"I lo…." She began.

"Don't you dare say that," he warned. He turned to look at her, anger in his eyes.

She looked at him, confusion on her pretty face.

"Why? It's true. I lo…"

"I said don't say that!" he cut her off.

"Why? Do they scare you?" she asked a smirk on her face. His eyes cast their stare downward, his hands stopped moving as he stopped walking.

"Oh my, you're scared of three little words!" she laughed. Somehow her laugh wasn't because she found anything funny, but because she was nervous.

"Yes, ok. They scare me," he muttered.

"How can you possibly be scared of some words? It's not like they're a curse or anything."

"How do you know? They could be." he replied.

"So you're scared of these three certain words because you think they're a curse?"

"No, I'm scared of them because the last person who said them to me, was taken out of my life and this world, just as fast and suddenly as they had entered it!" he said. He looked her in the eye.

"Who?" she asked. Her voice was low, barely audible, but he knew she'd asked him who it was.

"It was many years ago, way before your time. There was this pretty young lass, a bit like yourself really. She fell for me hook, line and sinker. One day we was out on the sea, watching the waves. When…." His voice began to give out on him, "When a little boy came running out of one of the cabins. Figured he was just a stowaway, no-one harmful. Then, as 'e approached us, 'e pulled somethin' outa his pocket, he aimed it at her, then pulled the trigger. She was only 24, so much life ahead of her. Her name was Ariel Black. Turns out the little boy was a midget whom was paid to come aboard me ship and kill any women 'e could lay his filthy little black eyes on. My Ariel was the only one 'e saw." He finished. Tears filled his eyes. She knew that this Ariel, who ever she was, meant the world to him.

"Did she ever tell you she loved you?" she asked. She rubbed his back lightly with her hand, trying to comfort him.

"Aye, that she did. Not just a moment before the little bastard of a eunuch came out an' killed 'er." he confirmed

"Oh," was all she could manage.

"You think I'll meet the same fate if I say that to you don't you?" she asked. She longed to say those words; they were on the tip of her tongue.

"Yes, that I do. I can't help but feel that those words are more trouble than they are worth,"

"Just because you have had one bad experience with someone saying those words to you, doesn't mean that the same thing will happen every time that someone new says them. It was terrible that it happened to her. But, maybe she wasn't the one who was truly meant to say them to you," she tried to reason with him.

"If she wasn't then who is? My life has been a mess without her! I wasn't a pirate when I met her. I was a humble boy of society. My father was a Commodore in the Navy. After she died. I went downhill and didn't stop till I hit the bottom. My father was so ashamed of me that he disowned me. I have to face it that I'm just not meant to be loved by any one." he said, his voice getting quieter and quieter until he was whispering.

"Ok, how about this then," she began. He went to cut her off again, but she placed her fingers on his lips, silencing him.

"I'm in love with you," she said. Each word seemed to hang in the air. The birds stopped squawking, the bees stopped buzzing, the ocean seemed to stop bashing its waves against the sand. The words echoed in his brain. He looked around, imagining someone coming out of the bushes and killing her, or her dropping dead for no reason.

"See, every one is meant to be loved, it's just about finding the right person, the person who is meant to love you," she said. She removed her fingers from his lips. He smiled at her. She was right, deep down inside he had always known that, but he would never admit it.

"I will tell you that everyday of my life until I drop dead. Nothing will stop me. I don't care if we are oceans apart. I will still say it. Even if you are dead and gone, I'll still say it. And I'll mean it every time." she stated. She leaned against him. He put his arms around her waist and held her flush against him.

"I….I'm in l…love with you t…too," he managed, stuttering slightly.

"I know you are," was all she replied.

They stood there on the beach, watching the wave's crash against the sand, then run back, afraid of being caught. They were both content. He had forgiven those three little words and had stopped blaming them for the death of his first love, and began thanking them for the love of his true love.

THE END

A/N: Ok, that was probably a little strange, but I had to write it. I know that I left it up in the air with the identities of the two unknown, but I just thought that'd be fun, lol, evil me mwhahahaha! Please review and tell me what you think. I might continue this if I can think of anything to write.