A/N: Felt the need to write a little pre-finale fluff ficlet. Here's my take on an extended version of the scene at the docks in Mother.
"Do you want both those to be failures?"
She lets her gaze fall back to the horizon, the truth of his words washing over her like a blanket, heavy and with a lingering sense of shame at her own behavior, her stubbornness.
"No."
The gentle slide of his hook along her back his only response to her admission, the silent comfort he provides something she never thought she would have, but finds herself craving more and more with each passing second he is in her life. Never having her own someone, her own person whose happiness is so intertwined with hers she sometimes feels overwhelmed by the power she holds. But, in times like this, she's learning to allow herself to sink into the simple joy of being loved so openly and powerfully, her walls beginning to feel like clouds on the verge of letting the sun break through and light her way.
"Shall we go and find your parents, Swan?"
His voice is soft, not demanding, simply letting her know that he will be here with her if she wants him to be. And she does, always. She settles on always in her mind instead of forever, knowing she will want him continuously, not for whatever set amount of time fate allows them to be together. The whims of the author and Gold have yet to play out, an imminent danger set before them yet again, one bound to test everything and everyone she loves.
She looks to him now, the slight breeze lifting his hair and the cold tinging his cheeks with red and she wonders if she has ever seen anyone more beautiful than him. Beyond being the most handsome man she has ever met, it's the man beneath that takes her breath away, one who has almost drowned in the depths of darkness and emerged as her savior, her light when the world begins to dim. She reaches her hand up to trace the scar along his cheek, his eyes fluttering closed at her touch as he leans slightly into her fingers.
"I'd like to stay here a while longer."
He turns his head slightly so he can brush his lips against her palm, opening his eyes as he reaches up to cover her hand with his.
"As you wish."
Unable to resist any longer, she leans in to kiss him, needing the feel of his lips against hers despite their cold and chapped skin. Their mouths warm together, the heat of their breath and sudden closeness of their bodies as he draws her closer leave the cold in the world outside, nothing but love and passion and longing remaining. Her mouth parts under his as she breathes his name against his lips, her arm around his waist holding him tightly under his jacket as she tries to get as close to him as their position will allow.
His forehead comes to rest against hers as he breaks the kiss to breathe, his gaze falling to his fingertips as they reach up to trace the pad of her kiss swollen lips.
"I missed you, love." The words escape his lips on a ragged whisper, emotions boiling under the surface that she knows he thinks she isn't ready to see, but feels nonetheless. Pulling her hands from inside his jacket she gently cups his jaw, lifting his head so he can see the truth of the words in her eyes as she speaks them, strong and sure.
"And I, you."