~1.3 Seconds~

Emma had, absolutely, over dramatized the distracted look on her face, knowing he would fall for it. Though she knew she couldn't wipe away her disbelief at the situation she put herself into. She'd somehow allowed herself to walk right into this dangerous situation, in the wild, with a pirate. She needed to reflect on her choices and reestablish a new way to handle future decisions. The direction she was currently on would not bode well for her people.

She couldn't help it. He made her brain all fuzzy. She wouldn't even start on what he did to her heart.

When he went to turn the roast, she allowed her eyes, and only her eyes, to move, stealing a glance of her own. She had to absorb as much of him as she could, painfully aware he would only be distracted for exactly 1.3 seconds.

1.3 seconds of walls down, where she could see him clearly, both inside and out. Pride, fastination, frustration. What in the Enchanted Forest was going through his mind? Oh. Naturally, he was thinking about her as much as she was him.

All too soon, her stolen 1.3 seconds were over and she felt his gaze shifting toward her. She quickly averted her eyes back to the fire, scolding herself for giving into her temptation as she shut her eyes, realizing she had started rubbing her forehead at some point.. That didn't stop her from mentally going over his image.

His hooked arm was laying against his knee. His other arm was held out, hand grasping at the skewer that had impaled their dinner. The muscles in his jaw had tightened as he turned the roast, and she thought of that blissful scruff along his jaw and those penetrating blue eyes against the light of the flames... She tried not to think of that open patch of skin on his chest, tried not to imagine her fingers running through it..

She failed.

Never had she thought of a man as she did of him. She knew of sexual attraction. She'd seen it in the eyes and faces of others, she had even been taught what to expect on her wedding night by a tutor after her first bleeding.

But feeling it for the first time made her question herself. Was she only feeling infatuation for him? She had little experience, but she had an intellectual understanding of the difference between infatuation and love. One was fleeting, the other lasting.

She hadn't thought of Dylan this way, least not yet. He was handsome, though, but even trying, she couldn't create the fantasy. Nor had she imagined Chio in that way, back when she had the biggest crush on him.. before he married another man.

He startled her by shuffling awkwardly, and she spared half a second to glance over when he did so. Then she noticed a change in his energy, and he was laughing. A full, deep, belly laugh.

"What has possessed you?" She asked, openly staring, her mouth gaping a bit.

He took a breath to steady himself. "Don't you know?" Her eyebrows raised. "Bloody hell, love."

She scoffed at that. "I beg pardon, pirate."

He shook his head, and spoke softly, staring into the dirt. "Look around, Emma." She did a double take at her name. He knew it would make her listen. Damn Pirate. "It's just me and you out here. I'm not going to take this opportunity alone with you to woo you, you understand, no matter how much I want to. That would be a distraction and detrimental to the safety of the both of us. Not to mention, bad form. I am always a gentleman."

She started to say something, anything, but he was quicker as he was actually prepared for this conversation.

"You have to let go of your distractions, love." His voice had dropped low, soft, but she could still hear him as if they were standing face to face. "For one, you can't prove you are as capable as your mum if you're thinking about being as good, or better, than her. She didn't do it intentionally, she just did it. And so will you. Worse, you're likely also thinking about your future and which suitor to choose. Well, if those thoughts distract you at the opportune moment, you won't have a future to think about. You have to be present in the here and now." His eyes raised to meet hers. "You have to know I have your back, Emma, but I need to know you have mine as well."

Everything went still. Her heart, mind, movement. But it wasn't like before. She had to process this, and quickly. He'd pegged her perfectly. She was distracted, wanting to prove herself, and thinking about Dylan versus Killian. But how could she know she could trust her life in his hands? Why did she come if she didn't trust him?

"How do I know I can trust you?"

"At the moment, you don't. You have no choice but to believe me at my word until I can prove to you that belief is not wasted."

She lowered her eyes to stare into the fire. Of course he was right. She was acting her age, and in this situation where anything could happen, it could be dangerous. She had to grow up, least for the duration of this trip.

As disappointed as she was to hear him say he wasn't here to woo her, she believed him on that too. She would have to lock away her own romantic notions of him, which meant no more staring at him.. or his chest.

She noticed that tendon in his jaw twitching as he leaned back. "I've somehow survived this life for nearly three hundred years." He admitted. "You might find that I can be a useful ally that you can rely on. I'm a survivor." Her lie detector was silent. The rumor was true.

"What is your point?" She asked him with a sharpness in her tone she hadn't intended.

"That we need to, least, come to some sort of an understanding. It's us against the world right now, Swan. For as long as we are out here, chasing myths. I would very much like for the both of us to emerge unscathed. Then, when we get back to your castle, Princess, you can go back to distrusting me." She hated him for a split second for seeing her so clearly.

He sees through my masks.

Was she being childish? Feeling like she needed to prove herself? Who would benefit if she failed? Or died? Could she trust him? She found herself thinking about the butterfly, and what it meant. Was it even possible to be hurt by her true love?

Her true love.

Just like that, she let it all go in a long breath and they both felt the energy opening between them. She became more relaxed, turning slightly, just enough to face him more fully.

"I understand." She said briefly, her subtle way of agreeing. She knew now, he'd see her meaning clearly. "Any idea how much longer until this thing is cooked?"

"Aye. Not long." He reached out to turn it again, and she found her whole body turned to examine him in those 1.3 seconds. "Though there will be a bit of burnt ends, but fear not, I can take those."

"Why would I be bothered by that? I like the burnt ends."

He looked surprised. "Well that's fortuitous. I despise them. More for you, then."

She offered a weak smile. It was all she had. That, and his canteen of fresh water, which she offered him. "You can't live on rum alone, pirate."

"I beg to differ." He scoffed, but took the canteen anyway. She could see the understanding in his eyes. They both knew this small gesture was more than simply sharing a drink for survival. He drank from it, before passing it back.

It wasn't long before he was satisfied that the Jackalope was fully cooked. Their conversation kept a lively pace, from his past adventures, to general survival, to her story of discovering Chio indisposed with another man, way back when she still had hope of a future relationship with her friend. Killian surprised her by knowing much more about surviving in the wild than she expected him to, and she wondered if there was a story to that, only hearing a few tales from the sea atop the Jolly Roger.

Eventually they had full bellies, and were both stifling yawns. He had never asked why the canteen was still full even though they'd both had their fair share of water. After seeing Regina do it, Emma was pleased she was able to copy such a thing on the scarce training she received before that blasted ball.

She wondered what else she may need to learn on this venture, before he pulled her from her wandering thoughts by suggesting he take the first watch. Such a notion surprised her, but she heartily agreed, being uncertain she could stay awake much longer. She hadn't even thought about sleep being a dangerous thing.

Perhaps he really was a good ally to keep around.

Thank you for reading!