naming of the boat! It was a crazy week, but I've finally gotten this updated.
Thank you to everyone who commented and chimed in on what you thought Killian should name his new boat.
Oh, and warning: domestic Killian ahead. :)
A few minutes later…
"You're going down to the dock to see it, right?" Henry asked. Both Emma and Killian were just staring at him after his name suggestions for the boat. He didn't think they were that bad!
Killian broke out of the stupor first. "Her. And yes, of course."
"For now I'm going to call her The Boat Who Must Be Named" Henry joked. Killian didn't catch the reference, they hadn't made it as far as the Harry Potter movies in Henry's collection yet, but Emma snorted.
"Good one kid. Are you coming with us?" She asked.
"Nah, you two go." Henry waved them out the door.
They opted to walk across the beach and take the small trail that lead to the docks instead of driving over. The weather was finally cooperating today and it seemed like warmer temperatures could really be on the way. Neither spoke during the walk, both reveling in their own thoughts. Emma was still worried that she had done too much too soon and that Killian would always think she felt the need to replace The Jolly Roger. Killian was still in shock, still trying to process that Emma had really done this for him. He never expected anything like this from her. She was all that he needed. Of course, he loved the idea of having a ship again, he was a captain after all, but he never expected Emma to buy one for him. He figured he would either purchase one himself or eventually try to find the Jolly Roger again once they had found a way to return to other realms.
He stopped in front of the boat, dropping Emma's hand. It was too small to call a ship, really, but he would have a hard time referring to it as a boat. Ship, boat, floating water vessel, it didn't really matter what he called it. Climbing aboard, he held out his hand to Emma.
"Care to come aboard this pirates new vessel, my beautiful princess?" He grinned at her.
"Psst. It's not a pirate ship." Emma teased, but accepted his hand and stepped onto the boat.
"Of course not, love. However, its fitting enough I could wear my leathers on here if a certain princess so desired." He smirked at her and rubbed the wooden rail suggestively.
Emma laughed. "You're too much. But yes, you could wear them if you found a princess that found you attractive in leather rather than modern clothing."
"Have I?" He leaned into her ear. "Do you prefer the leathers or jeans? Or neither?"
Emma shook her head at him. Buy the man a ship and the pirate's sultry lines came out in full force. She had a sneaking feeling if she gave in to his lines, they'd spend the evening christening the ship, and while that wouldn't be the worst idea in the world, she knew Henry was at home waiting for them. "Any of the above, pirate." She took a step back from him. "Go look around."
He headed into the cabin and she heard his deep laugh. Curious, Emma headed below deck as well to find a few bottles of rum in a gift basket. There was no card, but she assumed it was from Leroy.
"You won't name it...her after me at all right?" Emma asked.
"No lass, I was just teasing you. There are varying superstitions about naming a vessel after a woman the captain personally knows and to be on the safe side, since we are in Storybrooke, I would prefer not to chance that fate." He replied.
"What fate?" Emma asked. She didn't want the boat named after her, but found any superstitions about it intriguing.
"Well love, many vessels are named after women, goddesses mostly, even though having a woman on your ship is considered to be bad luck by many sailors. There are some captains who choose to name their vessel after their wife or a woman in their life, however should the relationship not work out, there is a very strict ceremony that must be followed in order to rename the boat. This vessel already has a name and I while I do not ever wish ill of my future with you, it is not a chance I am willing to take. There is also a superstition that one must not name their ship after a betrothed woman. I know that is not the case now, however should that change in the future it could be dangerous to be on the vessel until marriage." Killian explained.
Wait a minute. Did he just tell me that he can't name a ship after me because we might get engaged? ENGAGED? Married?! Emma's brain was going a mile a minute.
"Calm down, love. I haven't asked for your hand in marriage... yet." Killian reached out to pull her into his arms.
"Yet?" Emma croaked.
Killian sighed. "It is quite common in this realm as well that when two people love each other they get married, yes? I know that is more commitment than you are okay with right now, however I believe my intentions have been made clear for quite some time now. I'm not rushing you Emma. I never will. Just please do not act so shocked at the possibility of it. It's not a conversation we need to have at present. Besides, I believe we were discussing the naming of this vessel." He grinned at her.
Emma managed to slow down her speeding brain. In reality, Killian was correct. Emma knew he wanted to spent the rest of his life with her and he had done nothing to dissuade her from thinking marriage would be the next logical step, but she was no where near ready to even think about getting married. She didn't know if she could ever fully express how much she appreciated how patient he was with her.
"As I was saying, once a name is chosen for the ship, there is a ceremony we must perform in order to properly change her name, otherwise she will be very bad luck." Killian continued.
"So you won't call her Emma or Swan or any variation of that, then right?" Emma confirmed.
"No, although 'Swan' does have a nice ring to it, don't you think? Perhaps we shall get a puppy or kitten and name it Swan. I do believe your boy was onto something with his suggestions. I believe I would like to have her renamed Leia."
Did he just tell me we're getting a pet too? When did Captain Hook become so domestic?! "And Leia is okay because it's fake name I used?" Emma asked.
"Tis more than a fake name, love. It's a woman getting a glimpse of a life she might have had with a pirate her parents never would have approved of. It's a stepping stone in our relationship. It's a sign of growth. Of trust. It is just one word that can simply sum up our entire adventure to the past together while still holding so many references only known to you and I." Killian explained.
Emma nodded. He had summed up so perfectly why there should be no other name for his boat. She could never be named anything but Leia after that explanation. "Leia." She whispered. "I like it."
Many of you wanted me to name her Swan and while I did think I was going to go that route at first, I did some research on boat naming and came across the tidbit Killian explains above about naming after a woman the captain knows.
Also, special thanks to Erin who left a beautifully written review as to why Killian should name the boat Leia. I used that as my inspiration for Killian's explanation of why Leia was the perfect choice.