Under the Ocean
Pirate Captain Killian Jones can't stop himself from falling for the beautiful mermaid that saves him from the wreckage of his ship.
It was a losing battle. The storm had battered his ship and crew past the point of exhaustion. Killian always joked that he would die the death of a captain and go down with his ship, he just never expected it would be so soon. He always foresaw himself losing a valiant battle against a much stronger foe or dying at the hands of the crocodile, rather than losing his ship to a battle with the sea. As Killian had learned in the past the sea could be quite the cruel mistress. When the deck became more open ocean than dry hull he prepared himself to die. It was fitting that his body would lie on the ocean floor as he had spent most of his life at sea. Life as a pirate taught him to recognize when he was fighting a losing battle and so he stopped fighting the water that was now forcing its way into his lungs. As he blacked out Killian swore he could hear the beautiful sound of singing, but it was probably just his oxygen deprived brain playing tricks on him. Still he found the music comforting as his eyes fluttered closed.
Killian awoke to the face of a beautiful blonde haired woman whose silhouette was haloed by the light of the sun from behind her. Killian couldn't help but wonder if he had died and his soul somehow made it to heaven. At least he thought that until his body wrenched to the side as he hacked up a great deal of seawater. Clearly he had somehow survived. Killian Jones had always been a survivor and skilled at overcoming things that seemed impossible, but typically those impossible things didn't involve his entire ship and crew sinking into the ocean.
He was vaguely aware of the woman drawing soothing circles on his back as he continued to cough. "It's all right" she whispered comfortingly as she continued to rub his back. Eventually the coughing subsided and Killian was able to turn to face the angelic woman behind him. Woman was the wrong word Killian surmised as he took in the long tail that extended from her body. He supposed that mermaid was a far more accurate description. Perhaps Killian really had died because mermaids were known for luring sailors to their death with their singing, not helping them overcome a drowning. Although Killian imagined that one likely didn't experience nausea in the afterlife. Yet here he was, a beautiful mermaid rubbing his back and helping to make sure all of the water was coughed up from his lungs.
His studying of the mermaid was interrupted when it hit him; Killian was now a pirate without a ship. His home for several centuries was completely gone, sunk deep beneath the waves. Sure Killian was glad he was still alive but he was now essentially homeless. Sailing the seas on the hunt for the crocodile had been his life's purpose and now for the first time in several centuries he was lost. A talented pirate never got lost as he could use the stars to guide his way, but without a ship with which to follow the stars the knowledge was essentially useless. His life seemed rather purposeless.
Killian supposed at his age of several centuries he was overdue for a midlife crisis, so he decided to take the loss of his ship in stride. After all it wasn't like he could swim to the bottom of the sea and regain the vessel. He could find another way to find the crocodile and eliminate him from the face of the Earth. Killian was vaguely aware that the mermaid had stopped rubbing his back and was now sitting on the beach beside him. She looked gorgeous with the tide slowly cresting over her glittering tail. He gathered his thoughts and decided it was time for him to acknowledge her presence. "Thank you for saving me" his voice came out hoarse likely due to the near drowning. She merely nodded her head as a means of acknowledgement before slipping back into the water. "Wait. Don't leave" Killian croaked out.
She inclined her head back to him and spoke "We will meet again Killian". Killian was mildly surprised that the mermaid knew his name. Although the name Captain Hook was well known across the seven magical seas very few people knew his actual name. He watched her swim away until she was just a blip on the horizon. Left with only his thoughts, Killian was once again focused on the fact that he had nowhere to go. Although Killian had only the clothes on the back to his name he did have his name to carry on. The very name Captain Hook instilled fear into the hearts of many and that name could carry him far.
-CS-
Months later found the great Captain Hook once again captaining a mighty ship sailing across the sea. Although smaller than his previous ship Killian knew that with time he would once again possess a worthy vessel, although likely not one quite as majestic as the Jolly Roger. Despite having kept his eyes on the sea, Killian had yet to spot the fabled return of the beautiful blonde mermaid who had saved his life. Clearly she had saved him for some reason, even if that reason wasn't apparent to him yet.
At least he hadn't seen her until he was chasing a lead to find the Crocodile in order to make him pay for his actions. The pirate captain was sitting in a pub nearby the dock of the small village when he caught a glimpse of blonde hair. Despite only spending a brief amount of time with the mermaid he could recognize her hair anywhere. So when the blonde hair hovered nearby his table before turning and leaving the pub, Killian immediately got up to follow her. How the mermaid had managed to snag a pair of human legs was unknown to him, but in a world with magic anything is possible. He certainly wouldn't doubt her of achieving what would normally seem impossible. He opened his mouth to call her name only to be reminded that he had no clue who she was. So instead he followed silently behind her until she came to stand in front of the tide. She never looked back but Killian had a feeling that she knew he was there.
As he finally moved to stand beside her she spoke "Hello Killian, so we finally meet again". She angled her head slightly towards him but kept her eyes focused on the horizon of the ocean. "I assume you have many questions" she continued "but now is not really the time for them". Killian couldn't help the flair of annoyance that crossed his mind at being told to hold his questions like some small child, but he found himself keeping quiet, lulled peacefully by her rhythmic voice. "I'm here to help you take down your adversary. He is the reason that I am now cursed to spend my days in the water. I want to help you take down the Dark One" she explained. He was surprised that she too had faced off against the crocodile in the past. Killian couldn't stop himself from wondering how someone as angelic seeming as herself had found herself in the dark one's bad books. Had she not held her end up of a deal? However she had ended up facing the dark one's wrath, she seemed extremely unlikely to share. All that was important was that Captain Hook had a new ally in his fight against the crocodile.
-CS-
His crew were not happy about the idea of bringing a woman on board. Sailors and pirates alike held the superstition that women were bad luck. However any man who objected to her presence could simply walk the plank under the captain's orders. Besides the woman rarely spent time on the ship as she possessed a mermaid's tale during the day and thereby needed to be in the water. The crew were unaware of this fact, because although most of the men were willing to put up with a woman on board, Killian doubted the discovery of a mermaid would result in anything other than outright mutiny. As far as the crew was concerned Lady Emma chose to spend a majority of her time in her quarters.
Killian had been extremely excited when he finally learned his cohorts name. Something about the name Emma fit her perfectly well. Her name meant whole, which was ironic since Killian was the one who felt whole whenever she was around. For the first time in a long time he had found someone that he genuinely cared about, someone that he felt like he could trust. Not only did he gain an ally in his cause but also a friend to share his stories with. Emma on the other hand always remained rather vague about her past. Although that should have been a turnoff Killian found himself enjoying the challenge of breaking down her walls piece by piece. Never let it be said that the pirate captain wasn't up for a challenge.
As for the night, Emma spent a great deal of time wandering the ship. Every member of the crew knew her by name and many had begun treating her hospitably. Although that was probably less because they liked her and more because treating the fair lady unkindly would result in a swift exit from the ship via the plank. Luckily for Killian only a few of his crew had had to be subjected to such fate. His favourite part of the night would be when his cohort stopped to visit with him as he spun the wheel of the ship. She looked beautiful with her hair aglow under the star light. Sometimes they would talk about their plans for the dark one but at other times they would just make small talk. On rare occasions he would be treated to her singing. His crew would have a hard time focusing on their work whenever she would stop by to sing.
He knew that getting involved with a mermaid would be messy at best; but no matter how many times he tried to convince himself of the contrary he still couldn't help himself from falling for her. Love between a pirate and a mermaid was doomed from the start; but yet Killian didn't seem to care. When she let herself let lose a melodious laugh at his ridiculous jokes he felt as if he had been bewitched. Sometimes he felt like she might share in his feelings; she would watch him man the boat thinking him unaware. But at other times Killian remembered that she was only there to seek her own revenge on the crocodile. She wasn't on the ship because she wanted to be; but because she thought it would be the best way to take down their mutual foe.
He supposed she would want to split ways after they had rid the world of the plague that was the dark one. Anything he started with her would be doomed to end; but that still didn't stop him from wanting more from their relationship.
-CS-
When the final battle came around pitting Killian and Emma vs Rumplestiltskin, Killian was face with the ultimate choice; kill the crocodile or save his accomplice. The dark one held the mermaid dangling on the edge of a precipice above a pit of spikes. Killian could either save her from what would likely be a deadly fall or plunge the dagger into the dark ones chest. If he killed the dark one his hold would fail and Emma would fall into the abyss. If he saved her then the dark one would escape. Either way Killian lost. Surprising to him he found that losing his chance at revenge felt like far less of a loss than losing Emma. So with a sigh of frustration he turned and saved the enchanted woman, letting the dark one flee into the night.
-CS-
There was a lot of yelling after that; her shouting that he should have let her die and killed the dark one and him screaming that she was far more important than his revenge.
Chests heaving with emotion the duo glared daggers at each other. Killian did his best to reign in his anger and quietly asked "if it was the other way around, would you have let me fall?".
She glanced up into his eyes, most of her anger fading away. "Of course not" she replied. "But that's completely different..." She continued before trailing off.
"What makes it different?" he asked tentatively. He could see the mental walls constructing behind her eyes. Clearly she didn't want to talk about whatever reason made it different; which is what made Killian realize what it might be. He lifted his hooked arm and carefully traced the edge of her face. "I love you too much to let you fall" he whispered to her. He watched her absorb his words and the space between them disappeared as she stood on her tiptoes to kiss him. In the moment Killian didn't care that the crocodile got away; he only cared about Emma's lips on his. He could get use to this.